About
Graduate School Overview
From Graduate School of Foreign Languages to Graduate School of Humanities
In April 2024, the current Graduate School of Foreign Languages will be reorganized as the Graduate School of Humanities. This is to establish a graduate school based on the two undergraduate programs, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Faculty of Cross-Cultural and Japanese Studies, so that graduates of the two faculties can proceed to the graduate school. The name of the Graduate School of Humanities emphasizes the philosophy of humanities which delves into the essence of human nature, which is a common academic characteristic shared by the two undergraduate faculties.
Establishment of three courses by creating Course of Japanese Cultural Studies
The Course in European and American Languages and Cultures and the Course of Chinese Language and Culture in the current Graduate School of Foreign Languages will remain as they are for the 2024 academic year and beyond. However, International Japan Studies, which is currently part of the Course in European and American Languages and Cultures, will be expanded and newly established as the Course of Japanese Cultural Studies. As a result, there will be three courses in the Graduate School of Humanities: the Course in European and American Languages and Cultures, Course of Chinese Language and Culture, and Course of Japanese Cultural Studies. This enables students to expand their research areas to include Western regions including South America and Australia, China and East Asia, and Japan, and to conduct comparative studies with Japan as the focal point, encompassing various regions in Europe, America, China, and East Asia. The courses are integrally linked with the academic disciplines of the humanities (linguistics, literature, philosophy, religious studies, arts and culture studies, history and social sciences, and language education), allowing for in-depth research that delves into the essence of human nature by utilizing various regions as the starting point of study.
Courses and research fields
Based on the philosophy of humanities, the Graduate School of Humanities aims to provide students with expert knowledge in linguistics, literature, philosophy, religious studies, arts and culture studies, history and social sciences, and language education, and other fields, as well as a broad perspective and the capability to conduct research based on creative thinking, through in-depth study and understanding of diverse cultures in Japan and around the world. For this purpose, the Course in European and American Languages and Cultures will be reorganized into four specializations: Linguistics, Language Education and Applied Linguistics, Literature and Philosophy, and History and Social Sciences. The Course of Chinese Language and Culture will maintain the two specializations of Chinese Language and Chinese History and Culture, while the Course of Japanese Cultural Studies will be divided into five specializations of Japanese Linguistics, Japanese Literature, Japanese Culture Studies, Japanese Thought and Japanese Education to cultivate expert knowledge. The following diagram illustrates the change in the organization of education and research from the Graduate School of Foreign Languages to the Graduate School of Humanities.
Achievement of an interdisciplinary curriculum model across courses
Students select one of the three courses above and belong to that course. By taking lecture classes within the course they select, students will acquire advanced knowledge in the academic field in their chosen fields of study. At the same time, students can take other lecture classes across different courses. This allows them to conduct systematic research in their field of specialization and to approach their research subjects from a broader perspective by incorporating a comparative perspective. By combining course enrollment in the selected course with course enrollment across different courses, students will be able to generate new perspectives and creative thinking based on a deep understanding of the selected academic field.
Available qualifications
Students can obtain a specialized license for teaching English in junior high school and a specialized license for teaching English in high school in the Course in European and American Languages and Cultures as before. From the 2024 academic year, students will be able to obtain a specialized license for teaching Japanese in junior high school and a specialized license for teaching Japanese in high school in the Course of Japanese Cultural Studies (click here for more details).
