Bachelor Degree in Philosophy, Social Anthropology, and/or Peace Studies:
These three academic disciplines can be combined under our interdisciplinary program taught in English in the Faculty of Letters referred to as AKADEMIA

 

AKADEMIA stands for Art, Knowledge AnD English Major for the International Arena.

It is a unique academic program that will expand the current English Medium Programs and will commence in 2023 in the Faculty of Letters, Department of Humanities. The new program offers an integrated undergraduate degree in Philosophy, Social-Cultural Anthropology, and Peace Studies. Students accepted into AKADEMIA will enter a core program as part of the Department of Humanities; they can combine this with a range of elective courses in the social sciences, law, and philosophy offered in other faculties (some of these options are listed below). In Years 1 and 2, Students will take basic core courses in Philosophy (I and II), Social Anthropology (Comparative Cultures and Anthropology of Japan), and Peace Studies (I and II). Students will also take classes in Japanese language (from basic to advanced level) and have the option to take classes in Value-Creation Education pedagogy as special courses currently being planned (not all are stated below).

In Year 3 students have the option of taking three advanced Majors in Philosophy, Social Anthropology/Global Japan, and Peace Studies (or they can choose to opt for one or two of these Majors given their specific interest). In Year 4 they choose one Major stream under which they undertake an Independent Research Project, which consists of learning how to conduct first-hand research such as fieldwork and interviews as well as undertake literature reviews, which will become the basis for writing up a 10,000-word graduation thesis. All core courses in AKADEMIA (listed below) train students in critical and global thinking, academic writing, and public speaking with the aim of becoming capable global citizens and leaders for a sustainable future and abilities to create a human rights culture. Over the four years of study, students develop the capacity for undertaking comprehensive and in-depth academic analyses of contemporary social issues, as well as the human skills of compassion, courage, and wisdom in line with the objectives of Value-Creation Pedagogy for global leadership.

AKADEMIA is a degree program taught fully in English; a native or near-native level of English is required. A range of international students as well as Japanese students come to study in the AKADEMIA program. The AKADEMIA program provides the opportunity for students to undertake an inter-disciplinary approach but also in-depth study in the humanities learning about the relevance of Philosophy, Anthropology, and Peace Studies for today’s world. As indicated by the course list below, this includes a program in advanced-level seminars/Majors in Philosophy, Social Anthropology/Global Japan, and Peace Studies, courses in Comparative Cultures, Anthropology of Religion and Morality, courses in Philosophy and Ethics including Buddhist-related studies, Translation Studies. All disciplines (Philosophy, Social Anthropology, Peace Studies) are taught in light of contemporary global issues related to gender, ‘race’, diversity, sustainability, and planetary action for global citizenship.

*To continue in the AKADEMIA program students need to maintain a GPA of above 3.0. If students choose to develop their Japanese language skills to an advanced level they can pursue classes taught in Japanese that span Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy, History, Social Linguistics, Languages, Russian Studies, Chinese Studies Literary Studies, Peace Studies, Comparative Cultures, and more. They will also have the option of combining one of the Majors under AKADEMIA with a Major taught in Japanese.
*Students need to complete 124 credits which should include a majority of the core courses below

 

AKADEMIA Core Courses
Year 1 Introductory Level
Introduction to Humanities (2 credits)
Introduction to Soka AKADEMIA – Philosophy-Anthropology-Peace Studies (4 credits)
Japanese language courses (2 credits each)

Year 1-2 Basic Level
Anthropological Approaches to Contemporary Japan (4 credits)
Comparative Cultures Anthropology (4 credits)
Philosophy I: Core Issues in Metaphysics, Epistemology and Ethics (4 credits)
Philosophy II: Contemporary Philosophy and Buddhism (4 credits)
Introduction to Peace Studies I (4 credits)
Introduction to Peace Studies II (4 credits)
Value-Creation Education (2 credits)
Academic Foundations for Humanities (2 credits)
Academic Writing A and/or B (2 credits each)
Japanese language courses (2 credits each)

Year 2-4 Advanced Level (General)
Philosophy Metaethics (4 credits)
Anthropology of Religion and Morality (4 credits)
Peace Studies Workshop (4 credits)
Translation Studies (2 credits)

Year 3 Major Classes Advanced Level (Seminars in Humanities)
Seminar Major 1 & 2: Anthropology of Japan/Global Japan (4 credits)
Seminar Major 1 & 2: Philosophy (4 credits)
Seminar Major 1 & 2: Peace Studies (4 credits)

Year 4 Seminar classes and research graduation thesis
Seminar Major 3 & 4: choose one of three Majors (4 credits)
Independent Research Project I (2 credits)
Independent Research Project II (4 credits)
Advanced Joint Seminar for AKADEMIA (4 credits)

*Seminars in Humanities are specialized Majors which span Year 3 and Year 4. In these classes, students develop more in-depth, specialized knowledge. In Year 3 students can choose to take one or all three seminar classes depending on interest. In Year 4, students choose one of the seminar classes under which to write their graduation thesis (either Philosophy, Anthropology of Japan, or Peace Studies). During Year 4 students undertake their own research and in-depth study in their own chosen area of interest with a focus on one discipline, learn to develop a research design, conduct empirical research such as interviews and fieldwork, and write up a graduation dissertation of 10,000 words based on their own research conducted.
*Other major language classes are available in the Faculty of Letters as elective courses: Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Russian, French, German and some ancient languages. Students can also continue to study Japanese to an advanced level, and can choose to combine one of the majors under AKADEMIA with a major conducted in Japanese.

 

Elective Courses from the Faculty of International Liberal Arts can also be included to supplement areas of interest. These include:

Basic

Principles of History (4 credits)
Principles of Philosophy (4 credits)
Principles of Sociology (4 credits)
Principles of International Relations (4 credits)
Principles of Politics and Globalization (4 credits)

 

Advanced Level

Global Ethics (4 credits)
Non-Profit Organizations and Public Sector (4 credits)
Sociology of Globalization (4 credits)
Comparative Politics (4 credits)