Curriculum

Program Features

Development and Refinement of Self-issue Concerns

Active in Fields Abroad

Selected Thesis Topics

Master’s Program

Doctoral Program

Higher Education and Research Institution Enrollment by Graduates of the Program

Educational Policies

Diploma Policy

Master’s Program

The Master’s Program in Journalism sets standards for the skills and knowledge students should acquire before graduation as described below: Those who broadly study mass communication and journalism and earn the required credits, submit their thesis and pass their thesis defense shall be deemed to have acquired these qualities and will be awarded a diploma.

 

1. The ability to acquire the basic knowledge of the three areas set out in the Curriculum Policy and the ability to use it in solving the immediate issues associated with media and journalism
2. Interest in a wide range of subjects and the ability to pay attention to issues successively occurring in the information society and to address them with a unique and sophisticated acknowledgement of the issues
3. The ability to complete a thesis with an inquisitive mind and proper methodology, and receive grades exceeding a certain level
4. The ability to be alert to information from outside the university, collect information and make individual efforts to acquire information that would benefit one’s own research
5. The ability to communicate one’s research outcomes and thoughts in reports or oral presentations with a given format

Doctoral Program

The Doctoral Program in Journalism sets standards for the skills and knowledge students should acquire before graduation as described below: Those who earn the required credits, submit their dissertation and pass their dissertation defense shall be deemed to have acquired these qualities and will be awarded a diploma.

 

1. Knowledge of academic methodologies and high expertise of one’s research discipline and the ability to establish one’s own research theme based on journalism studies, media studies and information society studies
2. The ability to communicate the summary of past studies associated with one’s research theme, as required, based on a wide review of the literature
3. The ability to engage in discussion or analysis from an international perspective and present cutting-edge research outcomes at academic meetings in Japan and overseas
4. The ability to embrace an individual research theme and to establish a plan to pursue one’s research individually as a researcher
5. The ability to contribute to international society through the sophisticates expertise and ethical values nurtured in the pursuit of one’s research theme

Curriculum Policy

Master’s Program

In light of its aim to have students achieve the goals indicated in the Diploma Policy, the Master’s Program in Journalism constructs its curriculum with courses aligned to the following purposes:

 

1. Develop a curriculum centered on the three fields of Mass Communication Studies, Journalism Studies and Media Analysis, and offer Seminars to enable students to proactively engage in academic studies.
2. Offer courses that cover contemporary media and journalism-related issues as they evolve, and thus enable graduate students to flexibly pursue research in line with their interests and trends.
3. Enable students to promote their individual research under the guidance of their research advisor toward completing their thesis. By holding an interim thesis presentation, all faculty members can be aware of the progress made by each student
4. Allow students to take courses offered at Graduate Schools at other universities under the interchangeable credit system with other graduate school sociology courses.

Doctoral Program

In accordance with the diploma policy, in light of its aim to have students establish their own themes as researchers, the Doctoral Program in Journalism constructs its curriculum with courses aligned to the following purposes:

 

1. Have students acquire 12 credits in Seminar courses and research guidance within three years of enrollment, so that they can aim to complete their dissertation while they are enrolled
2. Provide students who, after one year of enrollment have passed the examination qualifying them to submit a dissertation, approval to write their dissertation.
3. Encourage students to actively present their research themes at the Japan Society for Studies in Journalism and Mass Communication and other domestic and international academic society meetings.
4. Establish a system that enables students to ask their mentors and other faculty members specializing in the research theme for advice and evaluation as needed in the course of writing their dissertation.
5. Dissertations shall be evaluated by a Dissertation Committee including Second Examiners from outside Sophia University. A diploma shall be conferred when the student receives a passing grade from the Dissertation Committee after the dissertation defense.

Admissions Policy

Master’s Program

The Master’s Program in Journalism seeks students with the following qualities:

 

1. Basically, students who have received a specialized education in media and journalism as an undergraduate, as it is essential for students to have the basic knowledge of the three areas identified in the Curriculum Policy in order to keep up with classes offered in the Master’s program
2. Given the frequency of reading foreign literature, students will need language skills centered on English. Foreign students are required to have passed the N1 level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test or the equivalent, or to prove Japanese language skills exceeding such levels
3. We have opened our doors to adults as a place where students with practical experience in media or journalism can conduct research based on experience-based problem recognition

Doctoral Program

The Doctoral Program in Journalism seeks students with the following qualities:

 

1. Students who are motivated to pursue a certain individual theme in the fields of mass
   communication, journalism or media, and aspire to engage in cutting-edge research in each field
2. Students with the ability to approach their research theme using different methodologies based on their rich expertise
3. Students who constantly aim to expand their research fields and serve the better understanding of international society from new perspectives

Faculty Members

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