Curriculum

The School of Law provides education under a five-course system. The system is designed to cater to students’ diverse interests and needs for the future, including going on to Law School.

The School of Law at Meiji University offers classes in two formats: lecture and seminar. While the lecture format consists of an instructor lecturing to many students, the seminar form consists of an instructor and 10 to 20 students who exchange views, discuss certain topics, and give presentations. This two-format system is designed to ensure that individual students develop their potential by leveraging knowledge acquired from lectures, explore topics in greater depth, and express their views in seminars. In an effort to strike the best balance between the two forms, the School of Law offers a curriculum where students are required to attend basic seminars, such as Legal Literacy and Seminar on Basic Cultures, right from the beginning of the first year, while enrolled in courses in basic law, foreign languages, culture in support of the law, and other general subjects through lectures. This system presents opportunities for students to build the ability to think and address issues independently and express their views from the first year at the university. From the second year, students can select a course more directly related to their future plans. In the third year, students study the more specialized subjects offered in each selected course. They also develop the practical skills required for future work in society through small, specialized seminars.

Designed to meet the needs of an ever diversifying modern society, the five-course system ensures that students will become active players in society by leveraging their legal expertise. In the second year, students select one course out of the following five courses: Business Law, International Relations Law, Law and Information, Public Service Law, and Pre-Law School. Students are divided into the selected courses. (At the beginning of the third year, they can change to another course, except Pre-Law School Course, if they wish. For the Pre-Law School Course, students are selected on the basis of their performance in the past two years, since the number of students for this course is limited to 200). The Pre-Law School Course is for students who wish to go on to Law School and provides high quality instruction geared toward passing the new bar examination. The advantage of the five-course system is that students can also enroll in classes in other courses and schools. For example, students in the Business Law Course can attend related classes offered in the School of Commerce to broaden and enrich their understanding of the corporate community and business law. In other words, the system, where students can attend classes offered by the other schools, allows students to surf through the sea of knowledge in accordance with their academic interest.