Education Policy(Doctoral Programs)

Diploma Policy

At this graduate school, the following abilities are stipulated as those which students should have acquired upon completion of programs, with students awarded a doctoral degree upon satisfying completion requirements in accordance with the University Regulations and passing the doctoral dissertation review recognized as having acquired such abilities.

  1. Acquisition of expertise, interdisciplinary nature, internationalism
  2. Writing of thesis
  3. Outstanding contributions to society as a researcher, educator, or working professional

Degree conferral policy for respective majors

  • Sociology
    In order to obtain a doctoral degree in the Sociology major, the following is required of students: (1) Acquisition of a high level of specialized knowledge, (2) Acquisition of high-level investigative and analytical skills related to quantitative and qualitative sociological research, (3) Acquisition of the ability to flexibly utilize a broad range of knowledge to allow consistent interaction of an interdisciplinary nature with related disciplines, (4) Acquisition of the discernment to contribute to society and on the international stage into the future, and (5) It will be necessary to acquire the ability to identify problems, and to formulate and carry out the research plans required to conduct high-level academic research.
  • Psychology
    In order to obtain a doctoral degree in the Psychology major, the following is required of students: (1) Acquisition of a high level of specialized knowledge, (2) Acquisition of specialized skills required to perform experimental and practical psychological research, (3) Acquisition of the ability to flexibly utilize a broad range of knowledge to allow consistent interaction of an interdisciplinary nature with related disciplines, (4) Acquisition of the discernment to contribute to society and on the international stage into the future, and (5) It will be necessary to acquire the ability to identify problems, and to formulate and carry out the research plans required to conduct high-level academic research.
  • Education
    In order to obtain a doctoral degree in the Education major, the following is required of students: (1) Acquisition of a high level of specialized knowledge, (2) Acquisition of the specialized skills required to perform theoretical and empirical research, (3) Acquisition of the ability to flexibly utilize a broad range of knowledge to allow consistent interaction of an interdisciplinary nature with related disciplines, (4) Acquisition of the discernment to contribute to society and on the international stage into the future, and (5) It will be necessary to acquire the ability to identify problems, and to formulate and carry out the research plans required to conduct high-level academic research.

The below standards will apply to thesis and dissertation writing guidance and screening, in accordance with the aims of the respective majors of the graduate school.

Doctoral Dissertation

  1. Clarity of issues identified
    How clearly does the student identify issues for research?
  2. Suitability of chosen research topic
    Is the student's research topic suitable considering the current state of the field?
  3. Literature review
    Does the student give a suitable review of previous research and show its relevance to their chosen topic?
  4. Validity of research methods
    Are the students research methods valid for the chosen topic, and are analytical methods used appropriately?
  5. Logical cohesion of the thesis
    Is the thesis structured systematically and written in a logical and cohesive manner?
  6. Meaningfulness of research results
    Does the research provide significant new insights which can advance the state of research in the field?
  7. Possibility to develop the research further
    Does the student demonstrate how the research can lead to further research?
  8. Appropriateness of expression, notation, and format
    Are the student's expressions, quotations, references, etc. of a manner which is appropriate to an academic paper?
  9. Are research ethics taken into consideration?

Process For Earning Your Diploma

Process For Earning Your Diploma

Curriculum Policy

Our curriculum and the skills which students will acquire are based on our diploma policy.

Curriculum organization policy common to all majors

  1. (Advisors/Co-advisors) Small-group seminar course and guidance on doctoral dissertations overseen by academic advisors
  2. Guidance on writing research papers, academic conference reports, etc., will be provided primarily by advisors and co-advisors.
  3. Guidance on submission of research papers to specialist journals in Japan and overseas, and on writing reports for specialist academic bodies in Japan and overseas and support for writing in second languages
  4. Exchange with overseas research institutions, study abroad referrals, and double degree system
  5. Taking classes at other graduate schools, credit transfer with other graduate schools
  6. Taking classes at other graduate schools
  7. Classes to support composition of papers in English
  8. For the doctoral dissertation screening, the selection committee reviews dissertations, with decisions on acceptance or non-acceptance finalized following deliberations at the Faculty Meeting
  9. Regular support by the Graduate School of Human Relations FD committee

Sociology

To achieve learning outcomes consistent with the above degree conferral policy, a curriculum as per the below will be established in accordance with the aims of the Sociology major at the graduate school.

Curriculum Structure

The Sociology major is made up of four fields: sociology, cultural anthropology & folklore, communication & mass-communication research, and social psychology.

Classes on the history of sociology and sociological methodology form the foundation of the curriculum. As for the master's program, courses are set up in such a way as to facilitate development using a wide range of topics and a problem-oriented approach. In each field of study, interview surveys, fieldwork, content and language analysis, questionnaire surveys, and experiments constituting the materials for empirical research will be carried out by the laboratories of respective faculty members, with data analysis and interpretation, and the tools used to express these, developed through classes.

In addition, as there is a broad variety of themes in sociology, and a likelihood of a similar diversity in the individual fields of interest of each student, in addition to the full-time faculty members of the Graduate School, part-time lecturers and guest professors from Japan and overseas are invited to ensure that course content is fully realized and to facilitate the discussions that are required to cater to this diversity.

Psychology

To achieve learning outcomes consistent with the above degree conferral policy, a curriculum as per the below will be established in accordance with the aims of the Psychology major at the graduate school.

Curriculum Structure

As lecture classes, we offer Advanced (Special) Studies Experimental Psychology, Advanced (Special) Studies of Basic Psychology, Advanced (Special) Study of Behaviormetrics, Advanced (Special) Studies in Behavior, and Advanced (Special) Study of Neuroscience. Advanced classes are aimed at master's students while Special classes are aimed at students in the Ph.D. program and may be run in parallel if necessary. Lectures and seminars are mainly taught by faculty of the Graduate School of Human Relations. However, we aim to provide our students with an internationally high level of specialized knowledge by annually inviting eminent professors from both inside and outside Japan to lecture on recent topics and related fields.

Furthermore, we hold annual seminar and advanced seminar classes ("advanced seminars" are classes aimed at Ph.D. program students and may be run in parallel if necessary) in the core subjects of behavior analysis, perceptional psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, biopsychology, and cognitive neuroscience. Students in these classes will read related specialist papers as well as acquire experimental and applicative skills. Similarly, in the Experiment: Special Study of Psychology classes in the master's course, students assist professors in supervising the experiments of undergraduate students taking practical classes. This allows students the opportunity to review their own basic knowledge, as well as gain teaching experience.

Advanced (Special) Studies in Clinical Psychology, Human Engineering and Ergonomics, and Practice of Behavior Modification are all classes which aim to provide students with a wide range of knowledge which links with related fields, and to allow students to acquire a mindset of contributing to society. These classes also in part allow students to learn applicative techniques. Furthermore, due to the interdisciplinary nature of the school, students have the opportunity to take classes from other majors, which significantly contributes to their knowledge of related fields.

All Psychology major students, both in the master's and Ph.D. courses, are able to take classes from majors other than their own after consulting with their academic advisor. This gives students the opportunity to learn alongside and have discussions with students studying majors other than experimental psychology.

Education

To achieve learning outcomes consistent with the above degree conferral policy, a curriculum as per the below will be established in accordance with the aims of the Education major at the graduate school.

Curriculum Structure

The Education major is made up out of four fields: philosophy of education, history of education, educational psychology, and comparative education. As all four fields share the common thread of examining character formation from the viewpoint of education, master's course students from all fields are expected to take the Seminar: Education Studies class, while Ph.D. students take Seminar: Special Study of Pedagogy. This course aims to facilitate the acquisition of broad perspectives through discussions among students in the various domains of educational research with shared concerns in education and character formation.

In the field of philosophy of education, we offer lectures and seminars on the philosophy of education and its history. Lecture classes are intended to give students a wide breadth of knowledge regarding the trends of the field, while seminars aim to promote the acquisition of specialized reading comprehension and technical skills, as well as skills in setting problems and the planning and carrying out of research in the context of philosophy of education or history of philosophy of education.

The field of history of education provides classes and lectures on the history of education in Japan. Classes cover not only empirical history but also the history of philosophy of education in Japan.

In the field of educational psychology, we offer practical classes in educational psychology in addition to lectures and seminars. Lecture classes are more common than in other fields and cover a wide range of material including the psychology of learning, behavioral genetics, and adolescent psychology.

The seminar classes are supervised by more than one full-time faculty member. Although these classes are a part of the field of educational psychology, in effect they are run as common courses.

The comparative education field provides lectures and seminars on a range of topics including comparative education methodology and comparative research regarding education reform. The major research themes of the field are higher learning and comparisons between Japan and the United States.

In each field lectures and seminars are mainly taught by faculty of the Graduate School of Human Relations. However, every year we also invite eminent professors from both inside and outside Japan to give classes. Through the aforementioned curriculum design, we provide an environment to facilitate the writing of doctoral dissertations which are academically advanced and take in broad perspectives.

Shared Curriculum Structure

The school prides itself on how the faculty members responsible for the curriculum of each major work together to create classes which span all three majors. Furthermore, another unique point of the school is our project classes which aim to promote joint interdisciplinary research between multiple faculty members in one major, or between faculty members of different majors. Students participate in these courses whether they are in the master's or doctoral programs.

Admissions Policy

The doctoral programs aim to foster the outstanding research abilities required to conduct independent research activities and engage in other highly specialized tasks as researchers in the fields of sociology, psychology, and education, as well as the outstanding academic attainments which form their basis. For this reason, we accept students with a broad range of specializations, with the aim of instilling academic knowledge coupled with profound expertise and a broad interdisciplinary nature, to nurture researchers with the high level of discernment to succeed on the front line of global society, as well as professionals instilled with advanced expertise. Graduates of both master's programs at the graduate school itself and those from other master's programs within Keio, as well as from other graduate schools both in Japan and overseas, will be permitted to enroll after confirmation of the clarity of their research awareness and specialist abilities by means such as screenings of Master's theses and interviews. On such occasions, we also take into consideration track records at international academic conferences and potential contributions in global society.