Political Science Master's Program

Educational and Research Purposes

The Political Science Master's Program offered by the Graduate School of Law aims to develop individuals who gain a specialized knowledge of political science and have both capabilities to conduct research based on a broad perspective and highly specialized professional skills.

Diploma Policy (Principle of Degree Conferment)

For the Political Science Master's Program offered by the Graduate School of Law, students who have completed the required number of credits and whose submitted master's theses have been examined and found acceptable for the degree in accordance with the internal rules related to the program are judged to be equipped with the following capabilities and awarded a master's degree (Political Science).

1. Capability to identify political problems.
2. Capabilities to collect information and materials and conduct analysis based on political science.
3. Capability to solve problems based on political science.
4. Capability to give a logical explanation based on political science.

Curriculum Policy (Principle of Curriculum Formation and Implementation)

For the Political Science Master's Program offered by the Graduate School of Law, with the Diploma Policy in mind, the curriculum is formed based on the following principles.

1. Political Science, History of European Political Thought, History of Japanese Political Thought, and Japanese Political History are arranged as basic courses, and based on such an enriched course lineup, the curriculum is formed as follows: (1) The emphasis is placed so that comparative research on modernization between the East and the West can be conducted multi-directionally and comprehensively. (2) Consideration is given so that in seminars, with respect to theories, systems, political actors, mass media, foreign relations, and so on, structural analysis of modern politics can be conducted multi-directionally by including such activities as studying specific cases and analyzing actual situations.
2. The research target area spreads widely–from the level of local communities to the global level.
3. To develop individuals who can respond to various needs of changing times, the Program is open widely—also to international students and working professionals.

Admission Policy (Principle of Student Admission)

Based on the Diploma Policy and Curriculum Policy, the Political Science Master's Program offered by the Graduate School of Law seeks applicants who have the following academic skills and motivations.

1. Those who have basic academic skills adequate for learning political science.
2. Those who are motivated to discover questions among various problems in politics and society on one's own initiative and study them independently and systematically.
3. Those who are motivated to voluntarily participate in international exchange, local community, and other activities, and actively work in various fields in society in order to contribute to society.
4. Those who aim to improve skills by applying basic theories and the latest knowledge of political science or its related sciences to the implementation and planning of specialized business in actual society.
5. Those who have flexible thinking ability with respect to various political cultures, systems, and ideas in the world and are full of global and modern sensitivity

Political Science Doctor's Program

Educational and Research Purposes

The Political Science Doctor's Program offered by the Graduate School of Law aims to develop individuals who can further deepen their expertise regarding political science based on the results of the research projects conducted in the master's program and become independent researchers of political science or individuals engaged in high-level expertise-required jobs.

Diploma Policy (Principle of Degree Conferment)

For the Political Science Doctor's Program offered by the Graduate School of Law, students who have completed the required number of credits and whose submitted doctor's theses have been examined and found acceptable for the degree in accordance with the internal rules related to the program are judged to be equipped with the following capabilities and awarded a doctor's degree (Political Science).

1. Capability to conduct high-level and unique research and analysis based on political science.
2. Capability to develop new research questions based on political science.
3. Capability to create a high-level thesis based on political science.

Curriculum Policy (Principle of Curriculum Formation and Implementation)

For the Political Science Doctor's Program offered by the Graduate School of Law, with the Diploma Policy in mind, the curriculum is formed based on the following principles.

1. The basic idea behind the structure of the curriculum is to grasp the overall image of political phenomena based on a multifaceted perspective such as "history" and "contemporary world," "thought" and "policy," and "regional" and "global."
2. Research courses for political history, history of political thought, and analysis of modern politics are provided in parallel to one another to cover each of the fields, namely "chiho jichi (local autonomy)," comparative politics, and international politics.
3. Courses are designed in such a way that research can be conducted in various fields, ranging from a political system and political process to political culture and media.

Admission Policy (Principle of Student Admission)

Based on the Diploma Policy and Curriculum Policy, the Political Science Doctor's Program offered by the Graduate School of Law seeks applicants who have the following academic skills and motivations.

1. Those who have basic academic skills adequate for learning political science.
2. Those who have capabilities to discover, analyze, and solve political problems.
3. Those who have the enthusiasm for learning to be able to solve problems on one's own initiative.
4. Those who aim to become researchers in the fields of political science.
5. Those who aim to acquire skills and knowledge necessary to be engaged in specialized jobs in the fields of political science.