Diploma in Japanese has 2 meanings. They can be translated into "Senmonshi"(Japanese:専門士), the Japanese original academic degree, and the certificate of graduation.

Usage

Japanese original academic degree

The first meaning is a Japanese original academic degree given to people who had spent more than 2 years and successfully completed a particular specialized course of study at the

vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

certified by Japanese educational ministry. This academic degree was established in 1994 to improve the graduates' reputation and to promote lifelong learning. This is called "''Senmonshi''"(専門士) which means a specialist or an expert in Japanese. Its level is equal to associate or

foundation degree A foundation degree is a combined academic and vocational qualification in higher education in the United Kingdom, equivalent to two-thirds of an honours bachelor's degree. Foundation degrees were introduced by the Department for Education and ...

given by the junior college. The name of academic degree in English was translated into " technical associate" in the past. The vocational schools in this article mean a "''Senmon-gakkō''" (専門学校) which means a professional training college and a "''Senshū-gakkō''" (専修学校) which means a specialized training colleges.

Courses

* Technology (工業) * Agriculture (農業) * Medical Care (医療) * Personal Care and Nutrition (衛生) * Education and Welfare (教育・社会福祉) * Business (商業実務) * Fashion and Home Economics (服飾・家政) * Culture and General Education (文化・教養) * Music (音楽)

Requirements

*To spend the school-life more than 2 years at the certified vocational schools. *To spend the more than 1700 lessons (about 1416 hours which are equal to about 63 credits in a

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and a

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

) before the graduation. *To pass the examinations assigned by the certified vocational schools.

Certificate of Graduation

Diploma of gradution of junior high school in Japan

The second meaning is documents of certificate of graduation or deed of Graduation issued by the educational institutions, such as an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, a

junior high school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes ...

, a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, and a

, which testified that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study, or confers an academic degree. This is called a "Sotsugyō Shōsho" (Japanese:卒業証書) which literally means the certificate of graduation.

References