Graduate School of AccountancyWaseda University

Dean of Graduate School of Accountancy
Takashi SHIMIZU

The Graduate School of Accountancy, Waseda University (WGSA) is a professional graduate school that was opened in 2005. A professional graduate school is a graduate school whose purpose is “to teach and research academic theories and applications, and to cultivate deep academic knowledge and outstanding abilities to take on occupations that require a high level of expertise” (Article 99.2 of the School Education Act). Unlike traditional graduate schools that have focused on fostering researchers, professional graduate schools specialize in theoretical and practical education in several vocational fields. WGSA was established in 2005 as a professional graduate school that had an accounting specialized course focusing on accounting education, and in 2019 an actuarial specialized course to train accounting and actuarial science specialists started.

WGSA trains accounting and actuarial science professionals who are active in business companies, financial institutions, insurance companies, audit firms, consulting firms, tax accountant corporations, and start-up companies, and as a passing point, we encourage students to acquire various qualifications. To date, graduates have obtained a variety of qualifications, including certified public accountants (about 600 people), U.S. certified public accountants, tax accountants, actuarial regular members and associate members, and bookkeeping examinations.

However, these qualifications can be obtained without coming to a professional graduate school. Holding a master’s degree is not a requirement for acquisition of a qualification. Why, then, and for what purpose do you have to spend valuable money and time on professional graduate schools?

It is relevant to after obtaining the qualification. Think about it. People who have qualifications are special to those who don’t. However, if you are in an organization made up of people with the qualifications, you are just an ordinary person. In that context, if you want to demonstrate your abilities and do bigger work, you need to have a competitive advantage among qualified people. In order to do so, it is necessary not only to have a lot of knowledge on paper to pass a qualification exam, but also to have “deep academic knowledge and outstanding abilities to take on a profession that requires a high level of expertise.”

One of the “outstanding abilities” is to discover problems and find solutions to them. These abilities may come naturally, but in many cases they can be acquired through training. We believe that professional graduate schools are places for such a training.

Furthermore, under the principles of “Accounting+1” and “Actuary+1”, you can have not only deep knowledge and outstanding abilities in each field, but also another area of expertise such as ICT / consulting, data science, tax, professional communication. We have the system that allows you to play an even wider range of activities while focusing on accounting and actuarial operations. Some of the students are aiming to become certified public accountants and actuaries, and I believe that such students will increase greatly in the future.

If you are thinking of becoming an expert in accounting and actuarial science, I would like you to take a look at the contents of WGSA. You’ll find that there are a lot of contents to add value to you.

Welcome to WGSA!