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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.