Highlights
The Courses: Windows on the Global Community and World Conditions
The increasing pace of globalization and multicultural diversification now present students with complex new challenges as well as unique opportunities. The GTS program believes students who seek active careers in international affairs must have an integrated general knowledge of these shifting conditions. They will also need to understand the impact of cultural differences in global issues.
The department’s curriculum will offer its students a trancultural and multi-disciplinary approach to international studies. “Global Studies” courses offer thematic treatments of worldwide issues, and introductions to the major academic disciplines. The “Transcultural Studies” cluster examines the regional impact of global integration. Courses in this rubric also focus on the politics, economics, and culture of specific areas. There is heavy emphasis on Asian and Japanese topics that are appealing foreign students from Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The GTS Experience: Intellectual Engagement in Small yet Culturally Diverse Classes
The GTS Department believes a multi-cultural learning environment is vital to it global studies program. It accepts motivated applicants from Japanese high schools and other educational systems from around the world. The program then integrates these culturally and linguistically diverse students by placing them into interactive classroom environments. Exchange programs also play a major role the GTS educational process. At present MGU’s Faculty of International Studies host twenty-five students from the University of California. They will study in the GTS program, and the Department plans to enroll up to forty exchange students per term.
Lively and extensive student-faculty interaction is another focal point of the GTS experience. Unlike the large lecture format used by many Japanese universities, the GTS Department strongly emphasizes the small classroom environment. Every individual will thus have daily opportunities to engage the faculty and other students in classroom discussions.
English will be main language of instruction and the Department will offer its Academic English Program to further enhance every student’s intellectual growth. Supplemental course instruction will be in Japanese. As a result, all GTS classes will offer students a bilingual learning environment.
Extensive English Language Education
The GTS program believes academic literacy and language competence are mutually reinforcing elements in the liberal arts education that is core of the GTS experience. Since the students have diverse language backgrounds, the GTS Department is committed to helping each student develop competency in English. During the first two years, student take courses in the Academic English Program to enhance their reading, writing and speaking skills.
However, in keeping with the department’s overall educational goals, the AEP courses are not mere “English language classes.” Instead, the program uses a content-based approach to English instruction. Class materials include topics from history, cultural studies, economics and other subjects in the GTS curriculum. This method helps students to enhance their technical language skills, and to apply these abilities to other areas of study. Furthermore, the AEP courses strongly emphasize the development of critical thinking and self-expression skills to prepare students for advanced course work.
Since the department expects every student to study abroad for six months to a year, or participate in a long-term internship, it also provides a program to help students to achieve required TOEFL scores.
This emphasis on English as the primary language of instruction offers unique opportunities for intellectual growth, but it presents challenges as well. The GTS Department is well aware of this, and it has designed the AEP to support students as they pursue their academic goals.
Double Degree Program
This is a special study abroad program designed for strongly motivated students who seek an exceptional multilingual and multicultural educational experience. Through an agreement between MGU and San Francisco State University (SFSU) in California, GTS students who are admitted to the program will spend 1.5 to 2.5 years at MGU, and then study for 1.5~2 years at SFSU. Upon their return to Japan, and the completion of at least one more term at MGU, they will receive undergraduate degrees from both universities.
Please see the link below for details.
http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~kcareer/en/academics/double_degree.html
The Study Abroad or Internship Requirement
Study abroad and internships provide students with highly effective opportunities to prepare for active careers in the global community. MGU has exchange agreements with a number of foreign universities in Asia, Europe, and North America. The duration of these programs range from one term to a full academic year; all GTS students may apply to them. The Department also strongly encourages its students to consider long-term internships in Japan or overseas. Students with Japanese educational backgrounds in particular are generally expected to take foreign internships.
The Academic Advisor System
Students with diverse interests are able to take a wide range of interdisciplinary courses in the GTS Department. To maximize the program’s potential benefits, each student works with an Academic Adviser to create a systematic and effective course plan. Students are thus able to seek individualized guidance from a trusted faculty member at any time during MGU career. Students may consult their advisors on all educational matters ranging simple questions over course selections to plans for study abroad or an internship.
Education for the Future: An Emphasis on Life and Career Planning
The department believes students will become more academically motivated when they define their career goals and understand their educational needs. In the second year, every student will take Life and Career Design A & B. The instructor will work with students to identify career paths and other possible areas of activity following graduation. The course will also sponsor talks by outside speakers. These forums will stimulate students by offering them unique chances to engage figures with active international careers.
Emphasis on Project-based Learning and Service-Learning
The “Project-based Learning” method provides motivated students with another means to acquire technical knowledge, analytic skills and practical experience. The GTS Department encourages students to develop long-term projects in which they define the main issues, formulate a study plan, and conduct independent research. The students then present their findings with a written analysis or public presentation. For example, a student might study the methods and benefits of chemical-free farming, develop a marketing method, and then provide that information to local farmers.
In “Service-Learning,” students participate in a local community service organization for a specified period, and then prepare a report on their activities. This is not merely a form of volunteer activity. The GTS program expects students in a service-learning project to apply knowledge from the classroom towards the resolution of a real-world issue. By grappling with some of the difficult problems facing modern societies, students develop their emotional intelligence, gain new insights on their studies at MGU, and reflect upon their future career paths.
