The Graduate School of Social Sciences was established in 1994. The main features of this Graduate School lie in its interdisciplinary research and education and its openness to the public. Today, Japan has major problems waiting to be solved, and the various policies and systems formed after World War II and their supporting theories are being reconstructed in order to develop the solutions for these pending problems. Many of these problems to a greater or lesser extent consist of complex international factors and are difficult to solve by approaching them from just one particular academic field.

Therefore, now more than ever, we are asked to analyze social phenomena from various angles, covering a variety of academic fields. In response to such demands, the Graduate School of Social Sciences has focused on re-educating working people with greater expertise, and interdisciplinary intelligence on the basis of undergraduate education, as well as fostering researchers. We have sent considerable numbers of workers and researchers into society since the Graduate School was founded. As an interdisciplinary graduate school, we are meeting the challenges of solving various social problems, and will continue our efforts to respond actively to demands from society.

BASIC PRINCIPLES

The School of Social Sciences, established in 1966 at Waseda University, has dedicated itself to the pursuit of two basic principles. In an effort to meet the demand of present- day society and modern times, these two principles manifest themselves as “overall interdisciplinary research and education in social sciences" and “opening the doors of higher education to working people". As the School of Social Sciences strives towards meeting these goals, a range of innovations in education and research have been carried out since its inception. Constant focus on the achievement of these principles has resulted in a rigorous redefining of all aspects of the School. A thorough overhaul of key areas as well as focused and critical introspection have been a guiding force in our aims. With a streamlined and well-maintained working vision we are in the best position to serve the above outlined principles.

In order to launch into the realization of these two principles, Waseda University, has recently opened the doors of the Graduate Night School of Social Sciences. This Night School is based on the principles of the School of Social Sciences, which opened in April 1994.

Amongst the various fields of social sciences, including the more traditional areas of study such as politics, law, economics and commerce, our students have successfully increased the thoroughness, discipline, and consistency of their theories whilst developing a highly individual and specialized approach to their studies. Personal understanding and the pursuit of personal theory are vital to our modern view of learning. There has, however, been a hindrance to such an endeavor in that, as a result of a increasing strength in individual theory, the relationship between individual study and the implementation of existing theory has widened. Consequently, existing theories are losing their ability to propose constructive ideas effectively. We see it as our mission to recapture the social sciences and bring back traditional perspectives whilst at the same time continuing to amass new theories. With the effective restoration of policy proposals through the formulation of new theories, we can successfully add to the areas that cannot be covered by each of the finely divided traditional studies.

The principle that the Graduate School of Social Sciences is aiming to achieve in “overall interdisciplinary research and education in social sciences” ought not be closed to society. The Graduate School's night course is open to working people and we hope that through its research and educational activities, students' practical working experiences will be reflected through established theory. This cyclical process can then exist as a desired norm in reflecting old and new ideas, the resulting sequence is known as "theory > practice > theory" and is a healthy educational axiom.

In line with these principles, the Graduate School has also established two majors, Global Society and Policy Sciences. These areas of study allow for research and study, as can be seen below in the outlined perspective.

The remarkable expansion of the human being's everyday life cycle is contributing towards globalization even within our social life. Nowadays, we are witness to phenomena that cannot be sufficiently dealt with using the framework of traditional nations or international relationships Thus, it has become inevitable that we begin to examine and deal with these phenomena and deal with them from a more lateral viewpoint; we begin therefore to observe a "Global Society". In order to search for appropriate solutions to the many problems faced by those pertaining to the natural environment and resources, whilst at the same time catering to the needs of lives dictated by political, economic and social boundaries, we are required to approach the problems within the fresher framework of "Earth" which can be regarded more as an open living community.

Along with the growing number of complications associated simply with living in this world, modern society has forced mutual dependence among people to become stronger whilst also changing the face of public behavior. Furthermore, these trends are showing inevitable signs of expanding beyond their national boundaries. In the face of such developments, we are asked to revaluate our viewpoint and look upon nations and civil societies as "regions", that is to say vast macro-cultural areas.

It is also becoming difficult for the traditional individual sciences to develop appropriate and specific proposals in a rapidly changing era, in which the structures of politics, economics and society have dramatically changed. For example, in order to deal with issues such as an aging society, the development of high technology in economics and the complication of adjustment in social interests, we need a new grand design to form fresh policies. If we are to visualize such a design, it is essential that we proceed with the establishment of a new entity, the development of rules and the construction of a social network. We may also perform comprehensive research into policy principles, policy entity and policy measures.

The traditional system, composed of subdivided and specialized academic fields, is of no use in this new design visualization. The new design can be realized only through the development of an all-encompassing and interdisciplinary system of research and education. The goal of the Graduate School of Social Sciences is to foster people who can rise to the demands of this age through comprehensive research and an education system that offers solutions to the above problems.

MASTER'S DEGREE COURSE (FEATURES AND STRUCTURE)

This Graduate School is composed of the following two majors: Major in Global Society and Major in Policy Sciences. The two majors are each divided into three research courses. The Major in Global Society consists of Basic Sociology, International Society and Regional studies, and the Major in Policy Science consists of Public Policy, Civil Society and Modern Management & Enterprises studies. Each of the majors and research courses will include the following research and education activities.

MAJOR IN GLOBAL SOCIETY
(1) Research in Basic Social Science
(2) Research in International Society
(3) Research in Regional Affairs

MAJOR IN POLICY SCIENCES
(1) Research in Public Policies
(2) Research in Civil Society
(3) Research in Modern Management & Enterprises

Majors	Degrees (Field of Specialization)
Global Society Research Program Policy Science Research Program	Ph.D. in Social Sciences
	M.A. in Social Sciences