Features of Liberal Arts

The University, which practices liberal arts education based on the spirit of Christianity, believes that education is obtained through mutual interaction and shared experiences between faculty and students, and that a constantly living education is a crucial element for the sake of understanding and respecting each other. For this reason, the University has put an environment in place that encourages communication between students and faculty and among fellow students through education in small groups.

Becoming problem-solvers

Students will become people who are able to proactively elevate themselves and cooperate with diverse people with different opinions and values to explore and solve problems.

Students will come into contact with basic liberal arts knowledge as well as the spirit of Christianity that represents the Founding Spirit, develop an understanding of them, and become outfitted with a desire to elevate their own character through social activities.

• Founding Spirit
• University-wide common classes
• Graduate research/thesis

Becoming people who contribute to society

The University creates opportunities for diverse people to interact as a link between people in the local community and the rest of the world. There are many ways to contribute to society.

At the University, with university-wide common classes and their studies in each department as the foundation, students can learn how to become familiar with and explore the local community and how to discover and solve local issues. Even the same issue can be approached and solved in different ways depending on the field of research. Whether its researching literature and data or working together with people from corporations, schools, local governments, NPOs and so forth, discover the form of social contribution that suits you.

Engaging in the resolution of issues in the local community

For Departmental seminar credits and cross-undergraduate school efforts, students actively carry out their activities with the local community as the field and endeavor to resolve local issues.

Social collaboration projects

The practical application of Departmental studies leads to deeper learning and self-confidence.

Becoming people who can successively contribute on a global plane.

The University, whose founding body is a congregation with a network spanning five continents around the world, has endeavored to develop truly international individuals since its founding in 1949. It leverages its previous achievements to develop global human resources through various methods to accommodate the increasing globalization and diversification of values in modern society.

Further development of traditional foreign language education

University-wide common classes required for all students: Foreign language classes (English)

English is made a required subject for all students, enabling them to become human resources who can effectively use English as a practical tool and play an active role in their field of specialization.
・Students will enhance their ability to communicate in English while simultaneously deepening their knowledge of the culture and customs of English-speaking countries.
・Students will study methods of gathering and communicating information in English and will develop the ability to apply their takeaways to research in their field of specialization.
・Students will also develop an understanding of the diversity of the world and cultivate a spirit of acceptance.
・Students are provided with a self-study environment for English language learning.
・Students have an environment in which they can be in constant contact with English by casually speaking with native English-speaking faculty members outside of class hours.

Among elective courses, French, German, Chinese and Korean are offered.

[Department of English Language and Literature], where English is thoroughly studied from multiple angles

Students can become bilingual international individuals who will build bridges with parties overseas.In order to become bilingual, students must make full use of both high-quality English and Japanese.To this end, in addition to English as a language, students will also study the cultures of English-speaking countries, their relations with other countries and other aspects in detail through established fields of study such as “English and American Literature,” “Linguistics,” “English Education” and "Intercultural Communication.The Department allows students to study English consistently throughout a four-year period.

[Department of Global Studies] where students study a globalizing society from a multifaceted perspective

Students will outfit themselves with “language skills,” “international understanding” and “the ability to communicate Japanese culture,” which are indispensable in modern society given its increasing globalization and diversification of values. For that purpose, students will study culture in a broad sense, including religion, art, music, manga and more with an emphasis on Japanese culture (representational culture studies) as well as systems and theories such as international law and peace studies (global society studies) and peoples living in different cultures and regions (multicultural coexistence studies), starting from the basics and progressing step by step. In particular, the Department is noted for enabling in-depth studies of local communities around the world, including those in Japan, Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Asian Pacific Rim and Africa.
Simultaneously, students will refine their language skills through an intensive English language program and all-English classes.
Students will be able to earn a total of 35 credits in 21 English subjects, including electives, and a total of 26 credits in 16 subjects for languages other than English, including Practical Chinese, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Swahili and Indonesian, in addition to the university-wide common classes in Chinese, German, French and Korean.

International exchange to cultivate international perspectives

Students will experience improvement in their English communication skills, international perspectives and ability to adapt to different cultures by studying abroad at sister schools and partner universities operated by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, the founding body of the University, and by participating in English-language training programs in Japan and overseas.