Graduate School of Human SciencesWaseda University

Learning characteristics

1. The interdisciplinarity and practicality of “8 areas + 1 course”
   The School of Human Sciences offers three departments with eight research areas and a one-year limited “Education Clinic Course” to choose from. Students can also branch out into a diverse range of related lecture subjects and seminars, to get a full, integrated perspective of the comprehensive human sciences, which will ultimately deepen their specialized research. Students will also have numerous opportunities to carry out extracurricular investigations and field work, sometimes outside of Japan.
2. Developing researchers and practitioners sought after by the international community
   The Human Sciences are an integrated science that mutually interlinks the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. As an academic discipline, it is essential for solving a diverse range of issues stemming from modern society and humans. As Japan’s leader in human sciences, our graduate school uses a high degree of specialization and a wide range of interdisciplinary fields to develop a flexible, new type of researchers and practitioners, capable of dealing with issues around the world that we face in modern times.

Two-Year Master’s Program

Upon entry, members of faculty at our graduate school provide guidance on subject selection, and creation of general or thesis research.

Requirements to complete this program include between two and four years of school attendance, taking at least 30 units of the required subjects, and then taking the required research guidance. After that, students must pass a Master’s Thesis review and examination. Graduates of the program will receive a Master’s Degree in Human Sciences. Certain individuals who have demonstrated excellent academic performance can complete the Master’s Program in one year or more, but only upon approval from the Graduate School Steering Committee.

English Based Program

In the master’s program Educational innovation and Communication Studies [EDICS] in English, students from all over the world will engage in active and free discussions with professors and fellow researchers on educational innovation and communication studies to solve various contemporary issues. Students are encouraged to engage in active and free discussions with faculty members and fellow students. Students decide their research questions with the advice of their faculty advisors, and as they conduct their own research, they are exposed to theoretical frameworks such as cognitive science, psychology of learning and education, media communication, internet science, comparative culture, leadership and organization, and various methods for conducting research on educational innovation and communication. Students will learn various methodologies and research skills for conducting research on educational innovation and communication.
– EDICS: https://www.waseda.jp/fhum/ghum/en/applicants/edics/