The University of Tokyo

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences

Senior Division (Specialized Education)

The Senior Division at Komaba was reorganized into six departments in the 1996-97 academic year. The primary goal of the Senior Division is to foster in its students a broad understanding of the complex issues facing human society in the 21st century. It is organized on the assumption that in order to respond effectively to these diverse contemporary problems, evident as they are on a global scale, students need to be able both to discern and to transcend existing historical and spatial systems of categorization. Constant attention to curriculum reform within the Senior Division therefore embodies an ongoing search for effective ways to combine a solid academic grounding with cutting-edge specialized education. As a small and highly selective educational unit, the Division is also able to make productive use of student input and creativity. Following on from the tradition established at the time of its original establishment as the Department of Liberal Arts and the Department of Basic Sciences, Komaba's Senior Division continues to produce widely respected graduates ready to contribute their creative intelligence and problem-solving skills to society. While a significant number choose to pursue graduate studies, many also enter field such as the civil service, the corporate world, education or research institutions, and the media.

The Senior Division consists of the following six departments and 22 majors:

Department of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies

Cultural Anthropology; Culture and Representation; Japanese Intercultural Studies; Language and Information Sciences.

Department of Area Studies

American Area Studies; British Area Studies; French Area Studies; German Area Studies; Russian and East European Area Studies; Asian Area Studies; Latin American Area Studies. (Joint Courses: European Area Studies; Eurasian Area Studies; Korean Area Studies)

Department of Social and International Relations

Social Science Studies; International Relations.

Department of Basic Science

History and Philosophy of Science, Mathematical Sciences; Quantum Science; Materials Sciences; Biofunctions.

Department of General Systems Studies

Human Geography; Systems Sciences

Department of Life and Cognitive Sciences

Cognitive Behavioral Science; Basic Life Sciences

---