Message from the Dean of the Graduate Schools
Education and Research at the Graduate Schools of Meiji University
History of the Graduate Schools and Today
Meiji University started Master's courses in its graduate schools in 1952 and Doctoral courses in 1954. Today, the environment of the University is fundamentally different in social, cultural and thought fields compared to those early days of its inception. From the days when literature, as opposed to television, was the prevalent form of entertainment to an era marked by a hyper-information society with a rapidly developing Internet, it can truly be said that the times have changed.
Accordingly, the graduate schools are undergoing a vast transformation in this undulating global society requiring globalization, several varieties of learning styles, and fluency in foreign languages. Meiji University faces those challenges head on with its 128 year experience in education and research.
Undergraduate and Graduate Schools
In universities today, undergraduate schools are designed to educate students in liberal arts and the basics of the sciences, while it is the graduate schools which promote advanced research in particular academic fields. Meiji University, however, has two types of graduate schools: the first type is schools where academic researchers are nurtured, while the other type is the schools which turn out the professionals, such as the Law School, the Graduate School of Global Business, the Graduate School of Governance Studies and the Graduate School of Professional Accountancy.
The education and research in our graduate schools are based on those in the undergraduate schools, and the schools are divided by their qualitative characteristics into humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and interdisciplinary studies. The Graduate School of Science and Technology has a successive 6 year curriculum from undergraduate school to the Master's course.
The graduate schools which focus on the social sciences lay stress on practical factors because in order to explain the issues and challenges of the world and acquire effective policies, researchers must tackle and clarify the complex phenomena occurring in the real world. It is no wonder that the schools of academic research and the schools of professional education so readily cross boarders with each other.
Creating a Proactive Approach and its Support
The investigation employed in our graduate schools plays the role of a "guiding light " for students in acquiring the analytical abilities and research methods necessary to clarify complex and chaotic phenomena. The sciences have become fragmented and have developed rapidly in humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, and as a result, students have a difficult time coping with this advanced knowledge within the four years of undergraduate school.
To establish an approach of creative intellectuality, more learning is needed. To encourage students to pursue higher education and to lessen their economic burden, Meiji University offers scholarships and a variety of student support systems. In addition to our teaching assistant and research assistant systems, our assistance to our Doctoral students is far superior to that offered by graduate schools in other universities. We earnestly welcome those who take on leadership roles in business, as well as resourceful engineers, people who want to work proactively in society, and academic researchers. The graduate schools of Meiji University will surely respond to your enthusiasm.
Dean of the Graduate Schools YOSHIMURA, Takehiko
