Faculty of Economics: Educational Objectives and Human Resource Development Objectives

In the midst of economic globalization, advances in information telecommunications technology, and other such factors, today´s economies have become extremely complicated. The first educational objective in the Department of Economics is to instill the fundamentals of economics as a field of learning that are necessary for understanding the basic mechanisms of economies that have grown more complex. The second educational objective, then, is to apply those fundamental academic skills to real economic problems so as to develop their sense of economic studies and the ability to apply their skills relevantly to problems found in reality.

For students to achieve these objectives, it is essential that they study independently to build their own appropriate understanding of a variety of different economic phenomena. The Department of Economics provides a curriculum that is primarily focused on cultivating such a stance of independent learning in order to send out into the world graduates who are autonomous economic players.

A bachelor of arts degree in economics is conferred on students who acquire 128 credits in the prescribed academic curriculum and who possess the following abilities:

• The ability to deal with real problems from the viewpoint of economics, based on an understanding of the mechanism of economic systems that are growing increasingly more complex in the context of advancing internationalization and informatization. In other words, degree candidates will have learned the fundamentals of economic theory and in addition will have acquired a variety of knowledge concerning specific economic phenomena in the present and the past, thereby becoming independent economic players who understand social and economic phenomena in the midst of change, and who have the ability to make an independent choice of methods for addressing problems.

The knowledge needed to work from the viewpoint of economics to conduct objective analysis of various different problems faced in actual society is taught from the perspectives of economic theory, historical relationships, and policy and institutions. By means of seminars and their graduation thesis, students are guided in the conduct of independent research based on their own interest in and concerns regarding the questions involved. The academic curriculum is configured so that as students engage in this kind of study of economics, they can also acquire the knowledge of information processing technology that is essential in an advanced information-oriented society together with the communication skills that are necessary in an internationalized society. In this regard, the academic curriculum is designed to provide a wide range of alternatives in order to support the diverse needs of our students.

In the first year, students are provided introductory courses in economics so that they can acquire the basics of theory, history, contemporary analysis, and other such subjects. From the second year, three specialized courses (Policy Analysis Course, Corporate and Institutional Design Course, and Global Studies Course) are provided so that students can pursue more specialized study according to their own purposes.

Policy Analysis Course:
This course adopts systematic, cumulative educational methods to guide students toward a grasp of market economy perspectives, in which competitive marketplaces are augmented by public policy, and to pursue study of the theories and policies involved so as to build up from the fundamentals to more specialized understanding in a phased sequential manner. In this way, students are helped to cumulatively build their ability to think theoretically about economic problems from the foundations up, and to cultivate practical abilities to apply their approaches in the real world.

Corporate and Institutional Design Course:
Market economies do not operate only by market transactions, but also function through corporate organization as well as by laws, rules, and other such institutional systems. This course is based upon specific, relevant cases that present questions about the role of corporate organization and the design of institutional systems of laws and rules. The relationship between economics and the law, the structure of governance and incentives in organizations, and other such subjects are included. The efficiency of market economies can vary with patterns of legal frameworks and corporate organization. Corporate organization and their economic environments are not givens, but it is understood rather that they can undergo mutual adjustment and can shape one another. The course aims to develop human resources that, while being situated in a corporation or other organization, are capable of strategically conceptualizing the interrelationship between the economic environment and the market.

Global Studies Course:
The course fosters understanding of various aspects of economies in terms of the historically and geographically diverse institutions and environments that are emerging and expanding on a global scale. For example, questions of global economic expansion, borderless expansion, and time-spanning phenomena that extend from the past through the present and into the future. The curriculum is arranged so that students can study fundamental economic theory in order to deal with economic globalization, and at the same time, workshop (experiential learning) and numerous other types of courses with a variety of approaches are provided so that students can study the actual economic phenomena occurring in the real world, present and past, in accordance with the students´ own interest in and concerns regarding the questions involved. The aim of the course is to develop human resources that are able to act in a variety of different business communities that are undergoing global expansion.

Based upon our educational objectives, we seek people of the following description as prospective students.

1. Having an understanding of the basic content of Japanese language, foreign language, civics, history, mathematics, and other such subjects studied in high school.
2. Having an interest in a variety of questions regarding the present and the past, including economic questions, and motivated to independently explore those questions in accordance with their own interest in and concerns regarding the questions involved.
3. Participating actively in seminars and workshops, and placing importance on communication with other people.

The educational objective of the Department of Business Administration is to develop human resources possessing the ability to think deeply and understand the various fields of business administration, commerce, and accounting, and at the same time endowed with the ability to take a transverse view of the various fields that cuts laterally across them. In order to achieve this objective, the business administration field offers courses in three areas, namely courses that focus on economic theory, courses that cultivate information analysis skills, and courses centered on case analysis. We provide a systematic curriculum that conveys the knowledge that is essential for analysis and understanding of business activities in all three of these areas. In the commerce field, we offer systematic lecture courses on theory together with seminar-type courses that are empirical and practical to provide the necessary knowledge for marketing the products and services created by businesses. In the accounting field, we offer a curriculum that enables students to systematically study the theoretical and technical aspects of information systems that record, calculate, and report business activity in terms of the movements of money.

A bachelor of arts degree in business administration is conferred on students who acquire 124 credits in the prescribed academic curriculum and who possess the following abilities:

• Wide-ranging cultivation and fundamental knowledge of the areas of business administration, commerce, and accounting, together with the ability to grasp them transversely in a manner that cuts across all three areas.
• The practical abilities required of a conscientious business person (a well-established stance of independence, information processing skills, appropriate judgment based on knowledge and experience, and the ability to build smooth relationships with other people).

In order to cultivate conscientious business people, the Department of Business Administration has organized an introductory course cluster, a core course cluster, a seminar-type course cluster, and a practical course cluster. These are provided to enable systematic and phased study of the three areas of business administration, marketing, and accounting from the first through the fourth years.

• In the business administration field, we provide courses that focus on business administration theory and courses that develop information analysis skills in a systematic academic curriculum that also enables students to acquire the knowledge and engage in the case analysis that is essential for analysis and understanding of business activities.
• In the commerce field, we provide an academic curriculum with systematic and theoretical lecture courses together with empirical and practical seminar-type courses that convey the knowledge required in marketing products and services created by businesses.
• In the accounting field, we provide an academic curriculum that enables systematic theoretical and technical study of the information systems that record, calculate, and report on business activities in terms of the movement of money.

Course are provides so that students in the first year can study the fundamentals of these three fields, and from the second year on, they can take courses with theoretical content as well as practical courses. In parallel with this arrangement, seminar-type courses with small numbers of students are made available from the first year to create opportunities for active two-way learning. The curriculum includes courses (internships) that involve workshops conducted at corporations and other such locations so that students can engage in learning inside and outside the classroom.

The Department of Business Administration seeks people of the following description as prospective students.

1. Having an understanding of the basic content of Japanese language, foreign language, civics, history, mathematics, and other such subjects studied in high school.
2. Having an interest in a variety of questions regarding the present and the past, including economic questions, and motivated to independently explore those questions.
3. Participating actively in seminars and workshops, and placing importance on communication with other people.

The Department of Business Administration utilizes a variety of different entrance examination systems in order to recruit people of the above description who have an interest in the three areas of business administration.

Of applicants who take general entrance examinations, we admit those who have solid academic competence in the content of their high school studies, and of applicants who take entrance examinations for recommended candidates, we admit those who are highly motivated to seek admission to this department and whose high school academic records (and communication skills) are favorable. We also conduct exchange student entrance examinations for privately-financed foreign students in order to more actively recruit exchange students.

As world economies become progressively more borderless, corporations and other organizations are experiencing greater demand than ever before for human resources capable of working in international settings. The educational objectives of the Department of International Business are to respond to the demands of the new era by developing the fundamental academic skills to achieve a correct understanding of the various problems of corporations in a global market environment. At the same time, the department also seeks to heighten the international communication skills for effective utilization of those skills in business.

In order to achieve these objectives, the Department of Department of International Business offers a basic curriculum that develops the core academic competence required to analyze corporations. In addition, the department also offers a curriculum for learning about international markets and market institutions as well as the adaptive responses made by corporations. We train global managers who are well-versed in the languages of other countries and in the realities of international business.

A bachelor of arts degree in international business is conferred on students who acquire 124 credits in the prescribed academic curriculum and who possess the following abilities:

• Wide-ranging knowledge of economics and business administration in the context of rapidly progressing globalization of corporate activities, and, predicated upon a correct understanding of the various problems faced by corporations in a global market environment, the ability to express one´s own thinking not only in Japanese but also in English.
• The ability, founded in an advanced sense of ethics, to always reflect critically on one´s own words and deeds.
• The ability to understand differing values and cultural backgrounds and to take an active part in affairs from a global perspective.

The Department of International Business graduation requirement is 124 credits, and our academic curriculum is organized with a focus on developing the basic academic skills to gain a correct understanding of the various problems faced by corporations in a global market environment, enhancing the communication skills needed to make effective use of that understanding in business, and, through seminars and the graduation thesis, gaining the ability to conduct independent research on problems in international economics and business administration.

More specifically, the curriculum is made up of a basic course cluster for the acquisition of broad knowledge relating to economics and business administration, a management and strategy course cluster that is essential for analyzing corporations, an accounting and finance course cluster that is essential for analyzing the international markets and international institutions in which corporations are involved, a trade and industry course cluster, a specialized foreign language cluster that is essential for heightening communication skills, a business communication and research cluster, and a study abroad program course cluster that enhances international communication skills.

In the first year, the basic course cluster includes an introduction to business, an introduction to accounting, an introduction to trade, principles of economics, and law for business. The purpose of these is to develop basic academic competence. At the same time, students are required to take English for Business Communication in the specialized foreign language cluster to heighten English communication skills and to develop the ability to play an active part in international business circles.

In the second and third years, a variety of courses are provided in the management and strategy, accounting and finance, and trade and industry courses, ranging from introductory to applied courses.

In addition, a foundation seminar is held in the first year, and seminar courses in business communication and research are held in the third and fourth years, in order to develop the ability to conduct independent research and give presentations concerning global business activities, and to improve self-expression skills. A variety of different training programs held in other countries are also made available from the first year on to improve English-language communication skills.

It is hoped that applicants will have acquired or expect to acquire the credits necessary for high school graduation, and that they will have shown considerable ability in Japanese language and English language subjects. It is also hoped that they will have excelled in their study of world history, Japanese history, or mathematics.

It is hoped that candidates will have an interest in questions regarding economics and business, and that they possess the motivation to explore these and other matters independently as well as understanding different values and cultural contexts.