Courses at Master Program

What is Study Plan?

The course of study at GSICCS is divided into three Study Plans: Language & Communication, Culture & Communication, and Society & Communication.

As regards to the organization of the curriculum, the three Study Plans share the same Basic Courses.

Basic Courses are accompanied by Specialized Courses specific to each Study Plan, as well as Seminar Courses offering guidance on research topics along with methods and composition of the Master’s thesis. Moreover, a series of Related Courses provides an opportunity to acquire and develop communication and other practical skills.

In this way, each Study Plan is systematically constructed to define an optimal balance between both breadth and depth of graduate-level study to all enrolled students.

Further in line with our efforts to better promote diversity of research and experience, students may also take part in courses related to the field of Culture and Communication Studies that are offered by the other graduate schools at Waseda University.

Introduction of Three Study Plans

• Language & Communication
  The aim is to deepen general understanding of communication conducted through the medium of language, by engaging in studies in the fields of both theoretical and applied linguistics. Among specific study themes are how the individual and society are bound together by language, and the role of language in education policy-making in global society.
• Culture & Communication
  The aim is to study the emergence of cross-cultural differences through the recognition of diverse cultural representations in global society, thus coming to a new understanding of the dynamics of culture. At the same time, the course promotes analyses of and research on the concepts and theoretical frameworks underlying global culture
• Society & Communication
  A major theme is how, in globalized society, various forms of information circulate without regard to national boundaries, and what kind of benefits and problems such information flows can create, with the aim of promoting research that actively seeks to understand and resolve the tensions involved.

For more details about GSICCS faculty members, please refer to Faculty Details page!