The curriculum of the Graduate School of International Relations is designed to foster the ability to independently identify and solve separate issues by analyzing the structures and dynamics of modern international society, while also challenging individual issues in areas such as international cooperation and area studies.

The Graduate School of International Relations has developed a flexible and interdisciplinary curriculum that corresponds to the interdisciplinary nature of our school in order to approach the problems facing international society from a variety of angles through our “3 plus 1” programs.

We accept students from diverse backgrounds including those who have completed their Bachelor’s degrees at Ritsumeikan University (most notably from the College of International Relations), students from other universities, mature students with work experience and international students.

Global Governance Program

The current process of globalization has generated a multi-dimensional crisis in the governance capabilities of the nation-states. This program focuses on how well the international society should and could tackle the emerging challenges that a nation-state is incapable of handling by itself, including ethnic and religious conflicts that have plagued different parts of the world and caused tremendous casualties, international and organized crimes such as terrorism and human and drug trafficking, environmental degradation and the spread of the infectious diseases, in order to secure peace, justice and democracy for all. It also looks at the overall structure, function and dynamics of global governance from political, economic and social perspectives.

International Cooperation and Development Program

An overwhelming number of the world’s population is still suffering from poverty and hunger. The economic disparity between rich “North” and poor “South” countries is widening. Never before has there been more need for solutions for problems arising from a “North-South” divide and the establishment of a new international economic system. Students in this program will study political and social background of these problems as well as various policies of sustainable development and poverty reduction including international aid, regional economic integration and an expansion of market economy and explore the prospect of international cooperation in the twenty-first century.

Multicultural Understanding Program

The world is becoming one with the significant progress in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). At the same time the massive increase in the number of people who move across borders is diversifying ethnicity and cultural backgrounds of people in a nation-state and/or society. This program examines what kind of impact the unification of the world through globalization has on cultures and identities of individual countries and societies. How we should understand cultural transformations? What we need to do in order to avoid the clash of different cultures and realize harmonious co-existence of different cultures? These are the key questions the program seeks to explore.

Global Cooperation Program

The age of globalization demands the internationalization of higher education institutions. This program enables students to participate in English-language discussions with fellow students from all over the world, deepening their international exchanges on a daily basis. It also seeks to promote networking while training young leaders who will lead the world stage in the field of global cooperation. On this unique Master’s program, all subjects are taught in English, and courses have been designed to meet international graduate school education standards.