Instead I've decided to share some questions I received about the DMDP (Double Master Degree Program) program from a possible future participator of the program:)
As some of you might now, Ritsumeikan is giving the opportunity for students to take two master degrees in two years through the exchange programs they have with other schools. The countries you can choose from are Korea, Spain, America, England and the Netherlands.
My choice eventually fell upon the Korean school Kyunghee, and I'm now in my second (and last) semester here.
Anyway, here are the questions about Kyunghee and the DMDP program:
1. As a DMDP student you have to do two theses. What is the work load like? What is the expected length of one thesis? (It seems this always varies from school to school I've seen from 10,000-40,000 words)
- The thesis for Ritsumeikan is up to 20,000 words. It is possible to make it a little bit longer too, but then you need to apply for it. For KyungHee the requirement is around 65 pages.
2. Do you have access to the academic materials you need or do you find it lacking?
- For KyungHee you get the books used in the classes you have registered for (including auditing) for free. They have a library here, but for a wider selection of books you better utilize the main campus library instead, as the number of books here isn't that great.
3. Is there readily available internet access in your room, or is it limited to public areas? (I like to use Skype in private with my family and friends)
- We have internet here, both in the rooms and on campus in general. In the rooms we use normal cables, but you can get free wifi for the rest of the campus through registering online with your student id.
4. I heard the accommodation fee is 3,000,000 won. What other additional fees did you have to pay?
- There is a minor student body council fee of 30.000 won which covers student activities, but that is it. (Unless you miss more than 3 morning meditations, that is..)
5.Are you satisfied with the quality of the instruction?
- I'm generally quite satisfied. We had some problems with one of the classes last semester due to some problems with the professor, but a lot of the students complained about it so hopefully the administration will improve the situation for the upcoming fall semester. Besides that I think the school offer interesting classes, and in general I think the standard of the classes is good as well.
6.Do you have any advice about the program?
- Start preparing early! In order to graduate Kyunghee's program you'll have to pass a comprehensive exam which is supposed to be quite hard (I'll be taking it in April). Normally students take this exam during their second semester, but as a DMDP student you have to take it during the second semester. There are two exams spanding over two days; one for required courses and one for major courses. You have to take 3 major classes to be eligible for the exam, but only two of the subjects actually are included in the test..
- Also, you should be aware that Kyunghee is a bit conservative regarding rules; as I mentioned in my blog you have to pay a punishment fee if you fail to participate in 3 morning meditations.
Other blogposts related to KyungHee and/or the DMDP:
A post showing pictures from our closest neighbor; the Bongseonsa Temple
About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.
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