What should I prepare for the oral exam? The same as before?
Covid-19 caused a huge change compared to our entrance exams in previous years, but now we conduct a written examination and oral examination at Kashiwa campus (schedule A/B of AY 2024), as we did before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this does not mean that we are accepting students with totally different abilities from those in previous years. The fact that we change the way how we do the entrance exams this year does not mean that we evaluate students with totally different criteria. Our policy on admission remains the same even under this circumstance. Please be advised that you keep this principle in mind, and prepare for it.
You said the oral exam holds for three days. Am I spending the whole three days for the oral exam?
Please refer to the following URL for the details of the schedule.
http://www.cbms.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp/english/admission/schedule.html
For Schedule A, the written exam will be held on August 1st and an oral exam on August 2nd or 3rd.
For Schedule B, the online oral exams will be held on Jan 15 to 27, 2024. Exact time and date you need to attend depends on the groups/course and the choice of Master/doctoral courses.
Can I choose a time for the oral exams?
No. You basically cannot choose. Failure to show up in the oral exams would lead to immediate disqualification.
I have worked for company for years. Should I present a research in my company instead of my master thesis of a decade old?
It is totally fine to include the research in company. Please include the research in both company and university if possible.
What is the minimum passing score of the exams?
Since we have a quota, pass/fail is determined by relative evaluation. For this reason, it is not possible to specify the pass/fail line in advance. In addition, we do not disclose the minimum passing score in the past years. The number of applicants and the number of successful applicants in the past exams are disclosed on the exam web page of GSFS.
https://www.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/exam/past_entrance_exam/
What is the difference between the announcement of acceptance by the GSFS and the announcement by Dept of CBMS?
The announcement of acceptance by the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences (GSFS) is the only official announcement of acceptance. This announcement is made at the same time with other departments whose entrance examinations are held a few weeks later than those of Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences (CBMS). Official documents suche as ones necessary for visa application will be issued only after the official announcement of acceptance to GSFS.
Nevertheless, for the convenience of the applicants, the department of CBMS will announce the unofficial results before the official announcement by GSFS. The unofficial results and the official results are usually the the same, but with some exceptions. The exceptions include cases where serious problems have been discovered, such as failure to meet requirements for taking the entrance exams, failure to meet requirements for admission (e.g., when you do not graduate before enrollment), the use of forged certificates, etc.
Last but not least, you need to submit designated certificates such as a graduation/degree certificate and final transcripts at the time of the enrollment procedure. Failure to show such evidence materials may lead to cancellation of the enrollment permit.
I am supposed to give a presentation on my research during the oral exams for the doctoral course, but I cannot disclose the details of my research at my company due to intellectual property issues. What should I do?
Please present your research in a way that you do not refer to information you are not allowed to disclose.
I am applying for a doctoral program. My master's thesis is not about biology, but do I need to present biology?
You can present research in whatever field.
What is the difference in the pass rate of exams in Schedule A/B?
It is difficult to say anything about the difference in difficulty although the pass rate is different between the two schedules, but the distribution of examinees is also quite different.
The number of applicants for Schedule B is limited, so if you are able to take Schedule A, please take the entrance exams in Schedule A.
