About the School of Commerce
• Year of Establishment and Outline
The Waseda University School of Commerce traces its origins to the establishment of the School of the Department of Commerce in 1904. The Waseda University School of Commerce is the oldest undergraduate school of any private university in Japan and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2004. Since its establishment, the School of Commerce has considered the “internationalization” of business activities based on the entrepreneurial spirit to be one of its central goals. In addition, the school has promoted education and research activities that lay emphasis on the three basic principles of “informatization,” “interdisciplinary studies,” and “internationalization.”

• Mission
Since its establishment, the school’s objective has been to develop “business people with academic backgrounds” and for the past 100 years we have been delivering leaders that have and will play a pivotal role in building Japan’s industrial society. The school has also produced talented individuals that have played major roles in politics, the economy, and culture in Japan.

Furthermore, at the School of Commerce we have continued to actively pursue the internationalization of education and research to ensure that we are always ahead of the times and to train individuals capable of succeeding in the global arena. In keeping with this enterprising spirit, in fiscal 1995, we were the first university in Japan to introduce a full-fledged semester system. We have also introduced a new curriculum combining internationalization, informatization, and the shift to interdisciplinary studies. We believe that our mission is to develop talented business people that adopt global perspectives and succeed in the industrial and economic spheres.

Special Features
• Course System
In our curriculum, commercial subjects are divided into the following courses in order to increase the level of specialized knowledge we impart to our students. The courses selected by the students during the fall semester of their sophomore year and for which they attend seminars become, by default, their course majors from the spring semester of their junior year.

Management
This course provides the theoretical background and analytical tools necessary to understand and explain real-life management from various perspectives. Specifically, students learn about organizational structure, organizational behavior, management strategies, management history, corporate ethics, etc.

Accounting
This course includes financial accounting — used to record, compute, and report the economic activities of firms and enterprises — along with management accounting, which makes use of accounting data in management.

Commerce, Trade, and Finance
This course studies the process, function, system, and procedure of distribution and exchange of resources—labor, goods, capital, and information—from both domestic and global perspectives.

Economics and Industry
This course examines economic issues such as economic growth, recession, poverty, trade friction, resources and the environment. It also investigates possible solutions to these problems.

General and Interdisciplinary
This course deals with many specialized fields and offers an overview of commercial studies in general.

• Graduation after 3.5 Years
At the School of Commerce, we have introduced a system under which students can complete their graduation after 3.5 years. Graduation usually requires 4 years but this system permits students who have met the standards set by the undergraduate school to graduate after 3.5 years. This option is available to students who have obtained excellent grades and who wish to complete their graduation in 3.5 years.

Students who have achieved excellent grades and who have been accepted for the Graduate School of Commerce via the recommendation system can complete graduate school in 1.5 years on the condition of prior approval by the School of Commerce. This, along with the option of completing graduation after 3.5 years, allows students to acquire a Master’s Degree in as little as 5 years.

Departments	Degrees
No Departments	B.A. in Commerce

Subjects Available
• General Education
In the School of Commerce, students have a choice of four fields so as to enable them to gain not only specialized knowledge but also receive a balanced education. There are over 100 subjects and students can select their courses depending on their interests.

• Foreign Languages
We have adopted a Two Foreign Languages Requirement that asks students to choose two foreign languages from the following: English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and Korean.