Department of Political Science

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Department of Political Science

Goal of the Department

Politics is a decision-making tool for humans to live in groups. Regardless of the scale of a country, a municipality, or a company, political processes are necessary to deal with many of the situations confronting any society ranging from diplomacy and policy to education, and the problems of an aging population. The Department of Political Science focuses on refining the social-scientific thinking skills to flexibly respond to a variety of social phenomena, on the nurturing of the decision-making ability to choose from among many options, and also on the organizational management ability to put it into practice, and a high level of humanity and social skills to earn the trust of all the participants. The goal of education in the Department of Political Science is to acquire knowledge for easing relations between persons or between a person and a company, and also for leading a group in a better direction. In addition, in modern times as political phenomena change rapidly on a worldwide scale, we put weight on acquiring a global perspective, broad thinking, and language skills.

Educational Content

In the Department of Political Science, not only knowledge but also the abilities to express opinions at a presentation, to discuss with others, to write reports, and the like are all taught as important skills. To acquire these skills, we offer small-group seminars over all the four years so that the students can develop comprehensive communication skills. We also provide an enriched education for developing competent personnel who can flexibly respond to an ever-changing society, including a curriculum with a wide variety of subjects relating to domestic and international problems.

Study in the Four Year

1. The first seminar offered in every academic year is the "Logic of Social Science." This seminar focuses on basic training and reading materials (including English ones). In the second year and later, there are more specialized seminars and the students can systematically and effectively learn political science along with lectures of specialized subjects.
2. Basic courses are offered as introductory lectures in a variety of political science fields in the first and second years so that just after enrollment, students can learn about new political events. At the same time, "Introduction to Political Science," an omnibus class different from either the lectures or seminars given by many academics is also offered in the first year.
3. On the basis of the seminar and lectures in the first year, many specialized lectures are offered in the second, third and fourth years. To allow the students to systematically and effectively learn a variety of political science fields, they are categorized into four subject groups: "Political Theory and History" for learning about political thought, theory, and history,; "Administration and Self-Government" for dealing with relatively familiar political problems including the decentralization and environmental problems; "International Politics and Economics" for covering globalization and regional integration; and "Contemporary World Politics" for exploring politics in each area of the world.

Career Options

The graduates with their excellent ability to manage and operate organizations can choose from a variety of career such as a company employee and a public officer. There is also an option to explore a specialized field as a graduate student.

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