- RITSUMEIKAN UNIVERSITY College of INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
GLOBAL STUDIES
There are many College of IR staff members with experience working at the U.N. and the World Bank, as international journalists, and in a range of other international careers. We are also delighted that Former Japanese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mitoji Yabunaka, will be joining the College from April 2011 and is taking some of the Global Studies Major courses.
No Japanese language ability is required for admission.
Currently we have staff from; Japan, China, Korea, Singapore, Nepal, USA, UK, Germany, Canada, France, Switzerland.
The College of International Relations has an Early Graduation scheme for students who wish to gain a Master’s degree- such as students who hope to work in an international organization that requires a graduate degree. Under this scheme, students can graduate from the undergraduate program in three years and directly enter the graduate school. In other words, in just 5 years, students can earn both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree.
The three pillars of the GS Major
Academic Disciplines
The GS Major is interdisciplinary: students get a broad grounding in a wide-range of disciplines, such as Economics, Politics and Sociology, and also have the opportunity to focus on one of three fields, developing specialized knowledge in this discipline.
Area Studies
Great importance is attached to developing high levels of expertise in Area Studies.
Language Studies
Students on the GS Major can also develop proficiency in foreign languages.
Through these pillars, students will acquire the skills to look at the world from a global perspective and carry out comprehensive research on specific areas.
Students design their own learning program based on their personal academic interests and future career goals with friendly and supportive staff and faculty members. RU encourages self-motivated active learning from all students.
DUDP is an innovative program in which students can obtain Bachelor’s degrees from two academic institutions in as short as four years by spending two years at RU and two years at a partner university in the United States. Currently, RU has DUDP agreements with American University (Washington D.C.) and Suffolk University (Boston). RU also offers a wide range of other study abroad programs at partner universities across the world.
The College of International Relations offers a variety of internship programs. Internships provide a great opportunity for students to practice what they have learned in class. They take place during summer and winter vacation periods.
A small class setting with students from all around the world makes an ideal environment for International Relations study.
International students will take 6 classes of Japanese per week in the first year, helping them achieve the language skills needed for everyday life in Japan.
*For Japanese native students, 7 other languages are available.
(French, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, German, Korean)
