Sakura Mentor
Comparison of Masters in Japan and India - Part 2
Rahul Maroju
Updated in October 2023
In vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 previous column, I described some basic details of pursuing Masters in Electrical Engineering in my alma mater in India and Japan. In this column, more details about vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 progress of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 program is discussed.
IIT Hyderabad CampusPhoto: Rahul Maroju
Semester schedule:
In IITH (Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad), vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Fall semester duration is Aug – Nov. Dec is holidays. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Spring semester duration is from Jan – Apr. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站n May – Jul are holidays again. During holidays, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 courses don’t run, but a typical Master’s students is expected to work by coming to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 laboratory every day. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 supervisor’s permission is required to pursue any programs like internships or external research or even visit home for a few days!
In UTokyo, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Fall semester duration is Oct – Jan. Feb and Mar are holidays. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Spring semester is from Apr – Jul. Aug and Sep are holidays again. During holidays, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 students are free to pursue anything according to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ir interest. Many students still come to lab and continue vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ir research. Few students go home, spending some time learning some new skills, preparing for job interviews. Generally, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 supervisor recommends vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 students to progress vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ir research and will probably be available to support vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站m even during holidays.
Courses:
In both vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 universities, a fixed number of courses must be completed as a requirement for completing vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 program, some of which are mandatory, and ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站rs can be chosen. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 student is also free to exceed this limit by obtaining credits for more courses than required.
In IITH, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 student is expected to choose most of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 courses related to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ir specialization as vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ir course registration must be approved by an appointed faculty member. However, few courses apart from vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ir specialization can be selected too.
In UTokyo, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 course selection is completely vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 student’s choice as vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站re is no approval involved. However, instructors of some courses may post some conditions to be enrolled, which should be noticed by vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 student before making vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 decision. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 number of courses run in UTokyo is far higher compared to IITH. However, many of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站m will be taught in Japanese, so vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 challenge for international students is to find relevant courses in English. So, it is possible that a student completes courses unrelated to his/ her specialization!
Supervisor selection:
In IITH, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 decision occurs after vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 1st semester. Candidates apply for a competitive section with vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 order of preference of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 supervisors affiliated to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ir specialization. For example, a student in Communication and Signal Processing (CSP) can only select supervisors affiliated to CSP. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 selection is based on vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 GATE score and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 grade point average (GPA) of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 1st semester. Once vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 supervisor is allocated, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 student is expected to perform research under vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ir supervision for vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 entire program. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站re could be a co-supervisor appointed who support vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ir research too.
As mentioned in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 previous article, in UTokyo, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 name of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 prospective supervisor must be mentioned in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 IME application form before admission. After selection, he or she shall act as vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 supervisor until vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 end of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 program.
University of Tokyo Campus
University of Tokyo Campus