No, it is not necessary to contact faculty members directly in advance. Instead, please be sure to include the name(s) of the instructor(s) you wish to work with in “SUPERVISOR” columns when completing the application form. You can find each professor’s profile [here]. Please note that listing the names of the instructors does not guarantee that they will be your supervisor(s).

This depends on a combination of what you hope to get out of graduate education and your career plans. The credit track emphasis on course work and will deepen your knowledge of those subjects that interest you. The thesis track will deepen your research and analytic skills for scholarship.

A key criteria for acceptance into the thesis track is the availability of a faculty member to supervise your proposed topic. Therefore, you should select a thesis topic within the specialization of at least one faculty member in your degree area. You can access information on faculty specializations by clicking the names of a professor in blue font under the faculty listing for each degree. You should also consult with the coordinator and professors in your degree area.

Yes. Up to 8 credits earned outside your degree curriculum will count towards fulfilling the graduation requirements for your degree. If you’re planning to take courses outside your research area or the GPGS curriculum, make sure you have the necessary academic background.

Yes. The minimum number of credits required for graduation is 30 but you may take more. The tuition rate is flat (fixed) so there is no extra charge for exceeding 30 credits.

Yes. GPGS courses are mostly scheduled in the afternoon to enable you to attend Japanese language courses in the morning. There is no extra tuition charge for taking language classes because of the flat (fixed) tuition. However, credits earned in language study do not count towards the 30 credits required for graduation while they will be calculated into your GPA. As Japanese language courses have a heavy workload, you are advised to well balance between the GPGS courses and Japanese language courses.

Both the credit track and the thesis track typically require four semesters. However, a student may apply for Early Graduation with legitimate reasons and good academic standing (see the Bulletin of Information for details).

The program is not designed to accommodate students with full-time jobs. Most of the courses are scheduled for daytime on weekdays and the course work is quite heavy.

You are eligible to apply to enter the Ph.D. in Global Studies/Japanese Studies. The Ph.D. is supervised by many of the same faculty members as the M.A. in Global Studies/Japanese Studies. Therefore obtaining an M.A. in Global Studies/Japanese Studies is a good way to prepare for applying to the Ph.D. in Global Studies/Japanese Studies. However, entrance into the Ph.D. program is highly competitive and completion of the M.A. in Global Studies/Japanese Studies does not guarantee advancement to Ph.D.

Balancing a full-time job with doing a Ph.D. is extremely difficult. As a Ph.D. candidate you are expected to participate regularly in various activities on the campus until your dissertation prospectus has been approved. The only situation that is conceivable is if your working hours are flexible or you are preparing for an extended dissertation candidacy.

No. You are expected to develop a dissertation prospectus and research and write your dissertation under the supervision of your faculty supervisor in the GPGS. A dissertation written elsewhere cannot be submitted for the Ph.D. in GPGS.

It is expected that doctoral students will enter the Ph.D. possessing the language skills that they intend to use for the Ph.D. research. However, they may be able to take a language course at Sophia in addition to the Ph.D. work if they successfully obtain permission from their advisor and the language teacher.

Earning 6 credits from the specified courses is mandatory for the attainment of the doctorate.

Clicking on a faculty member’s name will take you to their profile page that lists their research interests and publications.

University requirements stipulate that you must enroll in the GPGS for a three-year residency period. However, students will most likely take longer to finish their dissertation. The amount of time from matriculation to conferral of the degree depends on such factors as when you take your qualifying exams and the character of your research. You can extend your affiliation with the GPGS beyond the three-year residency through options such as extension, leave of absence, and withdrawal without completing a dissertation (manki taigaku).