Welcome to the Graduate School of Arts and Letters
Most of you who are reading this right now are probably considering advancement to graduate school or at least wondering what the Graduate Schools of Arts and Letters is like.
First of all, as you must have noticed, the Graduate School of Arts and Letters comprises nine majors: Japanese literature, English literature, German literature, French literature, drama and theatre arts, literary arts and media, history (further divided into Japanese history, Asian history, European history, and archeology courses), geography, and clinical psycho-social sciences (further divided into clinical psychology and sociological courses). While it is the Graduate School of “Arts and Letters,” I am sure you will understand that it is a graduate school that is not only concerned with studies in Japanese and European literature, but incorporates a broad range of studies such as history, archeology, geography, psychology, and sociology.
Without even having to cite the 2011 earthquake and ensuing nuclear disaster, we are now strongly sensing anew the fragility of today’s civilization of advanced science and technology, the difficulty of living in modern society, and the preciousness of traditions and cultures passed down through generations. We can say that the fields of study at the Graduate Schools of Arts and Letters, which provide deep insight into the way of people’s lives as well as where we are from and where we are going, consider culture from a global and local perspective, and examine issues of the heart and how a new society should be, from a multi-faceted perspective, while holding a long tradition, are increasingly necessary fields of study.
At the same time, many of these fields of study are not necessarily those in which research that aims to cultivate specialized knowledge and skills is carried out and is directly link to employment, such as that being carried out at professional graduate schools. Students who advance to the doctoral program, in many cases, aim to obtain a PhD and succeed as researchers at universities and research institutions. For those in the master’s program, especially, there are students who deepen their knowledge in specialized fields and acquire specialized teaching licenses to become high school teachers or become psychological counselors (for those majoring in clinical psychology). Of course, there are also graduates who go on to become civil servants or employees at private companies.
Research at the Graduate School of Arts and Letters, in principle, consists of a deep and specialized pursuit by each individual on their own research themes, culminating in a master’s or doctoral thesis. At the same time, we have established subjects such as Cultural Inheritance, Comprehensive Literature (for the five literature-related majors), Comprehensive History (for history majors), and Comprehensive Clinical Anthropology Practicum (for clinical anthropology majors), in order to open up student’s perspectives to an interdisciplinary approach, transcending the borders of their individual areas of research. Additionally, we have a credit transfer system with partner schools, mainly graduate schools in the metropolitan area, in which students can take courses at other graduate schools according to their individual research themes.
For students in the doctoral program, they have the possibility of being appointed assistants (research development assistants) while still enrolled in graduate school. There are also opportunities for both master’s and doctoral program students to become research or teaching assistants. Some students take the opportunity to study abroad at one of our partner schools. We provide an excellent support system for you to grow into researchers and professionals.
Dean, Graduate School of Arts and Letters
TERADA, Ryoichi
