International Graduate Program in Language Sciences
Tohoku University Graduate School of International Cultural Studies (GSICS)

Application for the 2-year Master’s Program
for the Academic Year of 2024
(Beginning in October 2024)
I. AimThe aim of the International Graduate Program in Language Sciences (hereafter, IGPLS) is to promoteinterdisciplinary education and research concerning human language from multiple perspectives of
linguistics, psychology, brain science and information science. Based on recent development in linguistics
and other relevant disciplines, our program seeks to provide students with a comprehensive understandingof linguistics and language sciences, with a focus on theoretical linguistics, language acquisition,
psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics. The program will be conducted in collaboration with the ResearchCenter for Language, Brain and Cognition, which is affiliated with the Tohoku University Graduate Schoolof International Cultural Studies (GSICS).
Degree offered: “Master of International Cultural Studies” or “Master of Interdisciplinary Studies”

II. Admission Policy
The Tohoku University Graduate School of International Cultural Studies provides students with theability to think and analyze in an international and interdisciplinary manner, advanced foreign language
skills, and a high level of specialized knowledge and clear awareness of issues in the following three areas:(1) diverse regional cultures of Japan and other areas seen from an international perspective, (2) global
issues concerning the environment, resources, and a sustainable society in which all humankind can coexist,
and (3) language underlying international society. Our educational goal is to train professionals, teachers,
and researchers who can play an active role on a global scale with their rich education, international
perspective, and high ideal of contributing to the stewardship and development of human civilization andculture. To achieve this goal, we seek students who have clear aspirations of becoming creative researchers
or professionals and are active in the international community, equipped with flexible thinking skills, broad
academic knowledge, and advanced language skills.
In admitting students, we have entrance examinations in the following categories: general selection,
special selection for international applicants applying from overseas, selection for those advancing to thedoctoral program from our MA program (only for the three-year doctoral program), entrance examination
for the Global Governance and Sustainable Development Program, and entrance examination for theInternational Graduate Program in Language Sciences. These are used to select applicants who have theadvanced abilities and qualities needed to conduct research in line with the educational ideals/goals
mentioned above.
The two-year Master’s program1

In the category of general selection, applicants are evaluated based on (1) their scores in a written test toevaluate their knowledge about their specialized fields and (2) an interview and a review of theirapplication materials, which are to assess their motivation, research plans, and foreign language skills
needed for research, among other things. These are given roughly equal weight.
In the category of special selection for international applicants applying from overseas, applicants who
are recommended by their home universities are evaluated based on (1) a review of their applicationmaterials and (2) an interview. We assess their specialized knowledge, their ability to think logically andexpress their ideas in writing, and their motivation and research plans. These are given roughly equal
weight.
In the entrance examination for the Global Governance and Sustainable Development Program, applicants
are evaluated based on (1) a review of their application materials and (2) an interview. We examine
whether they have the high-level English proficiency needed to study in the program where English is themedium of instruction, the academic motivation and thinking ability to tackle today’s social issues, and theability to set a practical problem to solve. These are given roughly equal weight.
In the entrance examination for the International Graduate Program in Language Sciences, applicants areevaluated based on (1) a review of their application materials and (2) an interview. We examine whether
they have the high-level English proficiency needed to study in the program (as English is the medium of
instruction), and the specialized knowledge and ability to think interdisciplinarily required in the field of
language sciences. These are given roughly equal weight.
We expect students to possess basic knowledge in their areas of expertise, basic foreign language skills,
and skills in writing logically, before their enrollment.

Ⅲ. Curriculum
All courses in IGPLS are taught in English. A minimum of 30 units of coursework and completion of a
Master’s thesis are required for the Master’s degree.
(a) Basic subjects (compulsory): 6 units(b) Core subjects (elective): 18 units(c) Seminar (independent study with supervisor) (compulsory): 6 units(d) Master’s thesis
Category

Subjects

Instructor

Unit

Basic Subjects

Introduction to Language Science

Matthew Zisk

2

Research Methods in Linguistics

TBA

2

Ethics for Academic Research

TBA

2

Generative Syntax

Daiko Takahashi

2

Lexical Semantics

TBA

2

Pragmatics

Takeshi Nakamoto2

Contrastive Linguistics

Wataru Nakamura

2

Cognitive Linguistics

Satoshi Uehara

2Second Language AcquisitionPeter John Wanner

2

Language in Society and Culture

Hiroyuki Eto

2(6units)

Core Subjects(18 units)

2

Seminar

Psycholinguistics

Mariko Nakayama

2

History of the Japanese Language

Matthew Zisk

2

Theoretical Analysis of Japanese

TBA

2

Corpus Linguistics

TBA

2

Neurolinguistics

Hyeonjeong Jeong

2

Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition

Takumi Uchihara

2

Seminar in Linguistics

Supervisor(6 units)

6

Total(30 units)

The courses in this list may be subject to change without prior notice due to unavoidable reasons.

Ⅳ. Application
1. Positions available
Around 5
2. Application Requirements
Applicants for the 2-year Master’s Program should meet one of the following criteria:(1) Those who have graduated or will graduate from a university in Japan established by the School
Education Law of Japan (Law 26 of 1947, henceforth ‘the Law’) by September 2024.
(2) Those who have been granted, or will be granted a Bachelor’s degree by the National Institution for
Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education by September 2024.
(3) Those who have completed or will complete 16 years of school education in a foreign country by
September 2024.
(4) Those who have completed, or will complete 16 years of a foreign country’s school education by
September 2024 by finishing a course conducted by an educational institution of that country via
distance learning while residing in Japan.
(5) Those who have completed, or will complete a university program of a foreign educational facility inJapan by September 2024, which (i) has been approved by the educational system of that country tooperate the university program (graduates must be recognized as equivalent to those completing 16
years of school education in that country) and (ii) is designated separately by the Minister of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (henceforth ‘the Minister’).
(6) Those who have been conferred, or will be conferred by September 2024, a degree equivalent to abachelor’s degree upon completion of a curriculum that has a course term of 3 years or longer at auniversity or other school in a foreign country (limited to schools whose overall educational andresearch activities have been evaluated by the relevant country’s government or agovernment-approved individual, or are designated separately by the Minister as having met thisrequirement). This includes cases in which the student completed the curriculum by taking subjects
conducted by said school via distance learning while residing in Japan and cases in which the student
has completed a curriculum at an educational facility that is positioned within that country’s
educational system as per the previous item.
(7) Those who have graduated or will graduate by September 2024 from a specialized course of a
specialized training college designated separately by the Minister (limited to courses satisfying the3standards designated by the Minister including the condition that the course duration be 4 years or
longer). The date of the completion of the course must be on or after the date of designation by the
Minister.
(8) Those who have been designated by the Minister (refer to Notification No. 5 of 1953 from the Ministryof Education).
(9) Those who have been admitted to a graduate school of another university according to Paragraph 2 ofArticle 102 of the Law and are judged by the GSICS to have attained a sufficient standard ofachievement to study in the GSICS.
(10) Those whose academic abilities are judged by the GSICS, based on GSICS’s individual qualification
examination, to be equal to or greater than those of a university graduate, and who are 22 years of age
or older at the end of September 2024.
Note 1: Applicants who wish to apply under qualification (6) must contact the GSICS Office of Academic
Affairs by February 26, 2024.
Note 2: Applicants that fall under qualification (9) or (10) must undergo a pre-qualification examination
and are required to submit the designated documents for this purpose to the GSICS Office ofAcademic Affairs by February 26, 2024 in order to fulfill the requirements for October 2024
admissions.
Note 3: GSICS does not accept applications made in accordance with Article 102, item (2) of the School
Education Act, or Article 11, item (9) of Tohoku University’s General Rules concerning Graduate
Schools.
Please contact the GSICS Office of Academic Affairs for inquiries regarding application qualifications. See
page 8 for contact information.
3. Application Procedures(1) Outline of the Online Application
Applications are accepted only through the online application system, The Admissions Office(hereinafter referred to as TAO).
Please upload all of your application documents listed in (2) onto TAO during the application period
specified in (3). Your application will only be accepted if you complete the application procedures
through TAO during the application period. Please make sure that your application is complete bychecking all the necessary documents are uploaded and all the necessary information are filled. A pop-up
window will ask you to confirm again. Check the box and click the "Yes" button. By clicking the “Yes"button you can complete the process.

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If we have any questions about your application, our admissions staff will contact you via TAO. Please
follow their instructions.
TAO: https://admissions-office.net/en/portal(2) Application Documentsa) Photograph: The photo must have been taken within 3 months prior to the date on which you
submit your application. It must not be edited or altered in any way.
b) Certificate of Graduation (or Expected Graduation)c) Academic Transcript: A transcript issued from the university where your undergraduate degree
was conferred. The transcript must bear the university’s formal seal on it.
d) Research Plan: Describe your research plan in English using A4 size sheets of paper in 2,000
words or less.
e) Sample Research Paper written in Englishf) Photocopy of Formal Certificate of TOEFL® or TOEIC® test score or IELTS™ Band Scoreg) Letter of Reference: The letter should be written by one of your academic advisors who canaccurately evaluate your research ability. Applicants must use TAO to send a request for a letterof reference to their referee. An email will be sent to your referee from the email address
no-reply@admissions-office.net, requesting a letter of reference. Applicants are recommended to
ask their referee in advance to submit a letter of reference according to the instruction given in
the email from TAO.
h) Statement of Financial Securityi) Certificate of Residence: For applicants who are foreign residents of Japan at the time of
application and who have lived in Japan for more than 90 days. The certificate is to be issued by
the head of the local municipality, must contain your resident status and must have been issued
within 3 months prior to the date on which you submit your application.
j) Application Fee ¥30,000:
1) Applicants residing in Japan are to pay the application fee via ATM or online bank transfer.
The account information is as follows:
Bank: MUFG bank (Bank code: 0005)
Branch: Wakatake branch (Branch code: 809)
Account type: Savings account (普通)Account number: 2259370
Account holder’s name: 国立大学法人東北大学 (Kana: ﾀﾞｲ)ﾄｳﾎｸﾀﾞｲｶﾞｸ)*Please make sure to enter “KM” and your name in the payer's column.
e.g., KM ********* ******** (Your name in katakana)
Family name First name

*Please cover the bank transfer fee yourself.
*Foreign remittances cannot be made to this bank account.
*If you have paid the application fee but decide not to apply for any reason, please contact
the GSICS Office of Academic Affairs by April 12, 2024.
*Please submit a copy of the receipt, ATM receipt or a screenshot of online banking thatshows your bank account, the amount you paid, the date of transfer and the payer name.
2) Applicants residing abroad are to pay the application fee online via credit card, using theonline payment system “e-shiharai.net.”
URL: https://e-shiharai.net/ecard/5

When you make a payment in the system, please proceed as follows:* You are to pay the transfer/handling fees in addition to the application fee.
* The application fee is nonrefundable once the application has been accepted. However, if
the application is not accepted, or the application fee is accidentally paid twice, it will be
refunded to the payer’s credit account via the credit card company three months after theapplication deadline. Please contact the GSICS Office of Academic Affairs by April 12,2024. At that time, transfer/handling fees will be charged in addition to the application fee.
Refunds cannot be made if the payer’s credit card is not valid or a prepaid credit card isused.
* Please submit an image of the “Results” screen on the e-shiharai.net page.

k)3) Applicants sponsored by the Japanese government are exempted from paying the applicationfee.
A Letter of Approval: If you have a full-time job at the time of application, you must submit aletter of approval for your application and enrollment in GSICS issued by a supervisor or
manager at your place of employment.

Note 1: Application documents cannot be changed once they have been accepted.
Note 2: Applicants who have completed or will complete one of the Global 30 Future Global Leadershipprograms at Tohoku University or other universities in Japan do not need to submit document (f).
Note 3: We do not accept an IELTS™ Band Score (academic) older than two years at the time of
application. We accept a TOEFL® or TOEIC® test score older than two years at the time of
application. Applicants are strongly recommended to submit their most recent scores. We only
accept TOEFL iBT® scores from a single test date, not MyBest™ scores. We accept TOEFL
iBT® Home Edition, but we do not accept IELTS Indicator.
(3) Application Period
All application documents must be uploaded onto TAO between February 26, 2024 and April 12, 2024.
If any of them is found to contain fraudulent information, the application will be automatically rejected.
In the case that applicants make a false statement in their application documents, they may have theiradmission revoked even after admission.
Note 1: It is strongly recommended that applicants, prior to application, contact and consult theirprospective supervisors about their research plans.
Note 2: Applicants must submit the original copies of their transcripts and certificate of graduation, etc.
upon admission. Failure can result in the withdrawal of their admission.
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4. Screening Method
Applicants are screened on the basis of a comprehensive evaluation of their application documents(including their academic transcript and research plan), English proficiency (TOEFL® or TOEIC® testscore or IELTS™ Band Score) and an interview conducted on-location or online by Tohoku University
faculty members. Applicants will be notified of the details of the interview including the time and dateafter we have accepted their application documents.
5. Announcement of Acceptance and Enrollment(a) The results of the screening will be posted on the GSICS website at 5:00 pm JST on June 12, 2024.
(http://www.intcul.tohoku.ac.jp/english/admission/successful_applicants.html)(b) Documents needed for enrollment will be sent to successful applicants. All enrollment procedures are to
be completed by mid- September, 2024.
(c) Successful applicants are requested to pay the following fees at the time of registration:①Admission Fee: ¥282,000②Tuition Fee: ¥ 267,900 (half of the annual tuition fee ¥535,800)
Note1: In the case that the tuition fee is revised during your period of study, you will becharged the revised tuition fee from the date of revision.
Note 2: Information on exemption of admission or tuition fees is included in document (b).
③Insurance and other expenses: There is a ¥2,430 fee for Gakkensai and Gakkenbai insurance.
There is also a ¥23,340 fee for the foreign student insurance. In addition, there is a ¥6,000 fee forjoining the Tohoku University Alumni Association (¥4,000 for those who completed theirundergraduate studies at Tohoku University). Further details will be provided in the admission
documents. All fees are current as of October 1, 2023 and indicate the total fee for two years.
6. Long-Term Course Program
We have adopted a Long-Term Course Program for students who have difficulty completing the course in
the normal 2 years due to concurrent employment, housework, caregiving and so on. Though the Master’s
Program normally lasts 2 years, it can be extended to 4 years. Those who wish to extend their period ofstudy from 2 years to 4 years may apply to enroll as Long-Term Course Students. Note that the maximum
period of residency for the Master’s Program is 4 years. Those who wish to enroll in the Long-Term
Course Program must follow the instructions in the notification of acceptance, which will be delivered by
mail after the announcement of acceptance and submit the prescribed documents when conducting theother entrance procedures.
Coursework for students who are deemed eligible for the Long-Term Course Program is set in accordancewith the curriculum and time schedule for regular students.
The annual tuition fee for long-term course students is calculated as follows: the total amount of tuition
fees for the standard term of study (2 years) is divided across full length of the extended term of study (4years). For details, please contact the GSICS Office of Academic Affairs.
7. Handling of Personal Information(1) Personal information held by Tohoku University is handled in strict compliance with the "Act on theProtection of Personal Information (Act No. 57 of 2003)", the "Personal Information Protection
Regulations of Tohoku University" and any other relevant regulations.
(2) Personal information such as examination results used for the selection of applicants will be used forthe following purposes: (a) selection of applicants, (b) admission procedures, (c) pre-enrollment
support, (d) follow-up surveys, (e) post-enrollment support (scholarships, tuition exemption, health7care, etc.), (f) academic guidance, (g) tuition collection, (h) surveys and research (for improving theentrance exam and analyzing application trends). For applicants who are admitted to the university,
personal information from before and after the entrance examination may be analyzed together.
(3) Work related to entrance examinations and educational affairs may be performed by contractors
entrusted by the University. In the event that all or part of the personal information of applicants isprovided to the contractor, necessary measures will be taken to ensure that the information is handledappropriately in accordance with the "Personal Information Protection Regulations of Tohoku
University" and any other relevant regulations.
8. Educational Data Usage
Data, including personal information, that Tohoku University collects through its education/learning
activities and stores on its information systems (hereafter, Educational Data) is analyzed with the latest
analytical and A.I. technology and is considered vital to our implementation of evidence-based education.
Educational Data will be used effectively and appropriately in compliance with our "Statement on
Educational Data Usage," "Policy on Educational Data Usage," and "Tohoku University's 8 Principles of
Educational Data Acquisition."
After being admitted to the university, students' personal information, such as their entrance exam scoresetc., is merged with the university's Educational Data.
URL：https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/japanese/studentinfo/education/08/education0801/
9. Other Information(1) Please note that incomplete applications will not be accepted. Once your application documents arereceived, no corrections are permitted. The application fee is non-refundable.
(2) Disclosure of the examination results is available at the request of applicants during the fiscal year of
the examination.
(3) Appropriate support shall be provided for physically handicapped applicants. Please contact the GSICS
Office of Academic Affairs at your earliest convenience to let us know how we can help you.
10. Contact Information
If you have any questions, please contact us at:
Office of Academic Affairs
Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, Tohoku University
E-mail: int-kkdk@grp.tohoku.ac.jp8