Master’s Program in International Cooperation Studies
In today’s society, there is a constant need to address global challenges that cannot be handled by one country alone but require the combined efforts of multiple countries, institutions, and organizations. International cooperation is an essential element in resolving these challenges and promoting sustainable peace and economic, social, and educational development. The Department of International Cooperation Studies fosters people who can play a role in solving increasingly diverse global issues at the forefront of international cooperation in international organizations, governments, private companies, and other fields.
Curriculum
The Department of International Cooperation Studies is characterized by the following three points.
- Striving to meet the growing demand in Japan to nurture global-minded people with the advanced academic and practical skills needed by the international community.
- Educating talented young Japanese in response to the fact that the United Nations, other specialized international organizations, and international development finance institutions are making efforts to recruit such people to join them, but have not yet secured enough people to fill the positions.
- By establishing a program in the Graduate School of Global Studies that specializes in fostering people for international cooperation roles, we will create a system in which students can take not only courses specialized in international cooperation but also related courses from other graduate schools, and develop a new interdisciplinary educational practice within the university.
In addition to core courses on the roles and functions of international organizations and the private sector, and specialized courses on peacebuilding and international politics, including international cooperation, the program offers a number of coursework subjects taught by experts with extensive practical experience in international organizations and international cooperation. The curriculum is designed to be practical so that students can be effective the moment they enter the field of international cooperation.
In addition, practical programs such as on-the-job training at international organizations are incorporated as elective required courses.
Most of the courses are offered in English.
Granted Degree
- Master’s Program: MASTER OF ARTS IN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION STUDIES
Program Features
Pillars of Education and Research: Peace Cooperation and Peacebuilding Research and Sustainable Development/Social and Educational Development Research
These are the two pillars of education and research in the Department of International Cooperation Studies, and the subject assignments are based on them.
In Peace Cooperation and Peacebuilding Studies, students learn about the philosophy and activities of the United Nations and other international organizations in terms of conflict resolution, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding, as well as bilateral cooperative relationships, to prepare them for immediate future work in these fields. Peacebuilding activities also include a broad range of activities in which civilian staff can play an active role, mainly in post-conflict state reconstruction, reestablishment of governance systems and human resource development, security sector development, and economic revitalization.
Sustainable Development Studies/Social and Educational Development Studies focuses on sustainable development, with themes including the concept of sustainability, which lies at the core of Agenda 2030 -a major goal of the international community- and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including poverty and hunger eradication, environment and development, corporate support, public-private partnerships, and other themes. Regarding social and educational development, there are still high expectations for research on issues such as migration and population problems facing the international community, local communities and cultures, women’s empowerment and gender theory, support for people with disabilities, and international cooperation and collaboration for educational development and its promotion, which are essential for development, especially in developing countries. At the same time, the local characteristics features strongly in these issues, making such problems difficult to solve with only one academic field or theory and so requiring a more multifaceted approach.
Weekday Evening and Saturday Classes, Intensive Courses, and a Long-term Enrollment System
Since the main focus is on education for working people, we offer many classes in the evening (5/6 classes), on Saturdays, and in intensive courses, etc. We have also introduced long-term enrollment system that enables students to enroll for three years for the cost of two years’ tuition fees.
Possible Paths
The goal of the program is to prepare students for careers in the field of international cooperation, where they will be able to work immediately and proactively in the field. For example, after completing the program in International Cooperation Studies, those who already have professional experience can take the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) examination administered by the Japanese government. If they pass, they can work for two or three years as a professional officer with the United Nations or other specialized international organization. After that, they may be able to work for an international organization for a long period of time.
Graduates may also find employment with government agencies, development cooperation organizations, international NGOs, and international private companies that have become indispensable to the development of developing countries. Various international organizations regularly send career missions to Japan in an effort to secure international personnel in Japan, and international companies are also working to secure suitable people who have an international background and experience.
Available Subjects
About half of the classes will be conducted in English
- Core Courses
- UN Studies
- International Organizations
- Human Security and Peace Building
- Global Governance
- International Politics and Cooperation
- Studies on International Educational Development
- Education for Sustainable Development
- Regions and Communities in International Society
- Environment and Development
- Sustainable Development
- Social Science Research Designs and Academic Writing
- Overseas Studies Program
- Role and Functions of the UN
- Geneva international Organizations Studies Program
- Bangkok International Organizations Studies Program with Fieldwork
- North Thailand Field Work Program
- UN Intensive Career Training Program
- Study Tour for Sustainable Future
- Specialized Courses
- Peace Cooperation and Japan’s Support
- Peace Cooperation Studies Seminar
- Diplomacy and International Cooperation
- EU’s Foreign Policy and International Cooperation
- International Movement of People
- International Protection of Refugees
- Human Security and Peace Building
- Development Policy Studies
- Non-formal Education and Lifelong Learning
- Environmental History and Policies in Japan
- Gender and Politics
- International Communication
- International Civil Service and Human Resource for International Cooperation
- Corporate Communications
- Project Management
- Basic Concepts of Human Rights, Practice, and International Human Rights Law
- International Financial Institutions for Development
- International Financial Institutions and The Private Sector
- International Development Cooperation: Population, Health, Gender and Human Rights
- World Bank Project Management. etc.
Educational Policies
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The program aims to nurture global talents who have both broad knowledge and practical skills in the fields of peace cooperation and peacebuilding requiring international solidarity, development of sustainable economy and society, and development of education to cope with various global issues that go beyond the framework of countries, and sets standards for the skills and knowledge students should acquire by the end of the program as described below. Those who fulfill the completion requirements and pass their thesis or research defense shall be deemed to have acquired these qualities and will be awarded a diploma
- Acquire skills and practical abilities for engaging in international cooperation, having organized and understood the philosophy, concept, and theories of international cooperation required by the global society, and moreover, having learned the methodologies of international cooperation as well as roles and functions of international organizations, government agencies, NGOs, and private sectors, which drive forward international cooperation
- Acquire profound knowledge of the initiatives taken by the international society and of the current status in the fields of peace cooperation and peacebuilding; sustainable development/society; and educational development; and also acquire the ability to identify practical and feasible policies and measures for solving various issues.
- Consider international cooperation by combining a wide range of academic fields related to the promotion of international cooperation such as international relations, international sociology, international economics, statistics, educational development, cultural sociology, and area studies, and acquire the ability to develop critical and logical argument as well as practical communication skills.
- The ability to write academic papers and research themes that have proper structure, accurate analysis, clarity, and are logical and convincing, based on past research.
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The program has two disciplinary specialty pillars to achieve the diploma policy: peace cooperation and peacebuilding research; and sustainable development/society and educational development research. It distributes the courses in the two disciplinary specialties in a balanced manner over the core subject group consisting of basic courses (Group A) and overseas internship courses (Group B), and five small course groups and two large course groups of the specialized course group consisting of applied courses (Group C), applied practical courses (Group D), and collaboration courses (Group E). The curriculum offers opportunities to the students, depending on the disciplinary specialty, to acquire skills and practical abilities for engaging in international cooperation at the frontline overseas in the overseas internship courses (Group B), building on the broad knowledge they acquired in the basic courses (Group A) of the core subject group, and further deepen analysis, logical composition, and knowledge of the respective disciplinary specialties in the applied courses (Group C), applied practical courses (Group D), and collaboration courses (Group E) of the specialized course group and boost expertise and practical abilities.
- The basic courses (Group A) offer courses that form the base of the two disciplinary specialties, in which students learn the roles and functions of the United Nations, which is engaged in extensive fields, and related specialized international organizations. The group also includes basic courses regarding international cooperation and courses that become the basis of research such as survey methodologies, skills improvement, international civil servant system, and communication theories, in which the students acquire basic knowledge of international cooperation and nurture the foundation of thinking ability, ability to develop logical argument, and practical communication skills.
- Overseas internship courses (Group B) allow students to gain valuable real experience for achieving an international career after gaining degrees at bases such as New York, Geneva, and Bangkok, where the headquarters of UN agencies concentrate, and improve practical knowledge and skills, and practical abilities.
- The applied courses (Group C) and applied practical courses (Group D) offer courses for students to widen their knowledge in each field; improve their cogitation and analyzing skills and ability to develop arguments; and deepen their specialization. In the fields of peace cooperation and peacebuilding, the students deepen their understanding of not only peace cooperation by the UN but also collaboration with local organizations, sub-local organizations, specialized international organizations, international NGOs, and private sector; the impact of diplomacy by leading nations; and contribution to human security. In sustainable development, the groups primarily offer more practical courses such as the roles of development-related international organizations such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and international development financial institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank; development assistance by governments; direct investment by private sectors including private enterprises; and development theories reflecting environment and genders. In social and educational development, the groups offer opportunities to learn not only the relationship between development, population, and movement of people; the roles of local society; the balance between environment and development; and improvement of fairness and quality of education in public education but also factors that contribute to the development of non-formal education outside school.
- The collaboration courses (Group E) include diverse subjects from international politics and theory of internal political economy to study of unique characteristics of regions and regional developmental approach in international developmental cooperation as well as marine law and gender theory, which play the role of strengthening wide-ranging knowledge in the academic fields related to the two disciplinary specialties. It is designed to allow students to take courses in other graduate schools and majors, and offers an opportunity for students to further improve the knowledge in the disciplinary specialties, cogitation and analyzing skills, and the ability to develop arguments.
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- A student who clearly understands the political, economic, and social trends in the international society; has the ability to analyze the response of international society against global issues from the level of international systems, nation, and local communities; and possesses a strong will to contribute to international cooperation.
- A student with high academic inquisitiveness, and at the same time, possessing analyzing skills, logical cogitation, and expressive power to realize policies as well as excellent international-level English language and communication skills.
- A student with a strong recommendation from a person, such as a past thesis advisor or a superior at work, who has guided the student in obtaining an important qualification with respect to the student’s clear intention for a career in international cooperation field and the ability to realize it.
Faculty Members
Many of the core courses on the roles and functions of international organizations and the private sector, and specialized courses on peacebuilding and international politics, including international cooperation, are taught by experts with extensive practical experience in international organizations and international cooperation.
Naoki UMEMIYA Professor
Hideki MARUYAMA Professor
Shino WATANABE Professor