School of Culture, Media and SocietyWaseda University

In the contemporary world, communication and the interchange of information takes place on a global scale. Within this global milieu of information exchange, culture thrives through networks of internal and external links, forming a complex, multi-faceted cultural modality. An education for living, working, and thinking critically within the world of new cultural formations is essential. This education for the future is the goal of the School of Culture, Media and Society, which founded in 2007. To that end, a Program for the 21st Century, comprising six theoretical configurations, has been constructed. Coming from the long tradition of education in the arts and sciences, as developed at Waseda University over its 120-year history, an educational program to address contemporary problems and to provide a path towards the future will be established.

Diploma Policy

With comprehensiveness, originality, and a systematic curriculum, combined with the university-wide educational and social environments of Waseda University, we offer students opportunities to experience the values of intellectual, cultural and linguistic exchange so that they can take the initiative in making contributions to the global community.

Philosophies and Goals of the School

• We explore cultural manifestations and structures, analyze representations, create literature, and discuss the nature of human beings and society in order to conceive cultures suitable for new eras.
• We apply the wisdom of cultural studies to the issues of the present day and daringly transcend the bounds of existing academic disciplines, favoring interdisciplinary approaches to learning.

Policy of Student Education

• We help students gain a broad range of knowledge necessary to thrive in a period of increasingly complex, multi-faceted cultural modalities, in which the interchange of people and information takes place globally.
• We help students develop the ability to dynamically conceive a new cultural worlds with a flexible and rich imagination.

Expected Achievement for Students

• A Bachelor’s degree in literature will be awarded to students acquiring at least 124 credits through the following learning process:
• Students are expected to acquire the basic learning ability necessary for undertaking coursework by developing academic literacy through Required Core Seminars.
• Students are expected to acquire the foreign languages skills necessary for undertaking a broad range of further coursework through enrolling in Required English and Core Foreign Language classes.
• Students are expected to study approaches to cultural studies and obtain the fundamental skills necessary for developing their own field of research through enrolling in the Advanced Seminars offered by their Theoretical Configurations.
• Students are expected to deepen their fundamental cultural literacy, explore the dynamism of various research fields, and obtain broad perspectives for their own research themes through selecting and enrolling in Lectures and Elective Foreign Language classes not confined to the frameworks of their Theoretical Configurations.
• Students are expected to select either the Theoretical Configuration Seminar (zemi) or Graduation Research, and pursue their studies through discussion with other students or advice from a supervisor, then submit a thesis of a certain academic level and originality as a culmination of their four years study.

Curriculum Policy

• First-year students mainly enroll in Required Core Seminars designed for developing academic literacy as well as Required English and Core Foreign Language classes to acquire the basic skills necessary for undertaking future coursework.
• Second-year students, upon fulfillment of the relevant requirements, are promoted to one of six Theoretical Configurations. Here they proceed with research, reading and discussion on a specific topic by enrolling in Advanced Seminars of their Theoretical Configurations. They also enroll in Lectures for Bridge Subjects that are shared with the School of Humanities and Social Sciences to learn liberal arts and specialized subjects that cover a wide range of subjects, from the classics to advanced and new areas of study. In addition, they take Elective Foreign Language classes to further develop their foreign language skills .
• Third-year and fourth-year students need to select either two years of study in a Zemi (Theoretical Configuration Seminar) or Graduation Research under the guidance of an appropriate supervisor. In the former case, students pursue their studies in a collaborative learning environment, where they work, support, and encourage each other, and complete their four years of study with the submission of a seminar thesis. In the latter case, students pursue their studies through a creative approach to their own research topic and complete their four years of study with the submission of a bachelor’s thesis.

Admission Policy

Under the educational policy of “The Independence of Scholarship”, Waseda University admits a large number of domestic and international students who have a superior level of basic academic ability, a healthy intellectual curiosity, an enterprising spirit (one of the educational philosophies of the university), and high motivation to study. Our school particularly requires prospective students to have following qualities and abilities.

• Prospective students need to be eager to work hard for a degree with an understanding of our philosophies and goals: to “explore cultural manifestations and structures, analyze representations, create literature, and discuss the nature of human beings and society in order to conceive cultures suitable for new eras” and “apply the wisdom of cultural studies to the issues of the present day and daringly transcend the bounds of existing academic disciplines, favoring interdisciplinary approaches to learning.”
• Prospective students need to have a certain level of basic academic ability to complete their studies after admission with an understanding of our curriculum ranging from foundation-level to specialty courses. They also need to have accumulated a broad range of academic knowledge and experience before their entry into our school.