The Meiji University School of Commerce, founded in 1904, was the first of its kind to be established at a private university in Japan, and prides itself on a tradition that stretches back more than 100 years. The Meiji University School of Commerce has always been highly reputed for contributing to society and continuing to meet the demands of the times during the eras of modernization, post-war reconstruction, and high economic growth of Japan. Moving into the 21st century, the School is dedicated to the pursuit of comprehensive commercial science in order to foster individuals who can play leading roles in various high-growth business industries in an increasingly complex international community.
The Meiji University School of Commerce was a pioneer among other schools in its implementation of experience-based (seminar) education almost ninety years ago. The occasion of the 101st anniversary of the school’s founding was marked by the launch of a new initiative called Project 101. The main thrust of the project is to enable students (starting in 2007) to take general education seminar courses for three years in parallel with their conventional specialized seminar courses (which we refer to as “double core” education).
Instilling students with a broad, general education at the same time as they build up their specialist knowledge in the field of commerce allows them to merge the two internally and create new values, world views and a broad-reaching capacity for decision making. We are confident that this forward-thinking style of instruction will result in the development of graduates with the ability to adapt flexibly to a business environment of dramatic changes.
The School of Commerce also offers four-year multi-language instruction, which enables students to study foreign languages consistently from their freshman to senior years. We offer not only English, but also German, French, Chinese, Korean and Spanish. The aim of the four-year multi-language system is to foster the practical language skills needed in the rapidly internationalizing business community. In addition, we have agreements in place with numerous schools overseas as part of a program of high-level international collaboration that aims to allow students to experience other cultures in order to develop a broad global perspective.
Meanwhile, we at the School of Commerce refuse to rest on our laurels and are constantly seeking out ways to improve and to implement more effective education systems to meet the changing demands of the community. These efforts include establishment of an early graduation program for students aiming to move on to post-graduate study, and a variety of activities under an extensive agreement with the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Indeed, we place a premium on ensuring a strong union of commercial theory and practice in our curriculum. For instance, students are given the opportunity to put the knowledge they acquire in lectures into practice through on-campus venture start-ups, hands-on marketing work and even conducting elementary and junior high school classes on money matters.
Needless to say, Meiji University School of Commerce students have an enviable record when it comes to gaining the qualifications required to practice as certified public accountants, tax accountants and in other such professions.