Students! The Department of Science and Engineering at Waseda University is setting out to accomplish major transformations to lead us into the new century. Waseda's venerable and prestigious Department of Science and Engineering has accompanied Japan both in times development, and in times of regrettable stagnation as well. Amidst the lassitude and lack of awareness science and engineering so characteristic of the youth of today, Waseda's Department of Science and Engineering will be a theater of endeavor for all of you who have to assume the leadership of Japan and of the world in the new century. We feel strongly that now is the time when you must rise up, even if it means breaking with old traditions. For Japan is enmeshed in the rapid progress of Asian countries and America's global standardization; Waseda's Department of Science and Engineering has been given the mandate to build a new civilization for Japan, and it be will nothing whatever like this pamphlet, which so resembles the menu of a department store restaurant. This means the end of a curriculum that condones absenteeism. We urge you to unite with us in forming a powerful team, and make this a place where we learn and discuss the future together.
In my position as department dean, I have a real sense of the traditions, the power, and the remarkable bonds of friendships among Waseda alumni, so, with the cooperation of the educational staff, I am launching new administrative reforms. What I expect from you is provocation. First I would like to express my expectation for the new century, and then I will conclude my greetings by relaying a message to you which I have been handed by the previous dean of our department.
The history of the Department of Science and Engineering begins in April 1908 (the 41st year of the Meiji Era) with the establishment of a preparatory science and engineering department. The Science Department had already been established at the time when Waseda University was created, but for financial reasons it was quickly abolished. At the 25th anniversary of its founding, however, renewed efforts were successful in re-establishing it as the Department of Science and Engineering. For this we are deeply indebted to our founders Shigenobu Okuma and Akitaro Takeuchi, for their passion and benevolence. The Department of Science and Engineering has adapted to situations and the demands of the times, continuing to evolve through successive expansions, name changes, and reorganizations, and today it consists of fourteen divisions within a single domain.
It has been more than thirty years since the Department of Science and Engineering relocated to the Okubo campus in 1967, and carried out major reforms of its undergraduate education. The escalation of scientific technology has brought public recognition to the graduate school. Sixty percent of undergraduates go straight into graduate school, and the department is beginning to put in place a program of education that unifies the undergraduate and graduate levels. As we conduct individualized education within a free environment, moving ahead intensively in research and development, we are devoting our full energies to the cultivation of skilled engineers who are able to perceive things from many different perspectives.

The Graduate School of Science and Engineering Waseda University

The Graduate School Science and Engineering Research Department carries out its education activities in close cooperation with the undergraduate Department of Science and Engineering, and its research activities with the Science and Engineering General Research Center and the Kakumu Memorial Technical Research Institute.

The history of our Research Department began in 1920, when Waseda became a university by decree issued under the University Act, and the graduate school was newly established. Then, as a newly established graduate school, the Engineering Research Department master's degree program was set up in 1951, the doctoral degree program in 1953, and in 1961 the department changed its name to the Science and Engineering Research Department, as it currently remains. During this period 20,000 master's degrees and 2,200 doctoral degrees have been awarded.

The year 2002 produced 954 master’s and 89 doctoral degree-holders. These graduates are active in all fields of science and engineering.

Presently, recognizing that society looks to our department for creative research and education of a higher order than ever, and demands that we meet its expectations, we are designing a system for research and education that will keep us apace with the twenty-first century. In 1993 an endowment course was set up to support lectures by experts from outside academia. Furthermore, with financial support from the Ministry of Education, we inaugurated the High-Tech Research Center. In 1998 this center gained momentum as it entered its second term, and since then has been energetically developing cutting-edge science and technology research. Regarding international exchange, new links have been forged since 1995 as the department has independently concluded learning exchange agreements with five foreign universities, boosting the number and frequency of student and faculty exchanges. Furthermore, to promote the educational continuum from undergraduate to graduate school and to further this education all the way into the doctorate degree program, in 2000 we cleared the way for fourth-year undergraduates to take graduate courses and earn preemptory credits towards a master's degree, and first-year graduate students will be eligible for the Research Incentive Scholarship for Young Researchers (an allowance of 1,000,000 yen for first-year doctoral students).

Aspiring to an ever-higher level of research and education, individualization, diversification, and greater openness, our Research Department is pushing ahead with various kinds of innovations that are sure to bring about major reforms.