The School of Social Sciences, established in 1966 by Waseda University, has dedicated itself to the pursuit of two basic principles. In an effort to meet the demand of modern day society and times, these two principles manifest themselves as " the overall interdisciplinary research and education of 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. 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 principles outlined above.
In order to launch into the realization of these two principles, Waseda University has recently opened the doors to 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, laws, economics and commerce, our students have successfully increased the thoroughness, discipline, and consistency of their theories whilst developing a highly individual and specialized approach towards 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 gaining 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 effectively propose constructive ideas. We see it as our mission to recapture the social sciences and bring back traditional perspective 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 " the overall interdisciplinary research and education of 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, namely Global Society and Policy Sciences. These areas of study allow for research and study from the perspective outlined below.
The remarkable expansion of the human being's everyday life circle 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 growing number of complications associated 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", namely vast macro-cultural areas.
It is also becoming difficult for the traditional individual sciences to develop appropriate and specific proposals within a rapidly changing era where 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. Then new design can only be realized through the development of an all encompassing and interdisciplinary research and education system. The Graduate School of Social Sciences' goal is to foster people who can fulfill the demand of this age through comprehensive research and an education system that offers solutions to the above issues.