KOSEN: 5-year Engineering Education Starting from Age 15

The “Kosen” system is a formal Japanese education system that started in 1962, during the period of the rapid economic growth of Japan, responding to the needs of industries. The students are accepted to Kosen colleges at the age 15 and engaged in intensive engineering education for five years up to the age 20. The result of a questionnaire investigation to industries indicates that Kosen graduates are evaluated as superior, compared to graduates of engineering courses of universities, in knowledge and skills of specialized fields, sincerity, responsibility, competence in using computers, capability of completing projects, and challenging mind, while they are regarded as inferior in communication, presentation and linguistic competence, comprehensiveness, common sense, leadership, and mental independence. In 2007, the OECD higher education review mission visited Matsue Kosen College as a part of their comprehensive review for Japanese higher education system, and highly acclaimed this system as unique and one of the successful examples of higher education system in OECD countries. In this article, this unique education system is surveyed.