The average age of Yamasa's students reflects the higher levels of academic and professional achievement by the student body. In 1999-2000 the average age of students with student visas was 26.8 years. For students in short term courses the statistics were similar, though with more seasonal variation.

The average and median age of Yamasa's student body is reported to be substantially higher than that of most APJLE accredited schools - however we have no way of accumulating reliable statistics as the ages of students are not collated nationally. All of the anecdotal evidence with have been able to receive and the fact that the majority of our students have already commenced or completed university suggests a more mature age student body than most Japanese language schools and university based Japanese programs ("Bekka").

Table 1. Age distribution of students.

As you can see from Table 1, around 15% of Yamasa's students are aged 23 or younger. By comparison just over 18% are aged 30 or older. The main reason for this is the higher level of education. The median age is 27, the average age is 26.8. In 1999-2000, enrollments produced a student body which is 52.3% Male and 47.7% Female. This is similar to previous years and while there is always some fluctuation from year to year it is rarely more than 5% each way. There is a minimum age of 18, that can be waived only under special circumstances. There is no maximum age limit, and some of Yamasa's students have been in their 70's.

Table 2. Age distribution of female students.

The profile of the female students enrolled in Yamasa's programs indicates a slightly younger average age than the student body as a whole. A higher percentage of females are currently enrolled university students than is the case with the male students. There is also a slightly higher tendency to be aiming for undergraduate positions or placement into specialized vocational courses in fields such as fashion, apparell and design. The median age is 25, the average age is 25.2. Some 22% of the female students are aged 23 or less, compared with 15% for the student body as a whole.

Table 3. Age distribution of male students.

The profile of the male students enrolled in Yamasa's programs indicates an older average age than the student body as a whole. The median age is 27, the average age is 28.3 - due to the mature age students. Just over 35% of the male students are aged 30 or higher, compared with 18% for the student body as a whole. A slightly higher proportion of students holding Masters and Doctoral degrees are male, and the number of male professionals taking an extended break is higher. Another reason appears to be the military service requirements of Korea and Taiwan - the result being that male students tend to complete their undergraduate degrees later than their female peers.

For more details regarding Yamasa's students, please click on each of the link buttons on the left hand side of this page.

Questions regarding this file...

If any of the information in this file is unclear, or if you need more detailed information, please write to Mr Declan Murphy (Director, International Office) at faq@yamasa.org Please write from students_age_gender.html in the subject field so that we know which html file needs updating. Your question and the answer will be included here. Your email address will not be listed.