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Teaching staff	approx. 1,900
Undergraduate students	approx. 9,900
Graduate students	approx. 6,800
International students	approx. 1,700
Undergraduate School	School of Humanities and Culture School of Social and International Studies School of Human Sciences School of Life and Environmental Sciences School of Science and Engineering School of Informatics School of Medicine and Medical Sciences School of Health and Physical Education School of Art and Design
Graduate Schools	Master's Program in Education Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences Graduate School of Business Sciences Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences Graduate School of Library, Information and Media Studies

University of Tsukuba

History and Outstanding Features

The University of Tsukuba was established in 1973 as an innovative type of university, as well as the new incarnation of the Tokyo University of Education, which specialized in education and teacher training.

This innovation was principally to be found in its critical emphasis on research.

The University is committed to training young talent able to take on the central role in national technological strategy in the future, by focusing on postgraduate education and research in its Graduate Schools and affiliated Research Organizations.

This has allowed the University to make a clear differentiation between itself and other establishments. It is a center of training for research leaders in diverse fields, including talented students in sport and art-related disciplines.

The University has also been home to three Nobel Laureates: Dr. Hideki Shirakawa was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2000, Dr. Leo Esaki, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1973, and Dr. Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1965. All three men spent considerable time at the University of Tsukuba.

Jigoro Kano was an educator who was committed to promoting Japanese judo throughout the world, and who made significant contributions to the development of physical education and sports in Japan and the promotion of the Olympic movement. He was active in the latter half of the 19th century, just after Japan had opened itself up to the rest of the world. He was also the President of the Tokyo Higher Normal School, later to become the Tokyo University of Education, the predecessor of the University of Tsukuba.

It should be clear, then, that the University of Tsukuba has long cultivated a climate as a research-focused university that strives to welcome outstanding researchers and educators.

A Tradition of Education

The central tradition of the University of Tsukuba is a focus on pedagogical studies that can be traced back to the very first specialist teacher training institute in Japan.

Since its foundation, this tradition has produced educators who have gone on to teach throughout Japan, and in particular made important contributions to the early period of modernization in education in Japan.
Within its long history, pedagogy has been the linchpin of education and research at the University, and has received solid university-wide cooperation and support. This advantaged educational and research framework, not found in any other university in Japan, is a precious resource that has allowed the University to perfect its pedagogy.

The Master’s Program in Education boasts courses specially designed to foster educators with advanced capability in education and school management as well as adaptation to specialist issues encountered in schools. These courses include the School Leadership and Professional Development major and the Special Needs Education major, the latter a direct descendent of the tradition of the University’s predecessors.

For special needs education, the Institute of Disability Sciences conducts interdisciplinary research on disability from multiple perspectives, including education, psychology, welfare, and healthcare. It is a very unique center of education and research in Japan.

The Master’s Program in Education welcomes students from the human sciences and teacher trainees from overseas. It also runs programs for qualified teachers, and works to enhance the education and continuing professional education of both the current and next generation of education leaders. The Program has been accepting teacher trainees from overseas for 31 terms as of 2011, which indicates the contribution that the University has been able to make to the development and improvement of pedagogy overseas as well as in Japan.

Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences: A New Approach

The Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Studies was established in 2001 in order to conduct the unique education and research that are characteristic of the University of Tsukuba.

The graduate school had several specific and innovative aims: to conduct advanced research in the traditional discipline from the perspective of the human; to plan and carry out interdisciplinary research based on the broad and high-level accumulated from various disciplines; and to propose and conduct appropriate applications and support for the human from a multidisciplinary approach. Today, ten years after its establishment, the graduate school is revolutionizing its approach to research with structural reform.

In order to attract outstanding students from diverse backgrounds, the graduate school has established unique and diversified systems, designed to appeal to a broad range of students, such as establishing entrance examinations for mature students, holding entrance examinations in July, August, October, and February rather than just during the conventional examination period (which is based on the Japanese academic school year), introducing daytime and evening courses, holding joint entrance examinations with partner and affiliated universities, and establishing special measures for students on national and private scholarships.

Of particular note is the organizational structure that has been put in place in order to achieve these objectives.

Among the many universities in Japan that claim to be run according to inspired vision and lofty principles, there are, in fact, few that truly reflect these visions and principles as clear organizational structure and actual university policy.

The graduate school has established an executive committee, which comprises the basic organizational framework, to which is added graduate school presidents, course directors, faculty presidents, center directors, and representatives from affiliated hospitals and the Education Bureau, as well as coordinating committee members. This leads to a total of 49 members, who work together to ensure that information from both inside and outside the University is relayed to the graduate school without delay.

The coordinating committee is a smaller organizational body charged with coordinating the critical decisions made about the graduate school; the objective of their work is to allow the executive committee to make informed decisions more quickly.

It is hoped that this structure will allow the graduate school to operate smoothly and effectively, providing impetus for the structural reform that the graduate school is aiming to achieve.

The University of Tsukuba is a pioneer of research-focused University-level education in Japan. The efforts of the Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Studies to establish an innovative new norm for postgraduate research facilities by revolutionizing its organization is a clear indication of the passion for excellence that can be found at the University of Tsukuba.

Dec 13, 2011

About the author
Hiromi Jitsukata is a reporter for Japanest NIPPON