Admissions Policy

Graduate School of Letters Admission Policy

(1)      Educational principles

The Graduate School of Letters is engaged in humanities research, focusing on both intellectual and material aspects of human endeavor as represented in the affairs, thought, customs, and other outcomes of individuals and social groups. Given the major changes that contemporary society is undergoing, the theoretical, historical, and practical investigation of human activity is of vital importance, and humanities studies accordingly have an increasingly significant role to play in society. The Graduate School of Letters aims to nurture researchers equipped with sufficiently high levels of specialization and conceptual abilities to pioneer new fields, and professionals capable of leveraging advanced knowledge in the humanities to play leadership roles both in Japan and throughout the world.

(2)      Educational programs

Educational goals
The education offered by the Graduate School of Letters is designed to cultivate a high level of knowledge in the humanities through the research process of developing a multifaceted understanding of issues and subjects of investigation, followed by original analysis and inquiry. In each field of specialization, priority is placed on acquisition of the latest specialized knowledge and skills, development of original critical abilities, analytical methods and understanding of primary historical materials, and on the process of debating and communicating research findings.

Educational program features
The Graduate School of Letters offers a Master’s program in Cultural Dynamics, and Pre-Ph.D. and Ph.D. programs in Cultural Forms and Cultural Expressions.
The Cultural Forms program focuses on the form taken by cultural phenomena as represented in the principles, systems, history, and other components that constitute the foundations of culture. Studies involve both field research and acquisition of knowledge from primary historical materials. The Cultural Expressions program focuses on the form taken by concrete and individual expression of cultural phenomena. Studies involve both field research and acquisition of knowledge from primary historical materials. The Cultural Dynamics program focuses on the dynamics of cultural phenomena and how they connect and interact with society, and seeks to develop practical knowledge that can be applied to contemporary social and cultural issues.
In the Master’s and Pre-Ph.D. programs, students will, through lectures and seminars in various specialized fields, hone their abilities to comprehend existing research findings, collect and analyze data, and present their own findings and views, while at the same time focusing on a chosen research subject under the guidance of their appointed supervisor. They will complete their research with the submission of a Master’s thesis. In the Ph.D. program students will further hone their research abilities through lectures and seminars in various specialized fields, while at the same time focusing on a chosen research subject under the guidance of their appointed supervisor. They will complete their research with the submission of a doctoral thesis that incorporates original findings.

(3)      Desired applicants

The Graduate School of Letters seeks the following kind of applicants.

(1)Students or working individuals who aspire to become researchers, and possess sufficient knowledge and academic skills to conduct research in specialized fields. Applicants are also expected to have interest in a wide range of topics other than their own fields of expertise so as to be able to take a multi-dimensional and comprehensive approach to their empirical research.

(2)Students or working individuals who aim to become professionals with a high level of expertise. Applicants should have a keen interest in humanities and possess sufficient knowledge and academic skills to conduct specialized research, or they should be highly motivated lifelong learners who are eager to study a wide range of cultural phenomena in depth.

(4)      Basic policies for student selection

We select students based on our judgment of whether they possess sufficient knowledge and abilities to conduct specialized research at the graduate school level.

Students applying for the Master’s and Pre-Ph.D. Programs are ordinarily required to take a written exam to determine if they possess sufficient specialized knowledge, reasoning abilities, and argument presentation skills to fulfill the program requirements. They also participate in an interview to determine their research capabilities, motivation, aptitude, and potential.

Students applying for the Ph.D. Program are ordinarily required to take a written exam to determine if they possess sufficient specialized knowledge, reasoning abilities, and argument presentation skills to earn a Ph.D.. They also participate in an interview to determine their research capabilities, motivation, aptitude, potential, and research achievements.

In addition, we conduct special screenings for working people for all programs that take into consideration their experience and academic achievements as working members of society.

We similarly conduct special screenings of international student applicants for all programs to determine if they possess sufficient Japanese language and other academic abilities to fulfill the program requirements.


School of Letters Admission Policy

(1)      Educational principles

The School of Letters is engaged in humanities research, focusing on both intellectual and material aspects of human endeavor as represented in the affairs, thought, customs, and other outcomes of individuals and social groups both in Japan and other countries. We encourage students to (1) view human activity within a broad temporal framework extending from the past to the present, (2) devote thought to underlying principles, and (3) dig deep enough into a subject of study to understand it intrinsically. Through the study of humanities, we aim to nurture people who are able to foster their own awareness, search the world for answers, and contemplate and express their views on the future of human society with both intellectual prowess and profound sensitivity.

(2)      Educational programs

Educational goals
The education offered by the School of Letters is designed to provide students with the kind of knowledge in the humanities that will enable them to understand issues and subjects of investigation from multiple perspectives, and to draw logical inferences from the knowledge gained. In the specialized fields, we put priority on encouraging students to go beyond the mere acquisition of knowledge to develop their abilities to think and express their views in their own words.

Educational program features
The School of Letters has just one department (Humanities) that offers 20 programs in specific fields. The curriculum consists in the 1st and 2nd years of general subjects common to the whole university, and in the 2nd to 4th years, of subjects in specialized areas. Students proceed in their 2nd year into their chosen specializations, receiving systematic education in these subjects through lectures and seminars, and developing their comprehension of academic materials written in Japanese and other languages, data collection and analysis skills, and presentation skills. Students can broaden their knowledge in the humanities by taking courses in any of the fields offered by the School of Letters. To complete their undergraduate education, students are also required to submit a graduation thesis that explores a specific theme from an original viewpoint under the guidance of their supervisor.

(3)      Desired applicants

The education and research of the School of Letters are divided into a diversity of specialized fields, and cover a great many subjects and issues. However, regardless of the field, we consider it to be of vital importance to never be satisfied with a single answer to a question and constantly search for more answers, and to express one’s views about a specific subject in one’s own words. The School of Letters accordingly seeks applicants who are eager to:

・ learn about human intellectual and cultural activities and their origins,
・attach meaning to and understand change in society and culture from a macroscopic perspective,
・develop a multifaceted, comprehensive understanding of culture and society in Japan and other countries,
・foster their own awareness and express their views about humanity in their own words,
・elevate acquired knowledge to the level of wisdom.

(4)      Basic policies for student selection

We select students based on our judgment of whether applicants possess a solid grounding in high school–level knowledge and the ability to leverage that knowledge to reason logically and present their views convincingly.

We refer to the National Center for University Entrance Examinations results to ascertain basic knowledge and understanding in various subjects. In our own entrance examinations, we place priority for the 1st phase applicants on reasoning abilities based on a solid grounding of knowledge in various subjects, and for the 2nd phase applicants, on the ability to comprehend texts, reason logically, and express ideas.