Half a year before enrolling in GSIR, I never imagined I would participate in DMDP. But now, I am really glad I did.
It all started with a recommendation from my academic advisor. As someone who values taking on new challenges and meaningful connections, it felt like a great opportunity that just came my way.

American University also has partnership through the Joint Degree Program of the Faculty of International Relations (JDP), but I believe going there as a master’s student carries special meaning.

That’s because you can learn practical skills which are hard to learn in typical Japanese universities. Classes usually start in the evening.

Many students are also working while attending graduate school, but during class discussions, their focus is so sharp you’d never guess they just came from work. I mainly took courses in intercultural communication.

During the class, the discussions covered not only theory, but also real-life situations and the kinds of work we might be doing in the future.

On weekends, there was a one-credit class called the Skills Institute for anyone who wanted to join, and we got to learn directly from professionals who are actually working in the field. Thanks to that experience, I got a real sense of how intercultural communication theory is used in practice, and it helped me start thinking about what kind of work I might want to do in the future.

At American University, I was able to focus more on practical learning, and also found an amazing community there.

I decided to work on campus and got a student assistant job at the Office of Inclusive Excellence. To be honest, finding a job on campus was quite challenging and took a lot of patience. By sharing my interest in intercultural communication and DEI with others, I was lucky to meet some great mentors and faculty members, and that helped me get a job.

The office worked on building DEI-related communities for everyone on campus. I mainly supported a program for student ambassadors, and also worked with other assistants on various campus projects.

I learned a lot from this experience that helped me feel more confident about the things I believe in. In addition, what made it more meaningful for me as someone studying DEI and communication, was being part of community where I could connect not just with fellow graduate students, but also with faculty, staff, and undergraduate students.

During my time at AU, there were moments of confusion caused by the change in U.S. administration, and personally, I also struggled at times to balance my graduation research. I still feel that I was able to turn What I learned into Real and usable skills. There aren’t many precedents for this program, but for me, it became an unforgettable and important turning point. If you are interested, I definitely recommend giving it a try!

Studying at the University of East Anglia (UEA) through the DMDP was incredible. The program is a wonderful opportunity to gain an educational experience abroad and get degrees from both universities. Moreover, the international community at UEA is inviting and diverse. While studying at UEA, I became friends with several students from all over the world and cultivated a tight friend group within my course. There is a welcoming sense of community at UEA, especially for international students. Upon my arrival there were many on-campus events for international students as well as events for graduate students. This allowed me to meet many people even before classes began.

Additionally, I joined two clubs, the Mountaineering Club and Radio Broadcasting Society. With Mountaineering, I took trips to Northern England and Wales. Despite only being involved in the club for a year, I was elected to a leadership position on the club committee in my second semester. With the Radio Broadcasting Society, I hosted a weekly radio show. On my show I focused on playing music from Japan.

In terms of classes at UEA, I took a wide range of courses covering many different topics. The professors were knowledgeable and crafted an open environment for discussion in class. The courseload was manageable with students only taking three classes per semester. There were also many extracurricular opportunities available for students. For example, I applied and was accepted to take a trip with my professors to Belgium to visit the European Institute for Asian Studies. Through this program, I wrote a paper with an intern from the institute which was eventually published in their organization’s journal. Within the International Relations Program there was a strong support network for students. For example, I was a part of many study groups. Overall, the program was challenging but highly rewarding.

Despite there being some confusion with what was expected of me at Ritsumeikan while studying abroad and the limited number of credits you can transfer from the DMDP, I still think this program is beneficial for anyone looking for a diverse educational experience. There is room for improvement of this program, but my experience was one I will not soon forget. I would recommend this program to any IR student at Ritsumeikan.

My objective for entering the DMDP to AU besides the obvious scholarly and financial boon of receiving an education from an American institution at Japanese university tuition price was to experience the life in the US. Having been brought up in Europe, having studied in the UK and having lived in Japan, the last major developed region yet to be experienced by myself was the new world. To this end, my year as a guest to the US proved most fruitful. Not only did I learn the great variations of the American people by ethnicity, state of origin and geographical regions, I could measure ever so slightly with untrained eyes the nature of these very same Americans. The students and the people around AU were people instilled with vigour and vision. An energetic bunch with a healthy dosage of ambition and strength of will rarely seen in Japan, the UK or Europe. Whilst I found the SIS fixation of methodology and empirical research unnecessarily suffocating, I came to understand that at least the basis of their argument to the importance of making a science out of the study of politics and the matters of state was sound. While I joked amongst my colleagues that we had economists in this world for a reason, I had to concede that the compulsory credit requirements in basic economic principles and international economics to be enlightening and potentially very interesting if given an opportunity to study it in my own time. My unfortunately short time studying multilateralism under Dr. Acharya made it painstakingly clear to me the value of fields in international relations I had until then dismissed, notably matters of international law. An interest I made good use of as there was a corresponding course on international law in the second semester.

Both my practicum as well as the internship was different facets of my main fields of study. I truly enjoyed my time at the International Peace and Security Institute as an Intern, their projects to teach the art of peace-making most refreshing. Meanwhile the Practicum gave me much insight as to what governments can do to influence the people to support national interest.

I had hoped that DMDP to SIS would provide me with a pretext and an opportunity to open my eyes elsewhere in the fields of study of the matters of states. My background in historical and highly security oriented fields can only be strengthened with knowledge of these more idealistic fields. I wish to truly thank Ritsumeikan and AU for providing me with this opportunity and hope others after me can make use of this program.

It was a very worthwhile experience participating in DMDP.
The International Institute of Social Studies is a real international institute that among nearly 180 students in our new batch, there are students from more than fifty different nationalities. Many students have working experiences as a lawyer, government official, NGO project coordinator, etc. Studying together with them and having discussion in class with them enable me to expose myself to many different ideas coming from different perspectives, which not only help enrich my knowledge but also learn new ways of thinking. At the same time, the professors in ISS also come from many different nationalities. They are all very kind, helpful, and willing to share their rich experiences.

The coursework in ISS is very intensive. Students are required to take general course, foundation courses, academic skill course and information literacy in term one. Among them, the foundation courses consist of three courses to be chosen from three different groups-economic, politics and sociology. Then in term two, students start taking the core courses of their own specialization, selective courses, and research methodology courses. The course evaluation usually includes essay assignments, in-class presentation, and final exam. There are quite a lot of readings required for each course. Therefore, practice to read fast and effectively is very important. It is a kind of tradition that ISS students usually form study groups to discuss the questions and issues raised in class. It is helpful to listen to different opinions, especially when you are confused on a certain topic.

ISS also organizes many cultural events for students. For example, every year in November, there is the International Day when students from different countries put on their traditional clothes, cook their traditional food, and display their unique culture through exhibition or performance. The students committee SCHOLAS also organizes some events such as day-trips. Apart from that, since all the students stay in dormitories near school, there are always chances of getting together and sharing a good time with each other.

The Hague is a peaceful and beautiful small city which is very suitable for study. In short, participating in DMDP was a wonderful experience that I would recommend to all the students in IR.