Division of Regional Development Studies

Overview – Enrollment limit : 14

The Division of Regional Development Studies aims to foster advanced specialists and researchers who possess the specialized and cross-disciplinary “regional development ability” that provides individual solutions to today’s society, where harmonious coexistence between humans, humans and society, and humans and the environment is required, in accordance with each regional characteristic.

Features of the Regional Development Studies Program

We will foster specialized and interdisciplinary “regional creative abilities”.

We aim to foster professionals and researchers with specialized and interdisciplinary “regional development abilities”.
Through the Regional Development Studies program, we offer a task-based learning curriculum that enables students to learn theories and concepts while solving practical problems related to their research projects.
We also offer task-based internships (long-term) that support practical learning in specific regions. We regularly hold meetings of the Regional Development Research Society, which employs a multifaceted approach to address regional issues.
In the Regional Development Studies Program, we placed importance on the establishment of interdisciplinary and intersectional networks between teachers, students, and local communities.

Philosophy and Goals

The goal of the Regional Development Studies Program is to train highly skilled professionals and researchers with specialized and interdisciplinary “regional development abilities” that lead to individual solutions tailored to the characteristics of a specific region in today’s society, where people seek to create communities in which between humans, humans and society, and humans and the environment coexist in harmony.

“Regional development abilities” are defined as the ability to:

Understand and explore a region
Manage a region
Sustainably develop a region

To improve the lives of people living in a specific region and achieve social development, it is essential to first develop a strong understanding of the diverse issues affecting that region and then address these regional concerns. Second, it is necessary to have specialized knowledge of individuals, society, the environment, and the issues affecting the people in the region, and to be able to consider them from the perspectives of both residents and society. It is also necessary to acquire the investigative and analytical techniques required to solve regional problems. Third, to ensure the sustainability of a specific region, it is essential to listen to the voices of the people living in that region, engage in a sufficient exchange of opinions, form a consensus, and coordinate with related organizations and groups. Effective communication skills are essential for successful collaborative work.

The professionals with “high-level regional development abilities” that this major aims to develop are able to work effectively to solve regional issues as a member of an organization, and they are also able to lead organizations. They listen deeply to the specific situations in their regions and the opinions of residents, actively collaborate with related organizations and groups, and work to identify and solve new regional issues, including unexpected ones, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of their region.

This department’s concept of the development of human resources is as follows:

Students who graduate from bachelor’s programs learn about specialized research and regional issues in a well-balanced manner, and acquire advanced regional creativity skills that enable them to work as administrative or corporate employees.
Students who graduate from bachelor’s programs will likely stay in the region where they studied for a long period, gaining a deep understanding of regional development. This enables them to become employees who can contribute to their organizations and demonstrate high-level regional creativity.
Students who are working professionals in government or companies, leaving their workplaces for graduate school studies, will conduct research while gaining academic knowledge and methods to gain a broad perspective.
Students who graduate from a bachelor’s program will have specialized in academic knowledge and scientific methods, and they will advance to a graduate school’s doctoral program as they aim to work in a research position.
Students (graduates from bachelor’s programs or working professionals in governments or companies) will be active as part of a team of professionals who support education, based on their graduate school studies.

Diploma Policy

The Department of Regional Development Studies awards a master’s degree (Regional Development Studies) to those who have completed a master’s degree in the field of Regional Development Studies, which integrates fields related to people, society, the environment, the arts, and education, with an emphasis on content related to regional communities, social welfare policy, social and human rights security, and other areas of regional development studies. Master’s degrees are also awarded to those who have mastered specialized knowledge in interdisciplinary fields closely related to other fields, such as the agro-environment, geography for disaster prevention, and health and fitness science, from economic analysis and natural science approaches, or in educational support and development, such as developing effective programs that effectively utilize regional educational resources to solve various educational issues. A master’s degree (philosophy) is awarded to those who have conducted intensive research and acquired expertise in the field.

The Department of Regional Development Studies confers either a master’s degree (regional development studies) or a master’s degree (philosophy).

The Department of Regional Development Studies has established the following criteria for acquiring advanced “regional development skills”:

Acquire advanced specialized knowledge to understand the people, society, and environment living in the region, as well as the various problems surrounding them.
Have the desire to contribute to the sustainable development of the region, both domestically and internationally, with flexible thinking skills to discover and solve regional problems.
Have a strong interest in people, society, and the environment, and desire to contribute to the sustainable development of local communities in Japan and abroad from an international perspective.
Highly interested and motivated in pursuing specialized research and acquiring interdisciplinary insight.
Respect for others and the ability to proactively contribute to the community as members of society.
Acquire the scientific research and analytical methods necessary to discover and solve regional issues.
Acquire advanced communication skills for gathering information, facilitating discussions, and reporting results.

Requirements for students who want to become researchers

Master the advanced specialized scientific research and analysis methods necessary to discover and solve local issues.
To have a strong academic spirit and the motivation to continuously engage in research.

Degree requirements

（1）Master of Regional Development Studies

Students must complete the required coursework and pass either the Master’s thesis defense (or, in the case of students enrolled in the short-term (one-year) program, the research paper defense) or the Qualifying Examination (QE), which assesses foundational skills for doctoral thesis research. This requirement is based on their engagement in educational and research activities in the field of Regional Development Studies, including topics such as regional communities, social welfare policy, and social and human rights protections.

（2）Master of Philosophy

Students must complete the required coursework and pass either the Master’s thesis defense (or, in the case of students enrolled in the short-term (one-year) program, the research paper defense) or the Qualifying Examination (QE), which assesses foundational skills for doctoral thesis research. This requirement is based on their engagement in educational and research activities within the field of Regional Development Studies, an interdisciplinary domain closely connected to related areas such as economic analysis, natural science approaches to agricultural environments, disaster-prevention geography, health and physical fitness science, or within the field of Educational Support and Development.