"About the educational philosophy and goals of the organization"

Nurturing creative individuals - aiming to become global citizens of the 21st century

As stated in its Founding Spirit, Soka University is a university of "human education." The founder said, "Soka education is human education that is committed to humanism, culturalism, and pacifism, and aims to create open personalities that can coexist with the world." (*1) Thus, the goal of human education at Soka University can be said to lie in striving for "whole human beings" and "creative human beings."

"Common subjects" are a group of subjects developed based on this Founding Spirit, and are subjects that all Soka University students can study directly, separate from the specialized subjects in their faculties and departments. Of course, the main purpose of common subjects is to develop basic academic skills, including language skills, and to acquire a wide range of knowledge, but the goal of common subjects, based on our university's human education, is not only to cultivate awareness of problems facing the times and society, but also to cultivate practical wisdom and creativity that lead to the cultivation of one's character.

Based on these principles and goals, the "Soka Core Program" is applied to all faculties, aiming to have students take pride in studying at Soka University, and to have all students, regardless of their faculty, study ① "university subjects", ② "language" (English and a second foreign language), and ③ acquire a broad education across all areas of "humanities", "social sciences", and "natural sciences". The entire common subjects group is composed of subjects ① to ⑩, and each course subject is established within them.

First, we have "university subjects" that allow students to consider and confirm the significance of studying at a university in this modern age, and in particular the significance of studying at our university. Next, we have established "career education subjects" with the aim of practically designing a career based on how to spend university life and dreams for the future. In addition, we have "language subjects" in 20 different languages, as well as "health and physical education subjects" and "humanities, arts, and philosophy subjects" that aim to promote healthy and enriched lives both physically and mentally.

In addition to these courses, we offer many courses with a comprehensive and liberal arts character, divided into four areas: "Society, Culture, and Life," "Nature, Mathematics, and Information," "Peace, Human Rights, and the World," and "Japan Studies Program." Through the study of these comprehensive courses, we hope to learn about the past and present of human culture, as well as to hone the will and power to build a better future.

In addition, we also offer GCP courses, which are open only to selected students, for students who aim to play an active role in the international community in the future.

Next, I will give three specific goals.

The first is to become an independent learner.

It goes without saying that in universities, the highest educational institutions, learning cannot be passive. Students are expected to be proactive in their learning, having a clear awareness of problems, actively researching literature, and expressing the process and results of their learning in various ways. The Soka education ideal of a "creative person" is, first and foremost, an independent learner like this.

For this reason, it is important to always have a sense of purpose, "why." A sense of purpose acts as motivation for learning and is a powerful force in promoting independent learning. It also gives rise to strong thinking. In this way, learning with an awareness of problems can be said to foster the ability to discover problems. The next goal is to develop the ability to gather information through various media, analyze and consider that information, and arrive at a definite answer; this is known as problem-solving ability.

In addition, in today's world, there is a particular demand for presentation skills. In particular, we must focus on improving "written expression skills." This requires that students also become proficient in using the Japanese language (reading, writing, and speaking). Only then can students become independent learners who "think for themselves, explore for themselves, and present for themselves." In this sense, university learning can be said to be essentially "research." We would like to focus on nurturing independent learners through the study of general subjects.

The second is "fostering the ability to coexist with multiple cultures."

Our university has been focusing on cultural exchange and has endeavored to cultivate talented individuals who can contribute to building world peace, as well as global citizens who can create value on a global scale. This will likely become even more important in the future.

The key to understanding and interacting with different cultures is, of course, English and other language skills. In this age of globalization, where "knowledge knows no borders and globalization continues to advance," language skills, especially English, are considered essential. Furthermore, learning not only English but also other foreign languages not only broadens one's horizons, but also gives one a passport to world friendship.

In the general subjects, with the cooperation of Faculty of Letters and WLC staff, we offer language education in 20 languages, including English. In order to utilize and further brush up on the language skills cultivated here, studying abroad is highly recommended. Based on the recognition that "there is no learning without language," we would like to further devote our efforts to acquiring and improving foreign languages.

The third is to "acquire true education."

By their very nature, specialized subjects in faculties and departments are limited to relatively narrow areas, and some degree of segmentation is unavoidable. In contrast, the significance of common subjects is that, even if the subject is narrow, they do not stray from the origin of humanity or man, that is, they firmly maintain a universal perspective for us. The founder of our university once pointed out that "the free development of academics and the magnificent enlightenment of civilization came from looking squarely at life and mankind and striving for their development" (※2). It can be said that maintaining such a perspective on life and man, which could be said to be the origin, is the great significance of the common subjects at our university.

The founder also mentioned in his speech that "an international journalist wrote in his book that 'the crucial difference between top Westerners and their Japanese counterparts is the breadth and depth of their education.'" (*3) This "breadth and depth of education" is not something that can be achieved overnight, but is something that is cultivated through daily, unremitting effort.

To achieve this, we must first engage in "great reading." Reading during university years is a foundation that could be said to be crucial for life. Next, we would like to promote "great dialogue." Talking with friends and acquaintances breaks down the narrow boundaries of the self and broadens one's horizons to the world. It can be said that only through the daily, steady practice of repeated reading and dialogue can one acquire the power of true culture. We hope that the study of general subjects will progress to three-dimensional learning that includes such daily activities, resulting in a broader perspective and deeper understanding of humanity.

(Note) Quoted from the founder's speech

*1 Message given at the opening ceremony of the Beijing office on March 7, 2006

*2 3rd Entrance Ceremony: "Be a Creative Person"

*3 8th Entrance Ceremony: "The 21st Century is Your Stage"