Masters Course in Literature Studies

Tsuru University offers a masters course to further academic research, enhance education, and help students develop their careers. Our program aims to cultivate professionals who can make a vital contribution to society, educators and researchers with a broad perspective and vision, able to support more advanced and sophisticated systems in business, academia, culture and society.

The history of the masters course

The Japanese Program and the Sociological Community Studies Program were originally established in 1995. Thereafter, the English Language and British /American Literature Program were added in 1998, the Comparative Cultures Program in 2000 and the Practical Studies of Clinical Education Program in 2003. These together currently make up the 5 graduate school programs. The current capacity for the masters course is 5 students per program, with a total of 25 first year graduate students and an overall total of 50 graduate students. We also admit a small number of research students not enrolled in these programs.

Admission for working educators, working professionals, and foreign exchange students

Admissions for working educators began in 2000. At the graduate school, teachers who are active in elementary, junior high and high school can further their studies and receive a master’s degree that will help further their careers. Admission into the Japanese Program, the English Language and British /American Literature Program and the Practical Studies of Clinical Education Program is also available to working professionals in society. Teachers in this program are keen to encourage English-speaking students from overseas to gain qualifications that will help further their careers in Japan and elsewhere. The Comparative Cultures Program currently receives a number of students from China and Korea. Students can take advantage of a rich, intellectually stimulating environment in which there is a close and vital interaction between students and teachers.

Features

All 5 programs share a focus on acquiring relevant academic knowledge in the true sense. This acts as a foundation for their main objective, encouraging each graduate student to pursue individual research topics and develop career opportunities. In the Japanese Program, students engage in their own research based on a curriculum that includes classical literature, modern literature and Japanese language studies. In the Sociological Community Studies Program, students engage in comprehensive and interdisciplinary research related to community studies based on a social sciences platform. In the English Language and British /American Literature Program, students make use of their strong, practical English language skills and cultural awareness of the English speaking domain. They conduct research in language education, linguistics, British literature, or American literature with a view to career advancement. In the Comparative Cultures Program, students conduct research by comparing Japanese culture and cultures from different regions (Asia, Europe and North America). In the Practical Studies of Clinical Education Program, a research guidance system is available that combines clinical pedagogy and educational clinical psychology in order to explore educational practices to meet the specific problems (cases) of modern children.

Earning academic degrees and acquiring qualifications

After completing a minimum of 32 units from a list of specified courses, the graduate students must submit a master’s thesis. After undergoing a thesis review and passing an oral examination, the student is awarded a master’s degree. In addition, professionals who have a first-class teacher’s credential can also acquire a specialization certificate if they complete the specified units for the corresponding program. Our curriculum enables students to obtain a specialization certificate for junior high and high school Japanese in the Japanese Program, for junior high school social studies and high school geography, history and civics in the Sociological Community Studies Program, for junior high and high school English in the English Language and British /American Literature Program and also in the Practical Studies of Clinical Education Program regardless of the subject and the type of elementary, junior high school or high school.

Post graduate career options

After studying in and completing these educational programs, our graduate school alumni help contribute to society as educators and civil servants. In addition, some of our graduates who completed the masters course continue their research and enroll in doctoral programs at other graduate schools. The graduate school staff concentrates all their energy to develop professionals that can pass on their high level of expertise and knowledge to society.

Graduate School Policies

Admission policy

This graduate school admits students who understand the mission of the university, who hold expert knowledge and research skills needed for post-graduate studies and research, who are motivated and who are qualified for the program.

Curriculum policy

The graduate school orchestrates and implements the best curriculum to build research skills for the post-graduate students by providing instruction and research on academic theory and application in order to achieve the education and research goals.

Diploma policy

The graduate school strives to be a higher institution of learning that nurtures high level professionals with a broader perspective and vision, who are able to support complex systems in academia, culture and society, and provide them with skills to make a meaningful contribution to society based on the expert knowledge of each program.