Graduate School of Economics

Major in Economics (Master's Program / Doctoral Program)

Our comprehensive educational system covers all aspects of economics.

Features

In April 2000, the Master’s Program in the Graduate School of Economics introduced a system of day and evening courses that allows students to select courses from both the Ikuta and Kanda campuses. The program now includes day courses at the Ikuta Campus, as well as Saturday courses and weekday evening courses at the Kanda Campus.

Since April 2016, the program has offered a total of four courses at the two campuses: the Economic Research Course and the Professional Course at Kanda and the Economy and Society Course and the International Economics Course at Ikuta.

The two Ikuta Campus day courses—the Economy and Society Course and the International Economics Course—are designed to foster academics and other researchers by helping them gain academic and research skills. Graduate schools are now expected to fulfill a diverse array of societal needs. To meet these needs, the Economy and Society and International Economics courses focus on developing highly specialized professionals, providing lifelong education for working adults and offering advanced professional education that extends beyond the undergraduate level. These courses focus on economic studies related to a variety of fields, including economic theory and international economics. The comprehensive Economy and Society Course covers a range of topics from economic and statistical theory, to public finance, finance theory, and economic history and social policy. The International Economics Course examines socioeconomics, regional research, and international cooperation in Europe, North America, Asia, and other areas around the world.

The Extended Master’s Program for the Economy and Society Course and International Economics Course is designed to provide advanced lifelong education for working adults and to deliver the diverse features that people are looking for in a graduate school education. The courses accommodate those who have not engaged in studies or research since graduating from university many years previously, as well as those who wish to gain advanced expertise and skills while working fulltime. The program helps students delve into research in preparation for a Master’s thesis, in a four-year study plan. Tuition fees are apportioned over the extended period, reducing the financial cost of the program’s first year.

The two weekday evening and Saturday (day/evening) courses held at the Kanda Campus—the Professional Course and the Economic Research Course —are designed to foster highly specialized professionals. This type of professional is required to respond accurately and precisely to dramatic changes, which requires specific skills in identifying and resolving a variety of problems. To develop these skills, students will reexamine the experiences and expertise they have gained over their years in the workplace, and incorporate a broader perspective through the study of systematized knowledge and theory. These courses are open to those currently working in business environments, as well as to recent university graduates.

In the Professional Course, students examine such subjects as economic policy, international economic theory, and public finance and tax policy, and engage in research on corporate, industrial, and general policy, as well as finance and the tax system.

The school offers two Economic Research Course programs—Standard and Advanced. Students examine methods of economic surveys and analysis of corporate, industrial, and macroeconomic trends and policy utilizing economic theory and econometrics.

In addition to lectures by Senshu University professors, both courses include lectures by professional practitioners to ensure that students learn these subjects from both theoretical and practical perspectives.

Master's Program Courses

Since April 2000, the Master's Program in the Graduate School of Economics has been taught through both daytime lectures on the Ikuta Campus and weekday evening and Saturday lectures on the Kanda Campus, allowing students a choice of classes on both campuses.

Starting in April 2010, course content has been reorganized into four courses to make it easier to follow: the Socioeconomics Course and International Economics Course on the Ikuta Campus, and the Professional Course and Finance Course on the Kanda Campus.

The two daytime courses on the Ikuta Campus—the Socioeconomic Course and the International Economics Course—are designed not only to produce university-level teaching staff and other researchers equipped with teaching and research skills, but also to meet contemporary society's diversifying demands of graduate schools. They do this by offering learning opportunities in a variety of fields of economics, including economic theory and international economics, in order to produce highly-skilled professionals, meet the lifelong learning needs of employed adults, and providing advanced specialist education beyond the undergraduate level.

The Socioeconomics Course is a wide-ranging course that encompasses everything from economic theory and statistics to public finance, finance, economic history, and social policy.

The International Economics Course examines global economic society and international cooperation, with a particular focus on Europe, North America, and Asia.

The Four-Year Programs for the Socioeconomics Course and International Economics Course are designed to enhance access to graduate-level education for non-traditional students, and are targeted at people with a diversity of needs, including university graduates who have long been away from the world of education and research, and employed professionals seeking to acquire more advanced knowledge and skills. Students on these programs cultivate their research skills by taking subjects according to a four-year schedule that culminates in the writing of a master's dissertation, and enjoy the benefit of being able to pay their tuition fees in installments over an extended period, thus reducing the financial cost borne during any one year.

The two day/night courses taught on the Kanda Campus on weekday evenings and Saturdays—the Professional Course and Finance Course—are designed to train highly-skilled professionals. Such professionals have to develop their abilities to detect and resolve all kinds of problems in order to respond appropriately to rapid changes. They therefore need to revisit the knowledge and experience that they have developed during their careers from a wider perspective, and master knowledge and theory systematically. This course is open to fresh graduates as well as adults currently working in the world of business.

On the Professional Course, students can learn about business and industry, general policy, finance, and taxation by taking subjects in areas such as economic policy, international economics, and financial and tax policy.

The Finance Course provides a thorough and systematic education in finance through the study of subjects in areas such as financial systems, monetary policy, capital markets, and corporate finance.

Both courses incorporate lectures taught by experienced practitioners in their fields as well as the University's own staff, providing a combination of theory and practice.

The purpose of Graduate School of Economics

The goal of the Graduate School of Economics is to cultivate a wide range of academic knowledge for the purpose of training advanced professionals with a high level of specialist knowledge and abilities in the field of economics, highly intelligent human resources capable of operating in the many fields now found in our rapidly diversifying society, University teaching staff possessed of rich creativity and confident teaching abilities, and other researchers.

Policy with Regard to Conferment of Degrees

Master's Program

The Graduate School of Economics aims to nurture highly specialized professionals in the discipline of economics who possess sophisticated technical expertise and capabilities, as well as human talent with the exceptional intellectual capacity needed to play a role in an array of social fields that are developing in diverse ways.

In the Master’s Program, Master’s (Economics) or Master’s (Finance and Economics) degrees are conferred upon those students who have attended for at least the required terms (two years or four years, respectively), and who have earned the required number of credits (at least 30 or 40, respectively). In addition, having had the necessary research guidance, students must have passed both a review of their master’s thesis or research paper, as well as a final examination.

Master’s theses must demonstrate an adequate degree of understanding of the issues with regard to the properly selected topic, a firm grasp of analytical methods and other elements. In addition, based on a sufficient understanding of existing research, they must also propose and develop original perspectives and analyses. Research papers are only applicable for finance courses that apply a grade point average (GPA) method, and are required to satisfy standards set forth in the specialized domains of finance or econometrics. Whether a master’s thesis or a research paper, master’s students are required to be competent in giving high-quality reports, in either case, by presenting a report at several regularly scheduled thesis recitals during their term of attendance.

Doctoral Program

The Graduate School of Economics aims to foster a wide-array of in-depth academic learning to nurture future university-level educators and other researchers who possess a wealth of creativity and a distinct degree of research and academic capabilities. These students will be highly competent and capable specialists in the discipline of economics, and have sophisticated technical expertise as well as the outstanding intellectual qualities needed to thrive in a variety of social fields that are evolving in diverse ways.

In the Doctoral Program, a Ph.D. (Economics) will be conferred upon graduate students who have completed the required term (at least three years), and have earned the required number of credits (at least 16 credits). Upon having received the necessary research guidance, these students must also have passed a review of their doctoral dissertation as well as a final examination.

The doctoral dissertation must be based upon an awareness of issues that is grounded in a high degree of scholarly learning, as well as demonstrate both analytical depth and broad perspectives. The dissertation must also propose and develop an originality that goes beyond existing research.

Policy with Regard to Curriculum Development and Implementation

Master's Program

The Graduate School of Economics curriculum covers a spectrum of economics-related fields, and the Master’s Program offers four specific courses. The Economy and Society Course focuses on topics from economic and statistical theory, to public finance, finance theory, and the history of economics and social policy. In the International Economics Course, students examine socioeconomics and international cooperation in Europe, North America, Asia, and other areas around the world. The Professional Course covers topics ranging from economic policy, international finance theory, public finance, and tax policy to corporate, industrial, and general policy. In the Economics Research Course, students cover micro- and macroeconomics, econometrics, and other topics.

Doctoral Program

The curriculum for the Graduate School of Economics and the Doctoral Program covers a broad array of specialized fields within economics — economic theory, economic history, statistics, history of economic thought, economic policy, agricultural policy, finance, financial theory, public policy and international economic theory — and is designed for highly specialized lectures and exercises.

This graduate school aims to facilitate the human resources that will play a leading role in the pursuit and development of research and education in a variety of economics-related fields at universities, research institutions and other organizations. In the doctoral dissertation development process, graduate students can rely not only on their own counselors for guidance, but utilizing a credit transfer system whereby credits are accepted from other universities and research institutions, they can receive guidance from educators or researchers in related specialized fields. Also, by completing reports at several regularly scheduled thesis recitals during their term of attendance, the advice of academic counselors and a wide spectrum of researchers is available to heighten the degree of completion as a doctoral dissertation.

Through this process, students will come to master advanced and specialized knowledge, and cultivate capabilities for original research.

Admission policy

Master’s Program

The Graduate School of Economics (Master's Program) aims to nurture talented individuals who have a high level of expertise in economics-related areas such as theory, history, systems, policy and statistics, and who have the economic mentality, ability to make policy proposals, and the problem-solving skills necessary to accurately resolve issues present in the economic society of today. Hence, we are looking for potential students who fulfill the following requirements.

Qualification and skill requirements for enrollment in the Graduate School of Economics (Master's Program)
(1) Individuals with a standard level of knowledge and understanding of economics
(2) Individuals who desire to acquire a high level of expertise
(3) Individuals who wish to contribute proactively to society as researchers or highly skilled professionals in the future.

Doctoral Program

The Graduate School of Economics (Doctoral Program) aims to nurture researchers who have a broad prospective and a high level of expertise in various areas of economics such as theory, history, system, policy and statistics, and who have the attitude and ability to pursue creative research in new fields. Hence, we are looking for potential students who fulfill the following requirements.
Qualification and skill requirements for enrollment in the Graduate School of Economics (Doctoral Program)

(1) Individuals with a high level of expertise and understanding of economics
(2) Individuals who desire to open up new, creative fields of research
(3) Individuals who wish to become researchers with exceptional research achievements in the future.

Graduate Schools