Department of Political Science

Political Science

• Content and Characteristics
• Four-Year Program Flow
• Key Points about the Department of Political Science
• Educational Objectives and Human Resource Development Objectives

Content and Characteristics

Thorough research of topics in small seminars

In the Department of Political Science, you can settle down to four years of solid studies in small groups. Immediately after entering the university, students refine their debating and presentation skills in a Political Science Foundation Seminar, and in the second year, they pursue on-site study through fieldwork. In the third year, you select a seminar group that suits your own topic, and join with people who have the same interests for study building up to writing the graduation thesis in the fourth year.

Developmental study of three fields according to employment and career plans

After taking Principles of Political Science in the first year to form a foundation in political science, you proceed to developmental and systematic study of the three fields of Governance, on topics of public policy and regional politics, Global Politics, on topics of international relations and diplomacy, and The Media and Politics, on topics of polimetrics and mass media. There are also lectures by practitioners, allowing you to learn directly from instructors who are playing active roles in the forefront of their various fields.

Four-Year Program Flow

First year: Foundation seminars start in the first year. Learn by debating in small groups

• Foundation seminars start in first year
• Hold seminar debate meetings
• Computer Literacy and Academic Literacy instill foundation skills for learning

Second year: Acquire foundation in specialized subjects and pursue study of practice in the field through one-on-one instruction from a faculty member

• Acquire foundation in specialized subjects
• Gain field experience and conduct field studies through one-on-one work with a faculty member in the Fieldwork course
• Plan and conduct debate meetings

Third and fourth years: Specialized research and discussion in full-fledged seminars, writing of graduation thesis, theoretical and practical learning from lectures by practitioners

• Development study through specialized courses
• Specialized studies and research in full-fledged seminar courses, writing graduation thesis, holding presentations and debates, travel for training in Japan and other countries, presentations and debates on and off campus
• Job-seeking experience through Internship courses

Key Points about the Department of Political Science

Career building through university learning that ties in with real world settings

In collaboration with the Yomiuri Shimbun, a full range of lectures by practitioners is offered, with instructors including Diet members, civil servants, and members of corporations, international agencies, and non-profit and non-governmental organizations (NPO, NGO).

• ● Lecture series by practitioners
  We offer lecture series that enable study while experiencing the actuality of politics and public administration. These include Lectures on Minato Ward Administration by local government employees, Diet Member Lectures by Diet members and Diet Member Secretary Lectures by their secretaries, and Lectures on International Careers by employees of international NGOs and other organizations.


• ● Lecture series in collaboration with the Yomiuri Shimbun
  This department has obtained the cooperation of the Tokyo head office of the Yomiuri Shimbun to offer the Yomiuri Shimbun Lectures in Support of Education. You can attend the General Lecture 1, which is presented by executives of the Yomiuri Shimbun speaking in succession, English for Current Events, given by a newspaper reporter who uses The Japan News to teach how to read English-language newspapers, and Yomiuri Career Formation Lectures, which gives lessons on article writing and other subjects to students who want to work in mass media.


• ● Fieldwork
  Following up the topic you have set yourself, you can make visits to election locations and political parties, government agencies, television broadcasters, and other such destinations for interviews and other activities that bring you into contact with real-world situations. With individual instruction from faculty members, you will read the related literature and ultimately write a research report of 10,000 characters or more in Japanese.


• ● Learning the realities of society
  Internship A and B are organized as workshop courses giving employment experience.


• ● Freshers Camp
  At Freshers Camp, opposing seminar teams hold student debates and famous politicians come to give lectures. It is a Department of Political Science tradition that the students themselves produce these events. The camp can develop your flexible adaptivity for dealing with real-world problems.