Department of Political Science
Department of Juridical Studies
Department of Current Legal Studies
Department of Global Legal Studies
Department of Political Science
Giving students the specialized, practical skills to discover, debate, and solve problems
Politics is the process by which the members of a society make and implement collective decisions in order to solve the problems that they face. Addressing these political problems demands a scientific approach, historical understanding, and conceptual skills rooted in philosophy or ideology. The Department of Political Science nurtures educated political citizens with the all-around decision-making and critical thinking skills, courage, and empathy to work toward solving such problems.
Department of Political Science
Key Features of the Department of Political Science
Point 01 Three fields of study adapted to future career paths
The Department has only two required courses: Intro Seminar of Political Science and Elements of Political Sciences. After mastering the foundations of political science in their first year, students choose freely from courses in three areas of study: Governance, covering public policy and local politics; Media and Politics, covering polimetrics and the media; and International Politics, covering international relations and diplomacy.
Point 02 Student-led political debates and lectures by politicians
Students plan and run political debates and lectures by politicians for students in lower years on themes determined by the students themselves. The Department of Political Science has a tradition that all students take responsibility for all aspects of these events, from choosing which politicians to invite to negotiating with them on arrangements and taking charge of the running of the event on the day.
Point 03 Enriched small-group education and research activities
We emphasize small-group education, starting with learning fundamentals in the first year, engaging in fieldwork in the second year, and moving on to exercises and writing a graduation thesis in the third and fourth years. We provide students with many opportunities to learn from each other and receive personalized guidance from faculty. In research activities based on students’ own interests, they confront the reality of politics through interviews and hands-on activities at sites such as congressional representatives’ offices, government agencies, media organizations, NPOs, and NGOs
Program Structure
In small-group basics seminars during their first year, students develop their ability to learn independently while strengthening their discussion and presentation skills. In their second year, students begin specialized studies in earnest, also conducting field research with one-on-one guidance from a faculty member. In the third and fourth years, learning focuses on inquiry through seminars. Themes covered range from local issues to international politics, and many unique seminars are available, such as hands-on overseas training or participating in a nationwide competition in which university students compete in public policy making.
Topics
Polimetric Analysis
What kinds of countries tend to democratize, what triggers civil wars, and are local governments in Japan reducing waiting lists for daycare services? Students will learn tools to quantitatively understand political phenomena such as these, statistically analyzing them while considering the importance of finding causal relationships.
Public Policy
With the goal of addressing various social problems that arise in society, students will learn about the reality of social problems and the nature of public policy, which are solutions based on policy theory. We will also consider the roles of government, business, and non-profit organizations in such solutions.