Graduate School of Letters, Arts and SciencesWaseda University

 Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences

From the Dean

Kiyotake Oki

Frequent occurrences of abnormal weather events and natural disasters on a global scale, the worldwide spread of COVID-19 and resulting significant reductions in exchanges of people and goods, the increasingly severe international tension mainly in Europe, and the transformation of Japan, which is experiencing depopulation and a labor shortage at the same time as its population is rapidly aging with a smaller number of children. Sometimes these social problems that have arisen inside and outside Japan in recent years make people feel powerless, but at other times these circumstances remind us of how much the acquisition of new knowledge and exploration for insights into people and society through humanities and social sciences studies can mean.

In response to surging social demand for such exploration, universities as institutions of higher education, and graduate schools that perform important functions for them, such as conducting research and developing highly specialized human resources, have also been changing.

As one such institution, Waseda University Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences has also been implementing several reforms in recent years to enhance its educational and research functions. For example, double-degree programs have been adopted whereby students can acquire degrees at both Waseda and an overseas partner graduate school.

In addition, the Global Japanese Literary and Cultural Studies, which has been launched under the Top Global University Project by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, consists of a doctoral program and master’s program and it allows students to write their dissertations in English. This course now serves as a base for transmitting achievements in Japanese studies to the world.

At the same time, however, some principles have remained unchanged ever since the founding of Tokyo Senmon Gakko (Tokyo College), the predecessor of Waseda University. In particular, the spirits of Independence of Scholarship and Practical Application of Scholarship, which are clearly stated in the mission statement of Waseda University, are shared in common by all courses comprising the Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

What  “Independence of Scholarship” means to our school is best described by the following in the university’s mission statement   : “Waseda University pledges to contribute to the scholarship of the world by regarding freedom of research as essential and devoting itself constantly to original research.” One ideal for students and faculty of our school is that they should explore their own themes as individuals through seminars and research guidance, conduct in-depth research using many different methods and techniques, summarize results, and eventually aim to contribute to the academic world inside and outside Japan.

The other one, Practical Application of Scholarship, is described as follows in the mission statement: “Waseda University pledges to contribute to the progress of the times by establishing a path for the practical use of scholarship as well as pursuing theoretical research for its own sake.” My understanding is that this is about expecting the university to help build up social infrastructure by sharing its research results with society, while at the same time providing perspectives and knowledge to resolve challenges society is faced with right now, thereby acting as a guide that suggests new directions. As our school consists of an extremely wide variety of courses, the Practical Application of Scholarship should also be diverse as well, depending on the specialist characteristics and unique features of each course.

Our English name is Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences. It encompasses a broad spectrum of meanings, including culture, scholarship, art, education, refinement, and science. This is because that is how we believe our school should be.

Welcome to the Waseda University Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences.