PS The Academic Statement of Purpose should be a concise and clearly written essay that discusses your previous academic experience, your current academic interests, what you would like to study in the MA program, and how this degree relates to your overall academic and career goals.  The Statement should address as specifically as possible any interest(s) in disciplinary fields, topics, regions, and/or time periods, and your experience studying the Japanese language.  Please be aware that you are being evaluated on the quality of the writing as well as the content of the essay. (詳見 http://www.ii.umich.edu/cjs/students/master-s-programs/application-materials.html) CV Please include your academic experience (all postsecondary institutions attended, including any study abroad programs), work experience (including any summer and part time jobs and internships), teaching and research interests and experience, professional affiliations, publications if any, and community involvement (e.g., any club activities and/or volunteer activities). The page limit is four pages.  Note to international applicants: Please prepare your résumé using US Letter size paper, not A4; otherwise, the online application system will not format your résumé correctly. The online Rackham Graduate Program Application contains a section that allows you to upload your Curriculum Vitae. Please note that the online application system only accepts documents with file types of PDF (Portable Document Format), DOC (Microsoft Word document), or DOCX (Microsoft Word document).  Please prepare your Personal Statement in one of these file formats. For more information on acceptable file formats and how to convert files to one of these formats, please see this Rackham webpage. Fee All students completing the Rackham Graduate Program Application will be asked to pay an application fee or apply for a fee waiver. The amount depends on your status (new or current Rackham student; US citizen/permanent resident or international student).  The application fee is paid by credit card on the online application before the application is submitted. Details about the Rackham application fee and payment method can be found here. RL Three (3) academic letters of recommendation are required. You should ask people who know you well and can speak to your academic abilities (such as your ability to think critically, to analyze problems/issues, to express yourself clearly in writing and speech, etc.) to be your recommenders. In most cases, academic letters of recommendation should be completed by instructors who have taught you in a course or supervised you academically for honors theses or research projects.  These recommendations should be completed by instructors of "content" courses rather than language instructors (language recommendation is discussed in the next section).  A Japanese language instructor may be included as one of the three recommenders if he/she is a regular instructor (professor or lecturer, not teaching assistant) at an institution of higher education, or at a Japanese language program or study abroad program intended for US college students (e.g., Middlebury Japanese School, IUC, KCJS, AKP, etc.).  Furthermore, this person must be able to speak to your general academic abilities and performance in English in addition to your Japanese language proficiency and skills.  If you are currently not enrolled in school, you may also ask your current or former employer or work supervisor to complete this recommendation, but please be sure to ask this person to discuss your academic abilities.  In all cases, at least one letter must come from an academic setting.  All academic recommendations should be written in English. （詳見 http://www.ii.umich.edu/cjs/students/master-s-programs/application-materials.html） Transcript A. Official Transcript(s) for Rackham Please send one official transcript from all final degree granting institutions ONLY (that is, institutions from which you actually received, or will receive your bachelor's, master's and/or other postsecondary degree) directly to the Rackham School of Graduate Studies admissions office for its admission evaluation. Do NOT send to Rackham any transcripts from junior college, summer session, or study abroad.  Please see the Rackham web page on webpage on transcripts for instructions on how to send the official transcript to Rackham. B. Official Transcript(s) for CJS CJS requires additional non-degree transcripts that are not required by Rackham Admissions.  Please send directly to the Center for Japanese Studies one copy each of official transcripts from each of the following types of postsecondary institutions you attended: Study abroad programs to Japan, including summer, one term, or academic year Any additional institutions such as junior colleges, summer sessions, or college-level extension courses in which you studied the Japanese language or took courses related to Japanese studies.  (Transcripts from institutions at which you did NOT take Japanese language or Japan-related courses are not necessary.)