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Guidelines

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
The University of Tokyo
Graduate Program on Global Society
Curriculum Guidelines

 

Outline of the Curriculum

In the Graduate Program on Global Society, the international community is conceived as a global society where people from different cultural backgrounds holding diverse values interact with each other on multiple levels. This program explores the conditions and possibilities of global society by drawing together relevant disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Consequently, students are expected to take core courses exploring the nature of global society, as well as elective courses and research seminars. To be awarded the Master of Arts in Global Studies degree, M.A. students must write a master’s thesis or submit the results of their research on selected subjects. Ph.D. students are required to write a doctoral dissertation in order to earn a Ph.D. in Global Studies.

 

Core Courses (shown in yellow)

Four basic subject areas comprise the core courses. These four areas of study are compulsory for all students and have been carefully selected to prepare students to comprehend the challenges facing global society, and will therefore cut across the traditional academic disciplines. The four subjects are closely interrelated and are designed to reinforce one another. For the purpose of clarity, the traditional disciplines relevant to the subject areas are noted below in brackets.

  1. International Interdependence (international politics, international law, international economics, international relations)
  2. Social and Cultural Diversity (linguistics, cultural anthropology, sociology, area studies)
  3. Transnational Markets and Civil Society (sociology, economics, management, area studies)
  4. Normative Basis of Global Society (philosophy, ethics, religion, political ideology, social thought, jurisprudence)

Each of the four areas of study is closely associated with the academic agenda of a corresponding department in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: Advanced Social and International Studies; Language and Information Sciences; Area Studies; or Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies, the order of which roughly corresponds to the four GSP subject areas listed above. Each core course will be directed by an instructor affiliated with its corresponding department.

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Research Workshops (shown in rose)

In research workshops, students will report to the class their research findings on specific subjects, or write a research paper on the topic of their choice. The workshops are open to students in their first, second, and third semesters. There will be opportunities to give interim and final reports each semester, to help students prepare for their final degree.

 

Elective Courses (shown in blue)

Elective courses (lectures, seminars, and fieldwork) will include classes jointly offered by the Graduate Program on Human Security (HSP), Graduate Program on Global Humanities (GHP), and the Short-term Student Exchange Program (AIKOM: “Abroad in Komaba”). Visiting professors from Australia (under the auspices of the Center for Pacific and American Studies), Fulbright Visiting Scholars, and PEAK (Programs in English at Komaba) project professors teach GSP’s elective courses. Research institutes in University, such as the Institute of Advanced Studies in Asia, contribute to the program by assigning professors to it as well. In addition, e-lectures administered by the East Asia Liberal Arts Initiative (EALAI) are open to GSP students. These lectures are held jointly with Seoul National University, Peking University, and Vietnam National University, Hanoi, with the four institutions connected by a video conferencing system.

As a subset of elective courses, Experimental Studies offers students important opportunities to experience various intellectual undertakings apart from the regular educational environment offered by the University. Students are able to participate in intensive courses offered by experts from the public and private sectors and by other specialists and scholars. Students may also attend workshops and summer programs offered in cooperation with universities overseas. Internships, which should be linked closely to the students’ research projects, may also be included as part of the Experimental Studies curriculum.

 

Credits and Other Requirements for Degree

For the M.A. degree, students are required to earn a minimum of 14 credits from courses offered by the Graduate Program on Global Society (including 8 credits from the core curriculum) and 12 credits from courses offered by the Graduate School department with which they are affiliated (including 6 credits from research workshops). Students are allowed to take graduate and upper-division undergraduate (3rd and 4th year) courses offered by other graduate schools and undergraduate departments at the University with the permission of their academic advisors. In order to earn the M.A. degree, students are required to: (1) complete a minimum of 30 approved credits; (2) write a master’s thesis or submit the results of their research on selected subjects; and (3) pass the final examinations.

For the Ph.D. degree, students are required to earn a minimum of 8 credits from courses offered by the Graduate Program on Global Society and 8 credits from courses offered by the Graduate School department with which they are affiliated. Students are allowed to take graduate courses offered by other graduate schools at the University with the permission of their academic advisors. In order to earn the Ph.D. degree, students are required to: (1) complete a minimum of 20 approved credits; (2) write a Ph.D. dissertation; and (3) pass the final examinations.

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2024 S Semester