千葉大学（ちばだいがく）の留学生数（りゅうがくせいすう）と日本（にほん）での就職希望（しゅうしょくきぼう）
The number of international students in Chiba University and their career plans

International Student Office Counter, Chiba University (February 2021)

First, how many international students are studying at Chiba University, and what do they think about their future careers? Before introducing the experiences of senior students who graduated from Chiba University and found jobs in Japanese companies, we organized some data.

As of May 1, 2020, there were 931 international students at Chiba University who had a "Student" residence status (data from the International Student Office, Chiba University). Looking at the type of program, 76% were regular students (undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students). If we also include non-regular students, such as research students and special program students, the total becomes 89% (Figure 1).

On the other hand, the total number of foreign students at Chiba University (including students with residence statuses other than "Student") was 2,328 in the 2019 academic year (International Student Office, Chiba University, 2020). Looking at the type of program, regular students (undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students) made up 38% of the total. The largest group was special auditing students, such as exchange students, who made up 40%.

Figure 1: The number of international students at Chiba University (as of May 1, 2020, by course)

At Chiba University, it has been thought that the need for job-hunting support in Japan for foreign students is not very high. This is because the number of students who get jobs in Japan has been considered "small" (60 students in the 2019 academic year). Also, about 40% of foreign students are special auditing students. Many of them have residence statuses other than "Student," such as "Temporary Visitor," and their programs are designed with the idea that they will return to their home countries. Because of this, it was believed that the need for job support was low.

On the other hand, according to the "Report on the Satisfaction Survey for International Students" (conducted by the Center for International Education, Chiba University, December 2020, response rate 24.2%), 26.5% of international students with a "Student" residence status answered that they plan to "get a job in Japan" after finishing their study abroad period. This means about one-fourth of the students want to work in Japan (Table 1-A). The next answers were "continue studying or doing research in Japan" (23.5%), "return home and get a job" (21.8%), "return home and continue studying or doing research" (14.3%), and "not sure yet" (13.4%). From these results, we can see that about half of the students hope to stay in Japan after their study period, and about half of them want to work in Japan.

Looking at the results by program type, about 70% of short-term students, who came to Japan under programs that expect them to return home, answered "return home and continue studying or doing research." In contrast, about 30% of graduate students and research/special program students answered "get a job in Japan," which is a relatively high percentage (Table 1-B). In addition, about 60% of undergraduate students answered "continue studying or doing research in Japan." This may reflect the large number of science and engineering students among undergraduate international students.

As also mentioned in "The Employment Situation of International Students at Chiba University," in the 2019 academic year, 30% (60 students) of international students found jobs in Japan after graduation or completion of their programs. These results suggest that there is a need for job-hunting support for international students at Chiba University.

表1　千葉大学での留学期間終了後の進路予定　Table 1: Plans After Finishing Study at Chiba University

A　Overall

B　By Program Type

Source: Center for International Education, Chiba University (2020). "Report on the Satisfaction Survey for International Students" (unpublished).

【参考】　Reference

• Virtual Tour of Chiba University (Campus introduction video for students who want to study at Chiba University)
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zoMlVj5Etk
• Chiba University International Support Desk (ISD) Japanese site
  /international/isd/index.html
• Chiba University International Support Desk (ISD) English site
  /international/isd/en/index.html

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