Message from the Dean of the Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences

01.04.2018 Update

Message from the Dean

Masumi Sugawara
Dean of the Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, Ochanomizu University

To provide a new style of graduate school education in the twenty-first century, the graduate school of Ochanomizu University reorganized in April 2007. This included reforming the Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences.

The graduate school has focused on an interdisciplinary approach since its founding, with the integration of liberal arts and science as its basic principle. As its name reflects, that principle is even clearer now. The Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences is a postgraduate organization that covers all disciplines of our university faculties. Our master’s and doctoral program have six departments, respectively: Comparative Studies of Societies and Culture, Human Developmental Sciences, Gender and Social Sciences (Interdisciplinary Gender Studies for the doctoral program), Life Sciences, and the Cooperative Major in Human Centered Engineering.

Graduate school students extensively learn the theories and insights their predecessors have passed on in each academic field, and enrich their own knowledge through research-focused studies with the aim of becoming experts in their chosen fields. A key focus along the way is expanding their academic horizons. In our drive to offer higher-quality specialized education, the graduate school has established master’s programs that combine multiple departments and courses in the hope that students will take a greater interest in related fields.

The graduate school also offers minor degree programs spanning multiple disciplines to give students a more interdisciplinary education, improve their skills, and enhance their ability to apply their expertise. Doctoral program students conduct research under the guidance of primary advisers with specialized expertise. Researchers from other disciplines will serve as secondary advisers to impart new insights and perspectives. In keeping with its emphasis on internationalism, the graduate school also provides joint degree programs in conjunction with universities outside Japan.

The diversity of the students in the Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences is vast. Not only students from nearby countries, South Korea and China, but also many international students from the U.S., Europe, and Afghanistan in Western Asia have come to conduct research. In addition, many students have already worked in a variety of careers.

The graduate school’s long-term study programs are some of the courses we offer to satisfy such diverse students’ needs. Although the standard length of a master’s program is two years, long-term study programs allow students to take up to four years, and up to six years for doctoral programs.

There are also programs for students to balance research with childcare. One of the most important characteristics of the graduate school is its consideration for a broad range of life circumstances that include job hunting, marriage, childbirth, childrearing, job transfer, and caring for family members, as well as its commitment to ensuring that women have opportunities to pursue a new career while respecting their lives.