Graduate Schools

Graduate School of Letters | Graduate School of Education | Graduate School of Global Culture and Communication | Graduate School of Studies on Contemporary Society | Graduate School of Psychology | Graduate School of Medical Welfare | Graduate School of Creativity and Culture | Graduate School of Business | Graduate School of Communication Studies

Graduate School of Letters

The Graduate School of Letters (Master’s course) was established in April, 1989 for the first time at ASU and two years later a Doctor’s course was established to complete the current program. In the last 22 years, we have successfully sent out 238 people who obtained master’s degree, 78 people who finished the doctoral course, but failed to pass the doctoral exam, 3 people who finished the doctoral course and obtained doctoral degrees and 11 people who obtained doctoral degrees granted by their thesis committee.

Due to the re-organization of the Graduate School in 2008, the Major in English Literature was absorbed into the newly established Graduate Course of Global Culture and Communication, therefore, what were formerly 3 separate majors are now a single major with two possible courses of study.

Department of Letters (Japanese Language and Literature Course)

This master’s course aims to give students a deep and detailed knowledge of Japanese literature as understood from a broad viewpoint, along with good skills for doing research in this field, and with outstanding abilities to teach Japanese language and literature in junior high schools. It further aims to allow the students to achieve self-development through the attainment of a very advanced education centered on Japanese literature. In order to attain this goal, doctoral course students are highly encouraged to focus their studies by attending the classes of the supervisory professor, but, based on their interest and needs, they may freely elect to attend other suitable classes.

The doctoral course aims to give students the ability necessary to independently conduct research activities related to Japanese literature, either as researchers or as teachers in senior high schools, who possess extensive basic knowledge. In order to attain this goal, a designated supervisory professor counsels the students, basically for 3 years, to help them develop and write their doctoral thesis.

Department of Letters (Library and Information Science Course)

In this course we teach research methodology, both basic and applied, in the field of information science, in order to train highly-skilled information professionals and researchers. The basic stance for the study on information science is to take a problem-solving approach, with the goal of cultivating sharp skills of critical scrutiny and qualitative evaluation. A major focus of our curriculum is to discuss the latest reference literature in discussion groups with all graduate students and teachers attending, with the purpose to produce the doctoral theses and, also, by the process of accumulation, to improve the process of giving mutual criticism.

Graduate School of Education

Department of Developmental Education

Even as the environment involving schools and educators has undergone great changes in recent years, ASU established a Department of Education under the Faculty of Letters in April 2007 with the goal of educating teachers for elementary and special schools, as well as to cultivate leaders in the field of lifelong learning.

This graduate-level course, which is based in the University’s Department of Education in the Faculty of Literature, aims to “train students who have deep and detailed knowledge” with a broad viewpoint and outstanding ability to teach in educational organizations where a high level of professionalism is required, and also who have the ability to do advanced level research in numerous fields relating to education.

Taking advantage of ASU’s characteristic as a comprehensive university, we aim to develop human resources, who have both extensive and specialized knowledge, as well as practical skills, and who can become leading personnel in the educational field, including elementary schools, who can tackle complex and diverse problems confronting school education, and also work as researchers who study education-related fields.

Graduate School of Global Culture and Communication

Having reached a state of rapid transformation, today’s global community maintains cooperative coexistence between countries and ethnic groups while appealing to the citizens of each country of the need to make practical contributions to trust relations in ways that include individual actions. The mission of the School is to use a high-level academic education to cultivate civic-mindedness and foster an awareness of civil society and the ability to contribute to society in practical ways. Under this educational philosophy, the School builds on the base of fostering skills in English as the international language while providing a selection of major Eurasian languages—Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and others. An educational objective of the School is to deepen the research and intercultural communication skills of students from an international sociocultural perspective, and at the same time, provide practical learning in local situations along with opportunities to experience language education, cultural exchange, and practical experience in social activities, thereby imparting living knowledge.

The School has a single major but with a Linguistic Culture Course and a Global Philanthropy Course, the door is open to graduates, working adults, and international students and the curriculum is designed to efficiently meet the needs of graduate students and take into consideration the suitability for all graduate students.

Department of Global Culture and Communication (Linguistic Culture Course)

This course develops specialists, who understand how global culture operates, and who have deep knowledge of cultural difference and advanced communication abilities in using their elected language.

Department of Global Culture and Communication (Global Philanthropy Course)

This major trains specialists, who can contribute to international exchange by providing theoretical research necessary for undertaking global intercultural and interpersonal exchange projects for international development, and by obtaining specialized knowledge and skills through practical activities involving problem solving of key issues and participation in social action programs.

Graduate School of Studies on Contemporary Society

The Graduate School of Studies on Contemporary Society is a new type of graduate school responding to the desire of people who want to deepen their specialist knowledge and further their intellectual development. The curriculum has been created for accessibility to a wide range of people, including those returning to education and international students. It is our hope to nurture experts through the research and study into today’s turbulent society from the aspects of region, international concerns, media, and urban environment, as well as to nurture researchers and others with an advanced intellectual grounding.

We also have five-year university and master's programs. We hope to see many people aspiring to master's or doctoral degrees.

The School promotes research along with a great deal of cultural exchange between the international students here from China, Nepal, Taiwan, and other countries in Asia, resident Brazilians, and Japanese students.

Department of Studies on Contemporary Society (Community and International Studies Course)

Contemporary society, undergoing a process of rapid change, is the basic topic of research into regional and international studies, which are examined from the perspective of glocalization.

In regional studies, society is studied from four perspectives: regional problems, transportation, development, and culture. Among the regional problems examined are employment issues, pensions, nursing and medical care, and waste. In the study of regional transportation, plans adapted to local characteristics are envisioned in the context of an age when the next generation of computerization has occurred and a focus is placed on the environment and residents. Regional development examines economic development on the themes of twenty-first century technological and intellectual culture. In the regional culture perspective, the conditions of community building are explored with consideration given to the continuation of traditional lifestyles, the creation of new culture, and traits such as history, climate, and culture.

The international perspective considers problems in the international community, which is making a shift toward more complexity and globalization. These issues are analyzed from economic, political, and cultural angles, and students learn to be internationally active while studying and researching the direction of social development and Japan’s role in it. An overseas training program is conducted every other year for students to experience in first person their class studies in connection with the development of Asian society and Japan’s role, one of the main project themes.

Department of Studies on Contemporary Society (Media Theories and Production Course)

Going beyond the forms of expression and production technology, this course takes a wide perspective of media as a means for communicating information to include historical, cultural, and social structures as the basis of media creation. Theories are studied and an integrated approach is taken through putting media production processes into practice.

Department of Studies on Contemporary Society (Urban Architectural Design Course)

The aim of this course is to master the theory and application of planning, design, maintenance and conservation of “architecture,” which composes “urban areas” or cities. “Urbanism” and “architecture” are studied and researched, not only from the perspective of engineering, but also from the various issues confronting cities and buildings, based on the idea that they are important components of contemporary society.

Graduate School of Psychology

Department of Psychology

The contemporary age is often referred to as the “age of the mind.” The question of the quality of life is raised anew to consider how we ought to live in our current society with the advanced level of scientific technology that has been achieved. It may be argued that this reconsideration leads to an emphasis on the human mind.

In April 2008, the School was made independent with only one dedicated major through a reorganization of the Department of Psychology of the Graduate School of Communication Studies. The guidance system was reinforced and the curriculum was reviewed to provide a more complete education and research program. As this department uses psychological research methods to examine the multifaceted workings of higher mental activities, that is, the human mind, it has similarities to the Department of Psychology of the Graduate School of Communication Studies.

Accordingly, the learning process involves understanding people and societies with different behaviors and value systems, and researching the capacities of people and society to cooperate, similar to the former course. Both the master’s and doctoral programs are composed of three domains: Biological Information Psychology, Social Psychology, and Clinical Psychology.

Biological information psychology domain
In the domain of biological information psychology, we study both the external information, which living organisms receive as sensory stimuli, and the handling processes of internal information that derives from them, from the perspectives of physiological psychology, cognitive psychology, and developmental psychology.

Social psychology domain
The domain of Social Psychology examines the different-sized groups that the individual belongs to: small groups, organizations, communities, and mass society. These are approached from the viewpoints of communication theory, interpersonal behavior theory, community psychology, and cultural psychology.

Clinical psychology domain
The domain of clinical psychology studies various issues of the “mind” of contemporary people, who live with various psychological problems and anxieties, from the viewpoint of clinical psychology and psychopathology, and explore early diagnosis and coping techniques.

We look forward to welcoming those people who want to become specialists of the “mind,” having advanced knowledge and skills, who can steadily and flexibly respond to today’s complex society through the discipline of psychology.

Graduate School of Medical Welfare

The needs of social welfare are becoming more complex and diversified. The School was created to respond to these times and to the needs of society.

The objective is the education of researchers and experts having both an advanced degree of knowledge and practical skills.

There are two departments: the Department of Social Services and the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences. A Speech Hearing Science Course and a Visual Science Course are provided to students who select the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences. With "respect for human rights," "symbiosis" and "creation of the medical welfare environment" as common unifying principles, each department develops its unique domain, with the Department of Social Services focusing on establishing a more advanced social-support system and the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences focusing on a scientific approach to communication disorders and assistance.

The curricula in both Departments include many carefully selected specialized lectures and practical subjects. Aiming for advanced experts with the exhaustive study of the major, the curricula are systematic and interdisciplinary.

The mission of the School is to provide a venue for continuing education for specialists active in the welfare domain workplace and for professionals who are active on medical staffs in the medical workplace.

The School actively recruits working adults, foreign students, and others in addition to university graduates.

Department of Social Service

Welfare needs are diversifying and the structure of welfare services is becoming increasingly complex in today’s society. In order to respond to this situation, this department looks comprehensively at the extensive support services (social services) from a broader perspective, based on the existing research system of social welfare studies; further, it supplies specialized knowledge that allows the creation of new principles, methods and policies of social welfare, and, thereby, cultivates advanced professionals who can contribute to the community. We also aim to produce human resources that can play active roles as coordinators, who facilitate cooperation with other types of businesses or organizations, or who serve as leaders of welfare facilities.

Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences (Speech Hearing Science Course)

This department provides training for qualified speech therapists and students who study speech and hearing science, to help them master the latest knowledge in their field and develop their clinical research abilities. We mainly provide lectures to improve the expertise of speech therapists, who play active roles at medical welfare sites, with the aim to train more advanced specialists.

Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences (Visual Science Course)

This department provides training for qualified orthoptists and students who study visual science and orthoptics to help them to master the latest knowledge in their field and to develop their clinical research abilities. In particular, by emphasizing basic research on vision and low vision, we aim to train human resources that can link basic research with clinical research and, thereby, meet the needs of the real world.

Graduate School of Creativity and Culture

Department of Creative Writing

The educational goal of the Major in Creative Writing of the Department of Creative Writing is “to train human resources, who have sufficient knowledge and skill to be involved in creative expressive activity for duration of their entire lives”. In this Department, in accordance with our stated educational goal, students acquire practical knowledge and technical skills relating to advanced and high-level specialized expression, and at the same time, study the diversity of methods of expression and texts, as a target of their research. This department has 3 different specialized domains: the “poetry domain”, the “prose domain” and the “audio-visual domain”. Students study typical genres of expression in each domain, from the standpoints of both theory and practice, in accordance with their need and objectives.

Poetry Domain
The purpose of study in the Poetry Domain is to learn the theory underlying contemporary poetry and contemporary tanka (31-syllable Japanese poetic form), to research texts and to actually produce creative examples of verse. The education of this department aims at achieving higher and more specialized levels of poetry and tanka than in the undergraduate education, and provides practical creative drills, coupled with study of the theory of creation appropriate to each genre.

Prose Domain
The goals of the Prose Domain encompass theoretical research, text-related research and creative writing practice regarding novels, critical essays and fairytales. As is the case in the Poetry Domain, the education of this department aims at achieving higher and more specialized levels of creation of novels and fairytales, provide practical creative drills, coupled with study of the theory of creation appropriate to each genre, but, we have newly added the study of literary criticism to the curriculum.

Audio-visual Domain
The Audio-visual Domain is comprised of 2 genres, namely, motion pictures and animation/ comics, and theoretical research relating to both genres is emphasized, with the goal of achieving higher and more sophisticated levels of creative production of examples within each genres.

Graduate School of Business

Department of Business

The Major in Business within the Department of Business aims to train internationally-minded advanced specialists and researchers necessary for today's business-oriented society, who possess the specialized knowledge and problem-solving ability needed in these rapidly changing times.

The Major in Business is comprised of 4 different series of courses, with a focus not only on acquiring business-related specialized knowledge, but also the ability to put such knowledge into practice. The major goals of these 4 series of course are to develop human resources, who: 1) have advanced knowledge and business acumen; 2) can make creative, visionary policy proposals; 3) can perform and clearly explain scientific analyses; and 4) can think systematically.

Accounting Course
This course is comprised of financial accounting, managerial accounting, accounting audits, tax law, and other such courses.

General Business Course
This course is comprised of many basic subjects common to business in general, such as marketing, business administration, corporate ethics, management finance, financial systems, international business, contemporary business, entrepreneurship, management games, etc., and also will present basic subjects related to legal matters. Students can take this course in combination with the other 3 courses.

Business Communication Course
This course covers the areas of cross cultural communication, negotiation techniques, confrontation and debate, gender issues, etc.

Strategic Information System Course
This course is comprised of investigations of management information systems, information ethics, system development, risk management, computer programming, etc.

Graduate School of Communication Studies