Graduate School of EconomicsWaseda University

Humankind has come a long way. Modern economic growth has resulted in lower infant mortality, dramatically higher average life expectancy, and a sharp decline in the number of people living in extreme poverty worldwide. Looking at the world as a whole, humankind is steadily becoming richer, while various forms of inequalities have been narrowing in recent times.

At the same time, however, humanity is facing several challenges. Absolute poverty has not yet disappeared, and the economy is sometimes hit by boom-and-bust cycles as well as economic and financial crises. Many issues bring the sustainability of growth into question, such as declining productivity, responses to AI and other new technologies, changes in competition due to the rise of global corporate oligopolies, reevaluations of globalization, remaining inequalities, and the effects of climate change.

Many of these issues are intimately linked with the economy, which means systematic analyses of the economy are essential to solve them. The importance of economics as a tool for systematically analyzing the economy will surely increase, not diminish. The mission of the Graduate School of Economics (GSE) is to train students who can analyze contemporary issues and consider solutions through theoretical, empirical, and historical research in economics, while also conducting research that broadens the frontiers of human knowledge.

More specifically, our training of researchers involves a detailed research supervision system tailored to the aspirations and abilities of each student. We promote the development of systematic coursework, and along with individual research supervision by faculty members, we have a supervision system with faculty members in each research field. In particular, students in the doctoral program present their research to faculty members and colleagues from other fields as well as participating in interdisciplinary research projects in the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Moreover, we emphasize counseling for research and life in general. Furthermore, we are focusing on various measures to develop world-class researchers, such as various grants for reporting at external and internal academic conferences and writing academic papers. We have seen steady outcomes as a result of these efforts, with a dramatic increase in the number of students receiving doctoral degrees in the last few years.

Looking at the master’s programs, we created an empirical analysis program (EAP) in 2015 with an emphasis on acquiring practical knowledge of economics that can be used in the real world, with the aim of fostering highly specialized professionals. Moreover, we are investing in the fostering of diverse professionals by enhancing the Global Political Economy Course, which allows students to work closely with people from the Graduate School of Political Science in conjunction with the GSE, as well as by enhancing collaboration with foreign universities and student exchange programs. Students who have found jobs after completing a master’s program at the GSE are active in a broad range of areas in society all over the world.

Masazumi Wakatabe
Dean of the Graduate School of Economics

Yoshio Kamijo
Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Economics