Department of Global and
Transcultural Studies

Department of International Studies
Department of Global and Transcultural Studies

Today, as we see the society around us undergoing progressive globalization and the international environment changing dramatically, we wonder what kind of human resources will be needed in Japan and in the world. The Department of Global and Transcultural Studies looks at this question head on, and seeks to educate people who will perform brilliantly in the international community of the 21st century. This department provides an international environment that brings together students from around the world. There we foster advanced cross-cultural communication skills based on English language ability, instill the perspective of interdisciplinary approaches to a correct understanding of present-day society, and develop practical abilities that enable people to independently participate in and contribute to solving a variety of different problems.

International Studies

Content and Characteristics

In principle, all courses conducted in English

With the Academic English Program (AEP), thoroughgoing education in the English language is given even to those students who feel uncertain about their English ability when they enter the university. After that, the specialized education for students includes a total of 44 lecture courses in English (19 courses in the Lower Division and 25 in the Upper Division) and 12 seminar courses, providing a wide range of subjects that can be studied in English.

Education conducted consistently in small groups in all courses (lecture courses and seminar courses)

In this department, not only do we seek to conduct education in small groups with finely tailored content, but we make the effort to provide interactive education in a truly international environment. From the beginning, courses proceed by interactive communication between instructors and students as their foundation.

Emphasis on learning that instills career awareness

The department has an academic advisor system in place that provides curriculum guidance together with life and career guidance, starting with first-year guidance, that instills awareness of your own life and career design. From the last semester of the first year, foundation courses in life and career design are taken as a requirement to make you more fully aware of your own future occupation and direction, and to encourage realization of what is needed to realize your design. This is followed by opportunities for a variety of full-fledged internships in Japan and other countries.

Emphasize learning through profound international experience

Finally, this department provides all students with opportunities to learn through densely-packed international experience. Examples are the double degree program we have with an American university, the variety of foreign study programs, our internship system, and our field studies system. The first of these, the double degree program, is provided to students in the Faculty of International Studies, and it enables students to meet the graduation requirements both here and at an American university in approximately four-and-a-half to five years. We invite you to take on this challenge.

Four-Year Program Flow

First to third semesters: Build solid foundations for academic study by interactive education in small groups

During the first year-and-a-half at the university, students build solid academic foundations for full-fledged specialized study. This consists of two aspects, the development of comprehensive English language skills (AEP) and the development of fundamental academic skills (Introductory Seminar 1 and 2, etc.). By these approaches, students develop fundamental skills that qualify them to receive specialized education at any university in the world.

Fourth to seventh semesters: Full-fledged study and training to international standards conducted in Japan and other countries

During the next two years, students receive full-fledged specialized education in Japan and other countries. In this department, we strongly recommend that all students take at least one year of specialized education (for the double degree program, two years) in a foreign country. At the same time, we also place great importance on internship experience. We make arrangements so that students can receive education in an environment based on international standards during this period.

Eighth semester: Creation of a graduation project as the summation of four years at university

During the final semester, students work on completing their graduation project as the final summation of their university education. Preparation for this begins in the sixth semester. We anticipate that students who complete their education in this way through four years in this department will have acquired the capabilities to start playing an active international role immediately.

Key Points about the Department of Global and Transcultural Studies

Variety of off-campus training in a global environment

In this department, we consider study in an international environment to be of greatest importance. That learning environment is diverse, and the following are its four primary components.


  • ● Double degree program
    The double degree program enables students who satisfy the graduation requirements of both universities to receive a degree from Meiji Gakuin University and San Francisco State University. This envisions a period of foreign study at San Francisco State University of approximately two years. This program allows for the transfer of credits in specified courses between the universities and for the satisfaction of graduation requirements* in an arrangement that allows both universities’ requirements for graduation to be met in approximately four-and-a-half to five years.
    * Acquisition of required course credits, graduation thesis, graduation examinations, etc.
    Application qualifications: Minimum score of 61 on TOEFL iBT® and grade point average of 2.5 or better

  • ● Extended foreign study
    Students can go to study at partner universities of Meiji Gakuin University in other countries, in principle, for periods of up to one year. There are as many as 30 foreign universities that have partnership arrangements with Meiji Gakuin University, and the one with the largest number of exchange students is the University of California (UC), where large numbers of our students (20 or more go to study every year. The Faculty of International Studies has students at San Francisco State University and other institutions on an independent Faculty partnership arrangement that is separate from the partnerships of Meiji Gakuin University as a whole (30 universities and one consortium).

  • ● Extended foreign study centered on internship
    The Faculty of International Studies has a number of one-year extended foreign study programs, centered on internships, that are separate from the foreign study destinations available from the university as a whole. One such that receives particular attention is the program at the University of California, Riverside, which provides for three months of study at the UC Riverside campus followed by a six-month internship at Walt Disney World in Florida.

  • ● Internships in Japan and other countries
    For students who do not feel particularly inclined to go for foreign study, we provide opportunities for internships in Japan and other countries. Overseas internships presently being offered include business internships in Melbourne, Australia, and Hong Kong. There are also opportunities for internships with international agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Japan.