5 Big Differences Between Italian Universities and Japanese Universities

1 Entrance exam

Italian universities do not have entrance exams. Only a few faculties (such as medical faculties) have entrance exams. In the case of Japan, all universities have entrance exams. For this reason, Japanese students study the most in their third year of high school to prepare for university entrance exams. In the case of Italy, there was a high school graduation exam at that time, that is, in the fifth year of high school, and students are studying hard for it. If you have a low score on the high school graduation exam, you will be limited in the types of jobs you can apply for, even if you do get a job immediately after graduating from high school. Italian high school is 5 years, Japan is 3 years. There is an entrance exam to enter a Japanese high school. In Italy, there is no high school entrance exam.

2 number of universities

In Italy, “studying in Pisa” is synonymous with “studying at the University of Pisa”. In other words, there are so many cities in Italy that only one national university exists in one city. In Japan, “studying in Osaka” and “studying at Osaka University” are completely different. The latter is the best national university in Osaka. Besides that, there are about 50 universities in Osaka. I wrote “excellent university”, which means that the entrance exam is the most difficult university.

3 College period

In Italy, the university is three years. However, there are strict conditions for graduation, so many students study for 4 or 5 years. In Japan, the university is four years. Admission is tough, but graduation is easy compared to Italy.

4 credits (CFU) and exams

Italian universities approach graduation by taking what CFU Japan calls credits. However, in the case of Italy, everyone must take the same classes and collect all the CFUs before they can graduate (in other words, they must take all classes and pass all exams). I have). However, in the case of Japan, students can choose their favorite classes, and if they earn a certain number of credits, they can graduate. Therefore, even if you do not pass several exams, you can graduate if the total amount of credits is above a certain level.

5 Class attendance

In Italy, it is not mandatory to attend all classes. To put it in extreme terms, you don’t have to go to university even once. However, you must pass the exam. In the case of Japan, it is desirable to attend all classes, and there is a system that gives a certain grade at the time of examination just by following. For Japanese students, attending class is an excellent opportunity to show their interest, motivation, and attitude toward class. In the case of Italy, for example, if you failed the previous year but understand the content well, you do not need to attend the class. Passing the exam is everything.