Graduate Schools
Graduate schools were established for students desiring to further their studies of specialized knowledge and technology after completing their undergraduate education.
Setsunan Graduate schools consist of five departments, which correspond to the five faculties at the undergraduate level. The five departments are further broken down to seven different majors, which provide two-year master's courses or the first half of doctorate courses. So far, there is one major that can offer the second half of its doctorate course.
In April 2005, Setsunan University is planning to add a doctorate course in Business Administration and Information Studies. Students in master's courses and the first half of doctorate courses are expected to learn insightful academic knowledge from a broad point of view, develop research capability in their specialized areas, and demonstrate the necessary ability to carry out a highly specialized profession. In the latter half of doctorate courses, students are supposed to foster a high level of ability that is required to conduct research in their specialized areas independently. Whatever course students choose to join, they will be attached to a laboratory for their specialty. They will be studying under one of the teaching staff in the field, which assures that they will be given sufficient research guidance from the staff. While taking graduate-level lectures and seminars, students will decide on a research subject and get ready to write a thesis for a master's or doctor's degree.
Law (Master's Course)
Division of Law
As society becomes more and more complicated, the number of problems that require a legal viewpoint to cope with and make a judgment on is increasing. Under these circumstances, in addition to independent legal experts such as lawyers and judges, the importance and necessity of in-house, or corporate, legal specialists has become increasingly recognized. In-house specialists belong to certain organizations including corporate companies or public associations and are responsible for making a social contribution by enforcing legal justice while keeping a balance between laws and profits. Considering these social needs, the Department of Legal Studies mainly aims to train in-house legal experts with advanced specialized knowledge based on solid legal way of thinking. However, we believe that our legal education is also sufficient enough to train independent legal specialists. Toward a higher summit of legal education, we continue our efforts by conducting research on the interpretation and operation of positive laws to deal with actual social situations and needs in a more sophisticated way, and by providing education that fosters a high level of expertise.
International Languages and Cultures (Master's Course)
In order to provide students with an opportunity to pursue more specialized knowledge and skills in their major area, a graduate program was established at the university. The term of study is two years leading to a master's degree.
The aims of the MA course include deepening and broadening the students's scholarly horizons, and cultivating their analytical skills in their area of specialization. Their studies should also equip the students with skills that will be important in their future employment. The students will receive guidance in their studies from professors from all sectors of the faculty. Along with their lectures and seminars, the students will complete a thesis in their area of specialization.
Division of International Languages and Cultures
Today's world is entering an era of interdependence and connection. Japan is a part of this system of global cooperation. However, it is also and era of war, political strife, and many economic and environmental problems that cause disruption of societies' well being.
In order to deal with this complex international environment, there is a need for people trained in international affairs. This faculty hopes to equip people with the understanding of other cultures and languages necessary to meet future challenges. In the future, Japan will continue to be deeply involved with both the West and Asia.
Knowledge of the languages and cultures of both these areas will become increasingly important. In response to these future needs, the faculty has attempted to structure its curriculum around the study of these two areas.
Business Administration and Information (Master's & Doctoral Course)
Division of Business Administration and Information
Business Administration and Information Studies seeks ways to solve problems that organizations such as corporations have by gathering and processing the information necessary for solutions with the aid of information technology. The areas of study are business operation and accounting, and information technology and information networking, and even include business environments such as nature, politics, and economics.
Master's Course provides a curriculum that helps students to develop abilities such as insight and creativity, so that they can relate various factors of many areas to one another in a sophisticated and organic way, and demonstrate a high level of performance in the business environment. Demonstrate a high performance level in the business environment. In this way, we aim to produce professionals who are creative, can cover a broad range of the business and information field, and can plan a business strategy for the 21st century, as well as researchers with abundant expertise and excellent research capability. The research areas are systematically structured into three main areas, which are "business operation," "information" and "environment." In addition to this unique structure, there are classes that offer much more insightful viewpoints than those on the undergraduate level. Students are given many chances to enhance their knowledge and techniques from various aspects.
Moreover, in April of 2005, we opened Doctoral Course. The curriculum is featured by three specific areas of study, namely, "business
operation," "information" and "region". With this distinctive
curriculum, we prepare excellent opportunities for students to become competent
professional executive with a high level of multi-faceted viewpoints and who can take
full advantage of their expertise.
Engineering
<Doctoral Course>
Division of Innovation and Creativity Engineering
This major is set up for the latter half of a doctoral course after three majors in the former half of the course. We prepare interdisciplinary, integrated and advanced education and research in two fields: Creative Urban Architecture and Creative Artifacts. Creative Engineering allows students to develop new types of manufacturing and to create new industries. We nurture their expertise, openmindedness and creativity as well as all-round skills while they work on their research.
This major welcomes adult students as well.
<Master's Course>
Division of Social Development Engineering
In the study of social development engineering, students carry out research from the viewpoint of social development and environmental preservation, based on civil engineering, architecture and management engineering. More specifically, they are first expected to evaluate and analyze local development, urban development, and their effects on the surrounding environment. Then, they proceed to study structural mechanics and soil mechanics in an integrated way, both of which are basic technology of scientific and engineering techniques for environmental preservation. There are four target areas in this major, which are "urban and local planning," "hydraulic engineering," "structural engineering," and "soil and geotechnical engineering."
Division of Mechanical Systems Engineering
This division of the engineering studies offers a wide range of education and research related to machinery and systems engineering based on mechanical engineering and management system engineering. Along with the recent rapid development of computers and microelectronics, mechanical engineering has also gone through drastic progress and brought about various changes in the field. These changes are seen, for example, in the introduction of an advanced controlling function to machinery system, computer-assisted designing systems such as CAD, and computer-assisted production techniques. There are four target areas in this major, which are "system control engineering," "processing and manufacturing system engineering," "thermal and fluid system engineering," and "material engineering." Each course aims to foster highly skilled professional engineers and researchers with a profound knowledge of machinery systems and a diverse range of production areas. Engineering Studies
Division of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
In electrical and electronic engineering, considering the age of advanced science and technology, students conduct comprehensive research activities in a broad range of areas such as electrics, electronics, communication, information, and electrical and electronic engineering as the core subject of this major. There are three main areas of study, and each of them covers certain related subjects. The study of "electronic physical properties" includes material physical properties and magnetics. "Control and information engineering" includes system control, multi-media, energy system engineering, and information processing. "Optical and radio wave engineering" includes optical electronics, radio wave theories, and plasma engineering.
Phamaceutical Sciences (Master's & Doctoral Course)
Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences
The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences is divided into new medicinal chemistry, which aims at creating new medicines, Environmental Health Sciences, which investigates the effect of pharmaceuticals and chemical substances on the environment, food products and the human body and ways of eliminating harmful effects, and clinical and pharmaceutical science, which investigates the interaction between medicine and the human body.
One of the major themes during the Master's Course is to ensure the safety of medicines and consumer-related chemical substances. Therefore, in addition to lectures, students carry out research in our well-equipped laboratories. In the clinical and pharmaceutical science course, which is designed to train pharmacists to be able to participate in effective medical treatment as an integral part of a medical team, the emphasis is on students spending time on practical work at hospitals.
During the Doctoral Course, the research themes become more detailed as students become more able to carry out work as researchers in their own right.