Department of Information and Communication Sciences

Deepen our understandings of people and society through the knowledge, wisdom, and experience of “Information”

Department Features

The Department of Information and Communication Sciences cultivates the ability to comprehend both human and society based on information, the creativity to develop the knowledge and experience accumulated by humans and society, and the ability to construct an information society where every human being can live safe. While providing basic education on science and technology, students will focus on various specialties from key themes: Human Information, Communication Information, Social Information, and Mathematical Information. Based on “Cross Disciplinary Knowledge”, which is a fusion of science and engineering, we provide students specialized education to acquire solid ability to open up the future while adapting to a wide range of fields. By acquiring “Cross Disciplinary Knowledge”, students can become not only human resource who can utilize the latest information and communication technology and develop useful systems but also internationally active scientists and engineers as well as educators who can nurture the next generation.

Best Combination of Science and Engineering

Besides programming exercises in a computer room available to everyone, students learn a wide variety of fields such as mathematics, ergonomics, civil engineering, and communication engineering, and are trained to go beyond the boundaries of IT engineers to contribute to the creation of new information technology.

Active in a Wide Range of Fields

Information or mathematical skills or knowledge have become essential in all industries nowadays. The graduates of the Department of Information and Communication Sciences play an active role not only in information and communications but also in a wide range of other fields.

Curriculum

Students will take basic major courses from Faculty of Science and Technology Common Subject Group to achieve “Fundamental Education” related to all aspects of science and engineering such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and informatics to aim for “cross-disciplinary and flexible education” in specialized education. Another feature is the emphasis on acquiring an interdisciplinary viewpoint based on natural science in collaboration with the human and social sciences.  In junior and senior years, students will select a specialized field of their interest among four key themes for Department Specialized Courses as well as students can still take courses other than their selected courses. All students also take courses such as programming exercises, laboratory experiments on electric circuits and logical circuits, and mathematical exercises. By linking with the knowledge acquired in regular courses and addressing problems, students can obtain the skills required to apply in practical situations.  

※For further information on the courses, please refer to the Syllabus.

Course Examples

Fundamental Signal Theory

This course covers the theory underlying all information and communication systems such as the Internet and Mobile networks. Specifically, students will learn about information source coding and line coding, Fourier transformation and signal analysis, and noisy-channel coding theorem (Shannon limit).

Business Data Analysis

This course introduces important techniques of Machine learning used in business data analysis. Students will learn the theoretical mechanisms of machine learning, statistical programming software to analyze the results, and ways to utilize the results of the analysis in real business.

Image Processing Technology

Students learn various image/video processing mechanisms related human and robot visions and their practical applications as well as actual programming exercise. The course also aims at acquiring intra-disciplinary knowledge based on the study of visual psychology and electronic sensors as well as the linkage with telecommunications and mathematics to learn the relation between humans and information.

Available Teaching Licenses and Subjects

  • Teaching License for Mathematics in junior high school
  • Teaching License for Mathematics and Informatics in high school

Available Qualifications

  • Chief Electrical Engineer
  • 第一級陸上特殊無線技士
  • First-Class Radio Operator for General Services
  • 第一級陸上特殊無線技士
  • Maritime III–Category Special Radio Operator

Curatorial Courses are also available.

Educational Objectives and Policies

To pursue the study of information in human, communicational, social, and mathematical contexts from foundations in information science, computer engineering, mathematics, and biology, and thereby cultivate a capacity for integrated and specialized analysis, synthesis, and application of information employing interdisciplinary approaches.

To produce graduates capable of comprehending and accumulating information, knowledge and ideas developed by humans and society, and of advancing them through application to information technology contexts, in order to contribute to the creation of information structures, systems, and new information technologies that are useful to humans and society.

The Department of Information and Communication Sciences aims to foster human resources who can have an deep and integrated understanding of humans and society based on “information”, human resources who can accumulate the knowledge, wisdom and experience possessed by humans and society and compile visual information, and human resources with expertise in at least one of the following themes: human information, information communications, social information,
mathematical information, and who can organically combine such expertise to return to humans and society. With a view to these aims, the department sets standards for the skills and knowledge students should acquire before graduation as described below. Those who have fulfilled the requirements and have passed the thesis defense will be awarded a diploma.

 

  1. The ability to understand “information” in the broad context of modern society in terms of its significance, principles and theory, and daily applications in various fields of society.
  2. The ability to respond to various aspects of humans based on an understanding of human-related information processing, including the brain and nerves, senses, cognition and language, as well as human activity-related information processing, including human support and educational support.
  3. The ability to take initiatives in solving the various issues associated with the advancement of information and communication technologies based on an understanding of the fundamental ICT.
  4. The ability to use and create cutting-edge information technologies based on an understanding of fundamental technologies associated with the generation, use, accumulation and distribution of information, such as IoT, artificial intelligence, databases, and software engineering.
  5. The ability to take initiative in solving the various issues associated with information technologies in modern society, acquired by gaining knowledge of mathematics, which is essential in understanding all modern sciences, including information sciences.

The Department of Information and Communication Sciences
aims to foster the ability to analyze, integrate and develop information comprehensively and in a specialized manner, based on information sciences, communication engineering, mathematic sand biology, integrated learning of the information related fields of humans, communications, society and mathematics, with the perspective of integrating arts and sciences. In accordance with the diploma policy, the Department constructs its curriculum with courses aligned with the following purposes.

 

  1. To acquire the fundamental abilities to address the advancement of globalization through coursework in university-wide General Courses, Language Courses and courses for developing an understanding of Christian humanism. Also to acquire, mainly during the freshman and sophomore years, the basic academic skills to understand modern science through lectures, seminars and laboratory classes.
  2. To acquire cross-disciplinary and integrated knowledge by learning both scientific and engineering dimensions through courses ranging from those designed to develop understanding of humans, including human brains and neurological activity and sensory information, to those covering the measurement of human bodies and activity and application to welfare and education.
  3. In terms of software and hardware associated with information communications technologies, to acquire the fundamentals required of an information communications technician by learning expert technologies based on a comprehensive understanding of the entire system, in multiple basic courses that cover broad range of technological fields, from system components to their integration.
  4. To acquire the abilities required for fostering human resources who will use and create cutting-edge information technologies through courses ranging from basic engineering courses to applied courses incorporating social perspectives, in order to systematically understand various technologies associated with the generation, use, accumulation and circulation of social information contents.
  5. For all students, to acquire minimal mathematical knowledge through basic mathematics courses in order to understand fundamental theories in all information-related disciplines. Also, for students seeking to pursue research in mathematics in the graduate program, to acquire specialized knowledge of modern mathematics by taking a specialized course on the subject.

The Department of Information and Communication Sciences seeks human resources with a strong educational background, comprising an appreciation of culture and extensive knowledge as well as expertise regarding information that is utilized in various fields, who are able to integrate, apply and further develop such knowledge and expertise. We seek human resources who are eager to take a unique approach in establishing future society against the backdrop of science and technology and supporting fundamental studies as well as “multiple intelligence” constructed by integrating pieces of knowledge associated with humans and society:

 

  1. Those who have acquired solid basic academic skills that will serve as a foundation for studying information science, communications engineering, mathematics and biology.
  2. Those who have the logical thinking skills, broad perspectives, and good communication skills required to identify and solve academic issues.
  3. Those who show enthusiasm in studying multiple information-related fields, namely “human information”, “communication information”, “social information”, and “mathematical information”, and thus contribute to the elucidation of principles that help the understanding of phenomena, the establishment of nnew systems, and technology development.

Faculty Members

Takayuki ARAI Professor

Masakatsu OGAWA Professor

Gonsalves TAD Professor

Nobuyuki SASAKAWA Professor

Hiroshi TAKAHASHI Professor

Yasuhisa TAMURA Professor

Masao Tsuzuki Professor

Hiroshi TSUNOGAI Professor

Toshiki NAKASHIMA Professor

Maki NAKASUJI Professor

Takako NIIKURA Professor

Hitoshi HAYASHI Professor

Masaki BANDAI Professor

Kanako OSHIRO Associate Professor

Ryo KAWABATA Associate Professor

Yasushi GOMI Associate Professor

Chikayoshi SUMI Associate Professor

Fabien Benoit TRIHAN Associate Professor

Yuichiro MIYAMOTO Associate Professor

Ikuko YAIRI Associate Professor

Haruka YAMASHITA Associate Professor

Takao YAMANAKA Associate Professor

Yusuke KAMEDA Assistant Professor

Satoshi GOTO Assistant Professor

Hitoshi HIRATA Assistant Professor

Sophia University

For Others, With Others