Curriculum

Four-year learning process

Spring Entry

Fall Entry

Pick Up Courses

1st & 2nd Year

You will build a foundation to start learning in the global social settings, while you explore your learning interests by taking Principles Courses.

Cross-cultural Understanding
"Necessary Skills to Learn in the Global Society"
This course aims to prepare students for living and functioning effectively in cross-cultural situations. The course helps students transcend language to contemplate social interaction between different languages and ethnic groups.

Principles of Economics
"Let's explore how economics is related to your daily life!"
The course covers a broad range of essential economic concepts and theories in microeconomics and macroeconomics. In the first half, we will study the market system and the behavior of consumers and firms. In the second half, we will examine the behavior of an economy at the aggregate level, such as unemployment, inflation, and economic growth.

Pick Up Courses

3rd & 4th year

You will acquire a broader and deeper knowledge by taking specialized courses in the three pillars and seminars.

Humanities and Sociology

Global Ethics
"Are territorial boundaries morally important?"
Global ethics is concerned with the justice of global society, where this includes the moral legitimacy of the nation-state and the structures and dominant patterns of the international community.

Education and Psychology

Education and International Development
This course explores how education contributes to international development by looking at key global indicators such as the Human Development Index (HDI) and other emerging measures of progress. While highlighting the important role education plays in development, the course also encourages a critical perspective—inviting students to consider whether formal, Western-style education systems are always the most suitable option for developing communities.

Politics and International Relations

International Bargaining
This course is an introduction to the analysis of the causes and character of international conflict and cooperation. A special focus will be on the concept of rationality, which is a central idea in international relations, politics, law and moral and political philosophy.

Economics and Business

International Business
In a contemporary global economy, business people must understand the relationships, institutions, and environments that underlie international commerce. The primary objective of this course is to provide an introduction to the global economy that will help students be effective in business.

Seminars

Japanese Program

You will study practical Japanese, while simultaneously acquiring knowledge in a wide range of fields in English.

General Japanese I (日本語総合I)
This course develops fundamental skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, and enables students to accurate and appropriate Japanese language proficiency in social settings.
We provide three levels of "General Japanese" courses and six levels of "Japanese" courses so that you can start from beginner levels and progress to advanced levels.

Introductory Kanji (初級漢字)
This is a course designed for those learning kanji for the first time, aiming to acquire proficiency in reading and writing approximately 250 basic kanji characters. The goal is to reach a level where students can read and comprehend standard phrases, sentences, and passages written in basic kanji commonly used in daily life.
We provide various elective courses including grammar, reading, listening, writing, and speaking expression in a wide range of learning levels.

More information of Japanese Program

FILA's basic courses are presented here.

Ability to conduct directed research based on academic knowledge across the field of Humanities and Social Sciences

Course Title	Description
Principles of Philosophy	An introduction to a set of philosophical issues involving moral reasoning and the need for a more reflective morality. We will further discuss some key episodes in the history of ethical life and consider the possible application of moral theory to real life.
Principles of History	This courses introduce students to intellectually influential texts, ancient and modern, from cultures around the world. Students will read and discuss books that have shaped the way people think and act, working together to interpret their historical significance and their relevance today. Students will discover and debate timeless questions concerning human experience and examine the present in relation to the past.
Principles of Sociology	This course introduces students to the central concepts and perspectives of sociology as well as their application to students' everyday lives. It trains students to look at and analyze pressing social issues, thus instilling in them a greater understanding of social processes at work in contemporary times. Topics ranging from social roles and culture, social inequality, crime and deviance, education, race and ethnicity will be covered.
Principles of Politics and Globalization	This course is an introductory course in politics and political thought of a globalized world. The course begins with some fundamental debates in globalization and world politics and moves towards how political science tries to understand and explain such debates and cross-country differences.
Principles of International Relations	This course focuses on the causes and character of conflict and cooperation on the domestic and international stage. Theories of politics and international relations will be presented and then applied to contemporary and historical cases. The course begins with a foundational review of intra- and inter - states interaction and the primary theoretical paradigms in the field. It then addresses how states achieve cooperation in the face of international anarchy. It then moves on to basic bargaining theory, in which insights from economics are used to explore how bargaining breakdowns, commitment problems, and incomplete information can lead to war.
Principles of Accounting and Financial Analysis	This course aims to get students familiar with general accounting process, interpret financial statements, and analyze business situations with all the available financial information. In addition, this course will teach students in their roles as customers, employees or potential investors to evaluate corporate performance with public financial and operating information.
Principles of Economics	This is an introductory economics course aimed to help students understand the basic principles of economics. The course covers a broad range of essential economic concepts and theories in microeconomics and macroeconomics. In the first half, we will study the market system and the behavior of consumers and firms. In the second half, we will examine the behavior of an economy at the aggregate level, such as unemployment, inflation, and economic growth.
Principles of Business	The focus of this course is a survey of functions of business and the knowledge and skills needed by managers in today's global economy. Students will learn what organizations need to focus on to successfully operate within their competitive, economic and legal, global business, social, and technological environment.
Sophomore Seminar: Data Science I -V	This course will be started in AY2024.
Sophomore Seminar: Humanities & Social Sciences I-IV	This course will be started in AY2024.

Cultivate Academic Communication Skills Applicable in the Global Society and Cross-cultural Understanding

Course Title	Description
Academic Foundations Ⅰ	Academic Foundations is two-semester course designed to develop students' knowledge and skills in critical thinking, vocabulary, listening, communication, and study skills for academic purposes.
Academic Foundations Ⅱ	This course develops students' knowledge and skills in vocabulary, grammar, listening, reading, communication and study skills for academic purposes including the iBT TOEFL.
English for Academic Purposes Ⅰ	This course is designed to prepare students with the English skills required for participation in courses in the FILA curriculum. The course will help students develop vocabulary, grammar, reading, and writing skills. In addition, the course will provide students with strategies to better manage their time and deal with the demands of western-style university level English-medium courses.
English for Academic Purposes　Ⅱ	This course is a continuation of EAP Ⅰ from the Spring semester. Students will continue to build on academic English skills (vocabulary development, grammatical structures, reading, and writing) required of courses in the FILA curriculum, studying abroad, and further education. In addition, this course will reinforce strategies for independent study and time management introduced in EAP Ⅰ.
Cross-cultural Understanding	This course aims to prepare students for living and functioning effectively in cross-cultural situations. The course helps students transcend language to contemplate social interaction between different languages and ethnic groups.
Academic Writing	This course will provide students with skills needed for academic writing such as providing sufficient evidence and sources to support an argument, appropriate referencing formats, vocabulary and terminology related to their academic field, and writing in the appropriate academic vernacular.

Earn Ability to Identify Issues and Work Towards Solutions

Course Title	Description
Freshman Seminar II	This course aims to provide students with basic academic skills, focusing on the contents of sustainable development goals (SDGs). This course will be taught in a series of three modules, with a variety of learning activities and experiences.
Foundations of Data Science	The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of statistics to prepare students for scientific research that requires the collection and analysis of data. The course includes both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. It covers frequency distributions of empirical data, calculations of descriptive statistics, probability distributions, regression analysis, hypothesis testing, and statistical inference.
Programming	Computer programming in a high-level language with special emphasis on style and structure. No prior experience in programming is required. A student who successfully completes this course will: Understand the follwing Python data types and their methods: strings, lists, tuples, files, sets, and dictionaries. Be able to implement basic algorithms using selection, iteration, and function calling. Be able to apply their understanding of the Python language in designing, implementing, and testing programs to solve simple problems in science and economics. Be able to (re)structure code using modules and functions to reduce complexity. Be familiar with simple object oriented programming with Python. Be able to implement simple Graphic User Interfaces in Python. Be able to review and assess the quality and maintainability of Python code.
Calculus	This course covers the basic ideas of algebra, functions and their graphs, limits, and calculus (integration and differentiation). We introduce the ideas of setting up mathematical models of problems, solving them and interpreting the solutions. Applications are given from the physical, life and earth sciences as well as from commerce and the humanities.
Linear Algebra	Linear algebra is a key part of the mathematician's toolkit and has applications to many areas in science, commerce and engineering. This course develops the fundamental concepts of linear algebra, including systems of linear equations, Gaussian elimination, matrix algebra, invertibility of matrices, determinants, vectors in Euclidian vector spaces, linear transformations, general vector spaces, linear independence, basis and dimension, rank, nullity. Emphasis is placed on understanding both abstract mathematical structures and their concrete applications.
Qualitative Research Methods	This course provide students with an introduction to the theory and practice of qualitative research. Students in this course will learn about the basic format of qualitative academic research including the formation of research questions; and the use of literature review, methodology, data collection and discussion/interpretation.

Optional Fieldwork

Course Title	Description
International Fieldwork Ⅰ-Ⅱ	This course offers pre-departure study sessions for two weeks of intensive fieldwork at Malaysia. This program will offer a broad, analytical survey of Malaysia. It comprehensively surveys important topics in Malaysian politics, economy, and society today, focusing on issues, institutions, and trends. Based on high proficiency in English, students will nurture cross-cultural understanding and creative problem-solving skills through this opportunity.

Course Title

Description

International Fieldwork Ⅰ-Ⅱ

This course offers pre-departure study sessions for two weeks of intensive fieldwork at Malaysia. This program will offer a broad, analytical survey of Malaysia. It comprehensively surveys important topics in Malaysian politics, economy, and society today, focusing on issues, institutions, and trends. Based on high proficiency in English, students will nurture cross-cultural understanding and creative problem-solving skills through this opportunity.

Here are the courses offered in the Economics and Management subject group.

Course Title	Description
Intermediate Microeconomics	This is an intermediate-level microeconomics course aimed to help students develop a framework for understanding and analyzing economic problems faced by individuals, firms, and society. We make many choices every day, and microeconomics studies how individuals and firms make these decisions and how they interact in the market. It also provides implications for a range of policy issues faced by governments.
Development Economics	This course is designed to acquaint students with core concepts and key issues in development economics. Poverty is a complex, multifaceted problem, and remains one of the primary challenges facing the world today. In this course, we will study development issues from an applied microeconomic perspective and learn how to approach each issue. We will cover a wide range of topics relevant to the developing world, such as inequality, human capital (education and health), labor, migration, gender, and corruption, to name a few. It aims to help students develop critical thinking and a broader perspective of the world, thereby deepening their understanding of important economic problems in low- and middle-income countries and of the lives of the world's poor.
Predictive Analytics with Machine Learning	The course contents are currently under review.
Marketing	Marketing is often defined as advertising - a highly visible activity by which organizations try to persuade consumers to buy products and services. However, marketing is much more than advertising and even the most skillful marketing cannot make consumers buy things that they don't want. Marketing involves two basic sets of activities. The first set starts with identifying consumer needs and ends with positioning the product or service to satisfy those needs and differentiate it from competition. In between, rigorous analysis of the competition, the customer, the environment, and the company's own capabilities are required. The second set of activities revolves around the "marketing mix" - letting the consumer know about the product in an attention-getting, convincing, and motivating way, getting it to the consumer through the best combination of distribution channels, pricing it effectively, and offering incentives to try, purchase, and purchase more. At any point along the way, failure to get one of these activities right may result in the failure of the product. Positioning is the key to product success, but even a perfect product with brilliant positioning won't last long if its benefits are not clearly communicated to the right people, if its price is too high or too low, if it is sold through the wrong retailers, or displayed poorly.
Intermediate Macroeconomics	Macroeconomics deals with the overall, or aggregate, performance of an economy. It is therefore concerned with the crucial questions in economics. Why have some nations achieved rapid and sustainable economic growth while others remain low growth? What causes the fluctuation of economic performance? How do government policies affect output, employment, price level, and growth? These fundamental questions are closely associated with the subjects of macroeconomics. This course attempt to answer these questions by introducing the study of macroeconomics at an intermediate level.
International Trade	The course contents are currently under review.
Prescriptive Analytics for Operations Management	The course contents are currently under review.
International Business	In contemporary global economy, business people must understand the relationships, institutions, and environment that underlie international commerce. The primary objective of this course is to provide an introduction to the global economy that will help students be effective in business - whether they actually work in a global corporation or not. Thus, the main intention of the course is to help students to be an educated citizen, understanding the major issues impacting government policy and globalization. The topics in the class have been selected to address both theoretical and practical dimensions of the global economy.

Here are the courses offered in the History and Culture subject group.

Course Title	Description
History of Modernization and Empire	The course contents are currently under review.
Global Social Policy	This course provides students with an introduction to the evolving transnational and global dimension of social policy. Students in this course will learn about the construction and maintenance of the modern welfare state. The first part of the class builds the context through readings and discussions on global poverty and inequality, business, international trade, and welfare. The second part of the class focuses on domains and issues such as labor, health, pensions and social security, education, criminal justice, and population policies.
Modern Political Thought	This course introduces students to the main issues and problems that define the Western tradition in political philosophy. Among the topics to be discussed include: the relationship between human nature and society; the extent to which the powers of the state or government are justified; the nature and limits of democracy; possible tensions between human political freedom and rights; the nature of economic justice; and modern alternatives to political liberalism.
Globalization and Society	The course contents are currently under review.
Monarchy and Democracy in Modern History	The course contents are currently under review.
Education and International Development	This course provides students with an introduction to the theories and practices of education in various national settings and its implications for international development. The course begins by examining the major international development indicators such as the Human Development Index (HDI) and other more recently established measurements. The course focuses on the role of education in the development process. But it also questions the notion that a formalized, westernized education system is always the best alternative for developing communities.
Global Ethics	This course introduces students to the study of global ethics and its application to international politics. Global ethics is concerned with the justice of global society, where this includes the moral legitimacy of the nation-state and the structures and dominant patterns of the international community.
Sociology of Media and Communication	The course contents are currently under review.

Here are the courses offered in the International Relations and Politics subject group.

Course Title	Description
Contemporary Political Theory	This is an intermediate-level microeconomics course aimed to help students develop a framework for understanding and analyzing economic problems faced by individuals, firms, and society. We make many choices every day, and microeconomics studies how individuals and firms make these decisions and how they interact in the market. It also provides implications for a range of policy issues faced by governments.
Great Power Politics in the World	This course is designed to acquaint students with core concepts and key issues in development economics. Poverty is a complex, multifaceted problem, and remains one of the primary challenges facing the world today. In this course, we will study development issues from an applied microeconomic perspective and learn how to approach each issue. We will cover a wide range of topics relevant to the developing world, such as inequality, human capital (education and health), labor, migration, gender, and corruption, to name a few. It aims to help students develop critical thinking and a broader perspective of the world, thereby deepening their understanding of important economic problems in low- and middle-income countries and of the lives of the world's poor.
International Political Economy	The course contents are currently under review.
Citizenship and Democracy in a Global Age	Marketing is often defined as advertising - a highly visible activity by which organizations try to persuade consumers to buy products and services. However, marketing is much more than advertising and even the most skillful marketing cannot make consumers buy things that they don't want. Marketing involves two basic sets of activities. The first set starts with identifying consumer needs and ends with positioning the product or service to satisfy those needs and differentiate it from competition. In between, rigorous analysis of the competition, the customer, the environment, and the company's own capabilities are required. The second set of activities revolves around the "marketing mix" - letting the consumer know about the product in an attention-getting, convincing, and motivating way, getting it to the consumer through the best combination of distribution channels, pricing it effectively, and offering incentives to try, purchase, and purchase more. At any point along the way, failure to get one of these activities right may result in the failure of the product. Positioning is the key to product success, but even a perfect product with brilliant positioning won't last long if its benefits are not clearly communicated to the right people, if its price is too high or too low, if it is sold through the wrong retailers, or displayed poorly.
International Relations in Asia	Macroeconomics deals with the overall, or aggregate, performance of an economy. It is therefore concerned with the crucial questions in economics. Why have some nations achieved rapid and sustainable economic growth while others remain low growth? What causes the fluctuation of economic performance? How do government policies affect output, employment, price level, and growth? These fundamental questions are closely associated with the subjects of macroeconomics. This course attempt to answer these questions by introducing the study of macroeconomics at an intermediate level.
International Bargaining	This course is an introduction to the analysis of the causes and character of international conflict and cooperation. The course begins with a foundational review of the different levels at which states interact and the primary theoretical paradigms in the field. A special focus will be on the concept of rationality, which is a central idea in international relations, politics, law and moral and political philosophy. The demands of rationality have been formulated in different ways, in international realations, in in classical and contemporary economics, philosophical analysis of practical reason, and in legal theory including law and economics. This course will provide a critical examination of the different ways of characterizing rationality and its requirements. It will especially focus on the role of rationality in international relations and bargaining.
Comparative Politics	This course introduces the subject area of comparative politics. It is concerned with the most important aspects of the political life and will provide the students the analytical knowledge and skill to understand the comparative politics worldwide. The course will provide invaluable skills and knowledge to develop familiarity with the major issues in comparative politics and the practical skills in analyzing countries around the globe.
Nonprofit Organizations and Public Sector	This course treats Non Profit Organizations and related political and governmental systems. Students will study about function, management and financial aspects of various types of organizations in public sector such as universities, sports organizations, Independent Administrative Agencies and international NGOs. This course treats also governmental systems, political and administrative process in Japan and sometimes those in some other countries. It also treats evaluation and planning of public projects, the procurement system in public sector and accounting and taxation system about NPOs in Japan.

MODEL CASE

Graduation Requirements

(1) Be enrolled at the University for at least four years.
(2) Have acquired all the credits required for graduation as stipulated by the faculty.
(3) Have a GPA of 2.0 or higher.
(4) Pay all tuition and fees in full.

English Proficiency Requirements

(1) Third Year Course Requirements
TOEFL iBT 70 or higher by the spring registration deadline of the 3rd year
(2) Graduation Requirements
TOEFL iBT 80 / TOEFL ITP 550 / IELTS 6.5 (minimum of 6.0 in each sub-band) or higher