You want to hone your intellectual abilities to succeed in our modern, information-oriented society. You want to improve your career prospects. This is the graduate school that responds to these ambitions.

Continuing to Graduate School at SIPEC

The disciplines, knowledge, and skills within each area of expertise are now so wide-ranging, sophisticated, and specialized that they cannot be sufficiently learned in the four years designated for undergraduate studies. Students graduate into a modern society that is highly information-oriented, and more graduates today need or want to continue to graduate school to prepare for success by further developing and enriching what they learned in university, by honing and forging their intellectual abilities. This applies both to those who wish to follow the path of academia and research in their future careers, as well as to those who want to succeed in the industrial world as high-level professional experts.
The Graduate School of International Politics, Economics, and Communication is one path available to people who wish to continue their studies in graduate school, using the knowledge and skills they gained at SIPEC as their foundation. Students who have completed their third year at SIPEC, who received 90% or more of the credits needed to graduate, and who achieved a certain grade point average (GPA) are permitted to take courses in the Graduate School of International Politics, Economics, and Communication starting in their fourth year (system for special graduate course students). These courses are then authorized as credits when the student enters graduate school. This allows the student to receive a master’s degree after one year of study in the graduate school.

Master’s Program

Participants can receive a master’s degree by attending the program for at least two years (four semesters), acquiring the necessary credits, completing a review of their master’s thesis or special topic research results, completing a final exam, and achieving certification in one foreign language.

Doctoral Program

This program is for those whose objective is to develop the advanced abilities needed to conduct research activities independently as researchers, as well as those who seek to fortify their academic achievements in support of that goal. Participants can receive the doctoral degree by attending the program for at least three years, receiving the necessary research guidance, completing a review of their doctoral dissertation, passing a final exam, and achieving certification in one foreign language.

Find information about graduate programs here.

Continuing to Graduate School at Other Universities and Foreign Universities

Many SIPEC graduates go on to complete graduate studies. In recent years, the tendency to attend graduate school overseas has been especially strong. Some of these students are now working in international organizations or NGOs such as the UN or the World Bank. Many students also continue their studies in graduate schools at other universities in Japan. It is of course possible to go to SIPEC’s graduate school, then to continue on to further studies or to study abroad at other universities, and even to study in a wide range of fields beyond politics and economics, such as philosophy or history.

Graduate School Track Record (other Japanese universities)

Tokyo University Graduate School
Hitotsubashi University Graduate School
Sophia University Graduate School
Kobe University Graduate School
Osaka University Graduate School
Tsukuba University Graduate School
Tokyo Gakugei University Graduate School

Foreign Programs

United Kingdom

University of London/University of Cambridge/University of Essex/University of Sussex

Netherlands

Leiden University

Australia

University of Sydney/Monash University

United States

American University/University of Wisconsin/University of California/Cornell University/Columbia University/University of Chicago/Syracuse University/Stanford University/University of Hawaii/Pittsburgh University/Princeton University/University of Massachusetts/University of Michigan/Michigan State University/University of Southern California/Johns Hopkins University/University of Washington

Canada

Queen’s University/University of British Columbia