The Graduate School of Community Engagement and Development (CED) will develop students’ practical knowledge and skills universally applicable to cope with diverse social problems while enhancing the autonomy and sustainability of local communities facing those problems. As a graduate school of the University of the Ryukyus located in Okinawa, CED’s most distinctive feature is its use of Okinawa’s unique regional characteristics as an educational resource that would enable students to deepen their knowledge in practice.
The CED trains students to become active and engaged global citizens who contribute to their local and global communities’ development. Our goal is to develop students with skills in three primary areas: 1) students develop expertise in problem-solving skills to address issues of local and global importance, 2) engender students with self-directed autonomy in implementing their solutions, and 3) conduct themselves with a high degree of academic integrity including impeccable practicing of research ethics.
Five M.A. Programs with Five Different Categories of Focus
The CED offers five M.A. degree programs that address community issues with five different categories of focus: Public Policy and Public Relations; Economics and Management; Language and Representation; Culture and Environment; and Clinical Psychology. Students will receive expert training to become highly specialized professionals with a broad understanding and robust expertise to bring society to reach reasonable solutions to diverse issues and problems faced by contemporary global and local communities. The cross-disciplinary required core courses allow students to garner basic knowledge and broader academic perspectives mandatory to address questions about local and global importance. The required core courses also provide students with opportunities to work with classmates with different research interests from various academic fields. We consider developing cross-disciplinary communication skills integral to their expertise today.
1. M.A. in Public Policy and Public Relations
The program focuses on the issues in public systems such as laws, politics, society, and welfare in terms of the regional characteristics of the community, and students take courses related to such research areas as politics and peace, laws, sociology, and social welfare.
2. M.A. in Economics and Management
The program focuses on the issues related to promoting industry based on the characteristics of the local economy, and students take courses related to such research areas as economics, business administration, and tourism and industry.
3. M.A. in Language and Representation
The program focuses on the issues related to human-centered expression and logical and smooth communication practices, and students take courses related to such research areas as human sciences, language and communication, and transcultural representation.
4. M.A. in Culture and Environment
The program focuses on the issues related to the inheritance and promotion of geography, history, and culture of local communities, including Ryukyu/Okinawa, and students take courses related to such research areas as history and anthropology, Ryukyuan and Asian studies, and island studies.
5. M.A. in Clinical Psychology
The program focuses on the issues related to the maintenance and improvement of the physical and mental health of the local people, and students take courses related to psychology and clinical psychology.
Two Tracks to Your M.A. Degree
The CED offers students to choose one from two tracks as the fruition of their research when they take the entrance examination: 1) a thesis track where they write an M.A. thesis; 2) a practical research track in which they make a report about their tailor-made research project in which they propose an up-to-date and effective solution for a specific social Issue. Indicate in your application which course you would like to belong to. Please read the application guidelines carefully.
Note: The Clinical Psychology Program is thesis-track-only.
1. Thesis Track
The thesis-track students are required to write a master’s thesis, which is reviewed to be awarded a degree. The master’s thesis should demonstrate an advanced understanding of the subject matter of the research, which meets the requirement of the area of the research while providing a scholarly argument that can be widely generalized.
2. Specific Practical Research Track
The practical-research-track students will pursue interdisciplinary research on specific social issues so that they can make recommendations based on their research, directly leading to practical solutions. To demonstrate their research findings, the students must write a research paper fully meeting the requirement of the area of research, which will be reviewed and awarded a degree.
Note: Not all faculty members are in charge of research guidance for this course, so please consult with them in advance to confirm their availability.
Required Common Subject Courses:
Contents Unique to a Graduate School in Okinawa
All students must take the following four required courses to gain basic research skills and ethics as well as cross-disciplinary knowledge of humanities and social sciences along with an understanding of the unique features and social issues of the Okinawan community. Through co-curricular activities with students from different programs and fields of study, students experience critical academic collaboration.
- Academic Research Literacy
- Introduction to CED on Okinawa and Islands
- Introduction to CED on Tourism and Exchange
- Cross-Disciplinary Seminar on CED and SDGs
We seek students with the following qualities for admission:
- Students who have a certain level of knowledge in the field of specialization they wish to pursue in graduate school, and who, after entering the program, are highly motivated to contribute proactively to the formation of a sustainable society by pursuing research aimed at solving regional issues from a comprehensive and global perspective, with a focus on their area of specialization.
- Students who can accurately grasp various information, identify issues, create ideas to solve them based on logical thinking and appropriate judgment, and express them logically and in an easy-to-understand manner.
- Students who value their own interests but have the intellectual tolerance to accept diverse ways of thinking, and who can proactively work to solve public social issues in Public Policy and Public Relations, Economics and Management, Language and Representation, Culture and Environment, and Clinical Psychology, while collaborating with people from diverse fields and specialties.
Licenses and Other Qualifications You Can Obtain by Completing the Degree Program
You can gain the following licenses and qualifications by fulfilling the prescribed requirements required by each program:
- Specialized teaching license for junior high school Japanese, social science, health and physical education, English.
- Specialized teaching license for senior high school Japanese, social science, health and physical education, English.
- Clinical psychologist exam qualification
- Certified psychologist exam qualification