School of Humanities and Social SciencesWaseda University

The basis of study in the humanities and social sciences is founded on a stable tradition of learning. Our understanding of humanity is provided through the world of learning and the insights cultivated by the activity of the intellect within this tradition. Education within the humanistic and social tradition provides a solid and dynamic foundation for the future. Within the humanistic and social scientific tradition of learning, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences aims at providing an education for the future, based on clear understanding and intellectual excellence. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences has reshaped and revitalized the tradition developed over the 120-year history of Waseda University, establishing an innovative and sophisticated academic program. The School has 18-department program in which students not only undertake a rigorous education in classic works of human learning, but also engage in cutting-edge research in humanities and social sciences. The ultimate aim is to provide an education based on the best forms of human knowledge which looks to the future of learning.

18 Departments engaged in transmitting the knowledge of tradition into a dynamic future.

Diploma Policy

With comprehensiveness, originality, and a systematic curriculum, combined with the university-wide educational and social environments of Waseda University, we offer students opportunities to experience the values of intellectual, cultural and linguistic exchange so that they can take the initiative in making contributions to the global community.

Philosophies and Goals of the School

• Probe deeply into humanity and the world at large, illuminate the essential qualities of language, literature, culture and expression, and inquire into the history of humanity and society.
• Refining the traditional system of scholarship to establish it as an unshakably firm academia based on an understanding of the wealth of scholarship to be developed in the new era.

Policy of Student Education

• Foster individuals who understand human nature from a reliable perspective by delving deeply into the study of traditional scholarship without being swayed by the current of the times.
• Aiming to contribute to the succession and development of tradition, foster students who exert the effort to attain to eternal ideals and stimulate one another to improve themselves without being swayed by fame or authority.

Expected Achievement for Students

• A Bachelor’s degree in literature will be awarded to students acquiring at least 124 credits through the following learning process:
• Students are expected to acquire the basic learning ability necessary for undertaking coursework by developing academic literacy through Required Core Seminars.
• Students are expected to acquire the foreign languages skills necessary for undertaking a broad range of further coursework through enrolling in Required English and Core Foreign Language classes.
• Students are expected to engage themselves in a systematic and in-depth study of a traditional research field through enrolling in lectures and seminars specific to their selected specialty field course, thus acquiring the academic ability necessary for understanding human nature from a robust perspective unswayed by the prevailing current of the times.
• Students are expected to deepen their fundamental cultural literacy, explore the dynamism of various research fields, and obtain broad perspectives for their own research themes through selecting and enrolling in Lectures and Elective Foreign Language classes not confined to the frameworks of their Courses.
• Students are expected to establish their own research theme under the guidance of a supervisor through enrolling in a Graduate Thesis Seminar then complete a Graduation Thesis as a culmination of their four years study.

Curriculum Policy

• First-year students mainly enroll in Required Core Seminars designed for developing academic literacy as well as Required English and Core Foreign Language classes to acquire the basic skills necessary for undertaking future coursework.
• Second-year students, upon fulfillment of the relevant requirements, are promoted to one of 18 courses. Here they proceed with their coursework through the special subjects (Advanced Seminars and Lectures) offered by their courses, which are designed in line with the unique academic disciplines and specialty fields of the respective courses. They also enroll in Lectures for Bridge Subjects that are shared with the School of Culture, Media and Society to learn liberal arts and specialized subjects that cover a wide range of subjects, from the classics to advanced and new areas of study. In addition, they take Elective Foreign Language classes to further develop their foreign language skills.
• In the Fall Semester of the third year, an advisor for the bachelor’s thesis project is assigned to each student. Each student attends a seminar for thesis writing given by the assigned advisor. Students working on related research themes under the guidance of the advisor stimulate one another’s research and complete the thesis as a compilation of their four years study.

Admission Policy

• Under the educational policy of independent learning, Waseda University admits a large number of domestic and international students who have a certain level of basic academic ability, a healthy intellectual curiosity, an enterprising spirit (one of the educational philosophies of the university), and high motivation to study.
• The concept and goals of the School are “To probe deeply into humanity and the world at large, illuminate the essential qualities of language, literature, culture and expression, and inquire into the history of human society,” and “To refine the traditional system of scholarship for the purpose of establishing it as an unshakably firm academia based on an understanding of the wealth of scholarship to be developed in the new era.” Applicants must understand these goals and have the intention to actively work on obtaining their degrees.
• Understand the curriculum from the basic to the specialized courses, and possess the basic academic abilities required for the studies after enrollment. Applicants also need to have accumulated a broad range of academic knowledge and experience during their high-school education.