Aiming to Train High Level Specialists with a Broad International Vision
The Graduate Division of J. F. Oberlin University was originally founded as the Graduate Program in International Studies in 1993. Traditionally, and even today, graduate programs at most universities are created separately on top of existing departments. At J. F. Oberlin we avoided this approach, creating instead a graduate school that organically encompassed the various fields of specialization within the university. Making full use of the university’s resources, we have always aimed to train high-level specialists with a broad international vision, specialists in interdisciplinary research who are at home with various academic disciplines. We created the Graduate Division at a time when a new awareness was dawning, a broad recognition by society of the importance and potential of interdisciplinary research. As times change and the world expands, it seems to me that society is moving in the same direction that we envisioned when we established the Graduate Division. Keeping these social developments in mind, our teaching and research guidance place emphasis on the training of individuals who can contribute broadly to society.
In order to prepare our graduates to respond to the diversity and complexity of modern society, we must ensure that they have solid disciplinary foundations coupled with a broad and complex knowledge base. Let us take a pyramid as a comparison. Broad, interdisciplinary knowledge forms its base, and advanced specialized knowledge corresponds to its elevation. A pyramid with a narrow base can hardly be expected to rise toward the sky. Modern society clearly seeks individuals with both a broad base and a high peak. Our university's Graduate Division is continually implementing measures to respond to society's demands. We are sensitive to society's needs, and as a school at the forefront of education we take pride in anticipating the demands of society at large.
Originally the Graduate Division consisted of a single program, but in 2008, anticipating new developments in society, master's and doctoral coursework was split into three programs: the Graduate Program in International Studies, the Graduate Program in Gerontology, and the Graduate Program in Higher Education Administration. In 2009 we have enriched and diversified our academic offerings by adding three new programs: the Graduate Program in Economics, the Graduate Program in Language Education, and the Graduate Program in Psychology, making a total of six programs altogether. Doctoral coursework in two programs can also take the form of distinct majors: Humanities and Sociology (Graduate Program in International Studies) and Gerontology (Graduate Program in Gerontology). In the past, there was a tendency in graduate schools to over-emphasize research, but in recent years there has been a widely felt demand for an emphasis on teaching. However, our graduate school has from the time of its inception placed due emphasis on teaching as part of its policy of maintaining a proper balance between teaching and research. This fruitful tradition will continue to guide the Graduate Division in the future.
The founder of J. F. Oberlin University, Reverend Yasuzo Shimizu, taught his students as follows: the world says "Do not tread on your teacher's shadow," but I am telling you "Tread on your teacher's shadow as much as you can." That spirit is carefully passed on at our university even now. We are not content merely to transfer knowledge or information. True education can only take place in the context of human relations. We expect our students, in their relationships with faculty, to learn and engage in their research in such a way that their original research goals are met. At the same time, we also endeavor to promote and to provide educational and research environments that facilitate student learning and make it easy to produce research results.
We at the Graduate Division want every single student who has chosen J. F. Oberlin University to feel "I'm glad that I came to J. F. Oberlin." I pledge to work to maintain the Graduate Division as a place where our graduates truly feel "I'm glad I went to J. F. Oberlin."
My sincerest wish is that you, the new students, take full advantage of the Graduate Division's resources; that you make unremitting efforts and multiply your scholarly achievements; that you achieve your original goals and then use to the fullest your talents and your skills on the international stage.
