Policies

Educational Philosophy of SOKENDAI

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Program Outline

The Anthropological Studies Program offered at the National Museum of Ethnology provides education and research on the diverse cultures that humans have developed in different parts of the world from prehistoric times to the present. From the perspective of cultural anthropology, ethnology, and related disciplines, the program conducts ethnographic research that describes and analyzes particular cultures, as well as cross cultural research that compares cultures from specific viewpoints. Students pursue their research with the aim of completing a doctoral dissertation, making use of data obtained through fieldwork as well as the collections of the National Museum of Ethnology, including artifacts, visual and audio materials, and documentary resources. This program consists solely of a doctoral course (the latter stage of the doctoral program) and admits students who have obtained a master’s degree or who are recognized as having academic ability equivalent to or higher than that level. Students enrolled in the program carry out their study and research activities at the National Museum of Ethnology, located in Suita City, Osaka.

Aims for Doctoral Candidates

The aim of this program is to educate doctoral-level researchers who can acquire the knowledge and methodologies accumulated in the academic fields of cultural anthropology, ethnology, and related disciplines, and who are capable of applying them to advance high-level research. Specifically, the program seeks to develop individuals who:

can gain a deep understanding of phenomena through fieldwork and the analysis of materials, and who able to independently create new and original intellectual values based on free and innovative thinking;
while grounded in their own area of specialization, can take an integrative and interdisciplinary perspective, show interest in issues in related fields, and contribute to the advancement of a broad range of scholarly endeavors;
respects differences and minority position in terms of nation, region, language, culture, gender, religion, and other factors, and are able to disseminate academic results internationally with a high degree of universality through dialogue and collaboration;
are aware of the social significance and positioning of their own academic research and can act autonomously with a strong sense of ethics and responsibility as a researcher.

Learning and Research Activities

Students in this program deepen their understanding of their own research topics and acquire the ability to pursue advanced research through lectures on knowledge and methodologies accumulated in their fields of specialization, seminars involving discussions related to their research themes, and individualized guidance in academic writing that meets to each student’s needs.

1.First-year Seminar (Course titles: “Proseminar 1 and 2”)
In the first-year seminar, students take part in the following two series. Immediately after enrollment, students present their previous research and their research plans for the doctoral program in the Research Plan Series. After completing one year of coursework and research training given by supervisors, students refine their future research plans and present them in Research Proposal Series.

2.Common courses (Course title: “Foundation of Anthropology 1 and 2”)
To acquire fundamental knowledge and methodologies in cultural anthropology, ethnology, and related disciplines, students select and complete designated common courses.

3.Fieldwork
Students conduct field research by making use of various research grants, such as the program’s student dispatch schemes, and the SOKENDAI Research Dispatch Program.

4.Dissertation Seminar (Course title: “Dissertation Seminar 1 and 2”)
Student present parts of submitted articles and sections of their doctoral dissertations several times in the dissertation seminars, receive critical feedback and advice from participants, and develop skills in discussion, commentary, and the organization of arguments, while also acquiring the multifaceted and interdisciplinary perspectives necessary for advancing their research.

5.Doctoral Dissertation
With guidance from their academic supervisors, through Dissertation Research (course titles: Dissertation Work in Advanced Studies IIIA-VB) and discussions in the dissertation seminar, students will publish several articles that will also form chapters of the doctoral dissertation and ultimately complete the dissertation.

Obtaining a Degree

To be awarded a degree, candidates must fulfil the requirements of the curriculum of the Anthropological Studies Program, acquire fundamental knowledge and broad academic training in cultural anthropology, ethnology, and related disciplines, and demonstrate the competence required of an independent researcher. Degrees are conferred upon those who successfully pass the required examinations and reviews. Doctoral dissertations that have been submitted for and passed the preliminary review are then evaluated in the final review process. This process includes a public dissertation presentation and an oral examination conducted by the examination committee. Upon approval of the degree conferral by the Representative Committee of Cultural and Social Studies, the candidate is awarded either the degree of Docror of Philosophy.

For Prospective Students

Type of Students We Seek

We seek students who have a strong interest in cultural anthropology, ethnology, and related disciplines, and who, while taking a broad and comprehensive view of global trends, human activities, and the current scholarly issues that seek to understand them, continually refine their intellect and sensitivity in pursuit of research that opens up new horizons for a new era. We also seek students who possess the determination, language proficiency, and communication skills necessary to be active internationally.

Selection of Students for Admission

In selecting students for admission, the program places emphasis on applicants’ conceptual capacity to design and pursue independent research, their foundational academic abilities, and their logical thinking and expressive skills, within the fields of cultural anthropology, ethnology, and related disciplines represented by the National Museum of Ethnology, which serves as the program’s core institution. To assess these abilities appropriately, the selection process consists of a document review, evaluation of the master’s thesis, review of previously published papers where applicable, and an interview.

Department of Regional Studies

専攻の目的

民族学・文化人類学の分野を中心とする隣接諸科学に関して高度な専門知識を持ち、諸地域における多様な文化についての現地研究等を通じて、高度な研究を行える研究者及び高度な専門性をもって国際的に社会に貢献できる人材の育成を目的とします。

Basic Policy

The Department of Regional Studies provides education and research on cultures of people living in the Asian, African, European, American and Oceanian regions. Considering the characteristics and history of each region, you aim to state cultures, clarify structure, and grasp changes based on the ethnographical methodology. Personnel who are capable of analyzing the data obtained through fieldwork for theorization, as well as of making academic contributions and practical suggestions, are fostered.

Diploma Policy

The Department of Regional Studies aims to foster personnel who are capable of making academic contributions and offering practical suggestions based on the outcomes of cultural studies and researches in the Asian, African, European, American and Oceanian regions in accordance with the methodologies in cultural anthropology, ethnology, or adjacent sciences. The students of this Department are required to acquire the knowledge and capabilities stated below, study in the Department for the prescribed years or more under the required research guidance, get the prescribed credits or more, and pass the doctoral thesis examination and test.

Capability to voluntarily pursue original research on cultural aspects in specific regions with advanced technical knowledge in cultural anthropology, ethnology, or adjacent sciences
Capability to acquire study and research approaches in cultural anthropology, ethnology, or adjacent sciences, to collect, organize and analyze data in accordance with those approaches, and to present and release the outcomes with clarity and cogency in the form of books, exhibitions, and audiovisual works
Capability to raise cutting-edge issues, and to proceed with the development of new research approaches while referring to preceding cultural research for target regions and having interest in transdisciplinary socio-cultural changes that cross or subsume the regions
Capability to tackle modern issues which people of the target regions face, and to propose or implement solutions based on the sophisticated expertise on cultures in the target regions
Capability to widely disseminate the research outcomes to Japan and the world with sufficient research competency by international standards, and to have discussions with foreign researchers, as well as communicativity and leadership to lead the research

Curriculum Policy

Students of the Department of Regional Studies acquire cultural expertise on the target regions by attending the lectures and seminars on cultures in the Asian, African, European, American and Oceanian regions. At the same time, attending the lectures and seminars delivered by the Department of Comparative Studies which exists in the same institution also enables the students to acquire perspectives to compare cultures of diverse regions and consider the universality and particularity of human beings.

In the seminars, each student acquires a capability to voluntarily envisage and implement his/her own research, and to present the outcomes. Under the Basic Seminar I・II (Regional Studies) (First-Year Seminar) in the first year, each student aims to acquire the capability to deepen his/her interest and willingly formulate plans, as well as to learn how to conduct fieldwork and bibliographic surveys. Under the Seminar I・II (Regional Studies) (Thesis Seminar) in the second year and thereafter, each student cultivates a capability to develop multidirectional and unique discussions by presenting the outcomes step by step while organizing and analyzing data after the surveys, aiming at the completion of his/her doctoral thesis.

The National Museum of Ethnology, Japan, to which the Department belong, attracts numerous researchers from outside and inside Japan. Joint research meetings and symposiums are frequently held, and activities such as exhibitions and lectures are also offered to citizens. Active involvement in these activities has allowed the students of this Department to foster an international and interdisciplinary research ability, leadership, and practical social skills.

Each student receives detailed guidance from his/her doctoral advisor and deputy advisor in all processes from admission to the attainment of a doctorate according to his/her individual targets, interest and quality.

Curriculum Model (in Japanese only)

Admission Policy

Required Students

Students who have much interest in cultures of diverse regions in the world, and are capable of pursuing research activities with high motivation for basic research in cultural anthropology and ethnology in particular
Students who have the basic methodological knowledge and language skills required for surveys to collect data on cultures of target regions, as well as who are capable of pursuing surveys
Students who are eager to study and research transdisciplinary socio-cultural changes that cross or subsume the specific region from an expanded perspective
Students who are willing to be involved in modern issues which people living in various regions of the world face
Students who are capable of sufficiently reading academic papers and have a basic thesis-writing ability

Basic Concept for Screening

In the first screening process (documentary examination), your master thesis or any other academic paper is evaluated based on the items of originality, grasp of research history, validity, and logicality. Additionally, your research content (overview of research activities, summary of research implemented so far, and research to be conducted from now) is assessed based on the items of adequacy of planning, concreteness of planning, academic significance, and evolvability.
In the second screening process (interview), your discussion skills, linguistic ability, research motivation, and other aspects are evaluated through an oral examination on your research implemented so far, content of your master thesis, and research to be conducted from now.
Whether you pass or fail will be determined comprehensively based on the evaluation of each item in the documentary and interview screening processes.

Department of Comparative Studies

専攻の目的

民族学・文化人類学の分野を中心とする隣接諸科学に関して高度な専門知識をもち、人類社会に共通する文化についての比較研究等を通じて、高度な研究を行える研究者及び高度な専門性をもって国際的に社会に貢献できる人材の育成を目的とします。

Basic Policy

The Department of Comparative Studies, which provides education and research in six fields of comparative society, comparative religion, comparative technology, comparative language, comparative art, and cultural resources, aims at the discovery of the universality underlying each culture through comparative research for each culture, as well as at theoretical interpretation.　The Department fosters personnel having sophisticated research capability who proactively proceed with the development of new approaches by introducing the achievements in adjacent sciences such as informatics, in addition to the existing methodology in cultural anthropology.

Diploma Policy

The Department of Comparative Studies aims to foster personnel who are capable of making academic contributions and offering practical suggestions based on the outcomes of discovery of the universality underlying each culture through comparative research in accordance with the methodologies in cultural anthropology, ethnology, or adjacent sciences, as well as of theoretical interpretation. The students of this Department are required to acquire the knowledge and capabilities stated below, study in the Department for the prescribed years or more under the required research guidance, get the prescribed credits or more, and pass the doctoral thesis examination and test.

Capability to voluntarily pursue original research through comparison of human cultures with advanced technical knowledge in cultural anthropology, ethnology, or adjacent sciences
Capability to acquire study and research approaches in cultural anthropology, ethnology, or adjacent sciences, to collect, organize and analyze data in accordance with those approaches, and to present and release the outcomes with clarity and cogency in the form of books, exhibitions, and audiovisual works
Capability to explore a cutting-edge field from cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives based on the sophisticated expertise, and to proceed with the development of new research approaches by introducing and applying the achievements in adjacent sciences such as informatics
Capability to tackle practical issues in response to social demand, and to find solutions while multidirectionally researching the issues of global modern society becoming complex with much interest
Capability to widely disseminate the research outcomes to Japan and the world with sufficient research competency by international standards, and to have discussions with foreign researchers, as well as communicativity and leadership to lead the research

Curriculum Policy

The Department of Comparative Studies, which aims at the discovery of the universality underlying each culture through comparative research for each culture, as well as at theoretical interpretation, sets a series of academic disciplines of comparative society, comparative religion, comparative technology, comparative language, and comparative art. Through a series of disciplines on cultural resources, you can learn organization, analysis and management of materials, as well as achievements in informatics. Additionally, attending the lectures and seminars delivered by the Department of Regional Studies which exists in the same institution enables the students to learn individual diverse cultures.

In the seminars, each student acquires a capability to voluntarily envisage and implement his/her own research, and to present the outcomes. Under the Basic Seminar I・II (Comparative Studies) (First-Year Seminar) in the first year, each student aims to acquire the capability to deepen his/her interest and willingly formulate plans, as well as to learn how to conduct fieldwork and bibliographic surveys. Under the Seminar I・II (Comparative Studies) (Thesis Seminar) in the second year and thereafter, each student cultivates a capability to develop multidirectional and unique discussions by presenting the outcomes step by step while organizing and analyzing data after the surveys, aiming at the completion of his/her doctoral thesis.

Curriculum Model (in Japanese only)

Admission Policy

Required Students

Students who have much interest in human cultures, and are capable of pursuing research activities with high motivation for academic theorization and its social application in particular
Students who have the basic methodological knowledge and language skills required for surveys to collect data on target cultures, as well as who are capable of pursuing surveys
Students who are eager to explore a cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary field with much interest not only in cultural anthropology and ethnology but also in adjacent sciences
Students who are willing to be involved in the issues of global modern society becoming complex
Students who are capable of sufficiently reading academic papers and have a basic thesis-writing ability