The Graduate School of Psychological Sciences is committed to take on the problems facing people and society in the 21st century, often referred to as the "age of the mind."

Modern society is confronted with numerous difficult problems including child abuse and bullying at home or school, high frequency of crimes and suicides in communities, accidents and disasters associated with the advancement of science and technology, and so forth. It is increasingly important that psychological approaches are used to cope with these kinds of problems. With the advancement in life sciences of recent years, interdisciplinary research and education has become widespread. For example, neuroscience plays an important role in understanding the mechanism of mental activities while psychological findings are reflected in the fields of engineering and medicine. Particularly, the finding that cognitive disorder and adjustment disorder are the basis of various problems is drawing increasing attention.

The School aims to solve problems on the basis of human behavior research from the psychological perspective, focusing on both scientific and practical aspects of psychology, and is thus named the Graduate School of Psychological Sciences. The School is committed to contributing to society through the development of competent, advanced professionals and researchers capable of understanding and solving problems facing modern society. For this purpose, the School has four policies that underscore its education and research: 1. use of the scientific approach, 2. practical application in communities, 3. interdisciplinary research, and 4. promotion of international exchange.

The Graduate School of Psychological Sciences offers two Master's Programs: Psychology and Clinical Psychology.

Three Policies (Diplomas, Curriculum, and Admissions) (PDF:56KB)

The Psychology Master's Program aims to enable individuals to develop the skills needed as psychologists and researchers to solve the problems facing modern society. The Program offers specialized courses to become qualified as professionals such as Health Psychologists, Senior Traffic Psychologists, and Applied Psychologists.

"Basic Research Courses" include "Seminar in Social Psychological Literature I & II", "Basic Psychological Training", and "Applied Psychological Training." Among the "Psychology Courses Group I", there are courses such as "Advanced Neurological Science" and "Advanced Perceptual Psychology" for understanding the mechanism of human behavior, and "Social Psychology" and "Traffic Psychology" which focus on understanding and solving problems of social behavior. "Psychology Courses Group II" consists of highly specialized courses for deepening understandings on the topics of "Advanced Cognitive Psychology" and "Advanced Interpersonal Behavior." "Advanced Psychology of Aging", "Advanced Health Psychology", and "Research in Industrial Psychology" courses are offered for students to enroll in, depending on their future career aspirations.

Courses offered as "Basic Research Courses" include "Clinical Psychology", "Clinical Psychological Interview", "Basic Training of Clinical Psychology", and "Practical Training of Clinical Psychology." Medical subjects such as "Psychiatry" are offered in "Clinical Psychology Courses Group I", while courses specialized in clinical psychology, "Psychological Therapy", for example, are offered in "Clinical Psychology Courses Group II."
Further, subjects related to collaboration with local societies are offered with "Community Support of Clinical Psychology" and "Counseling in Industry" courses.
Courses common to the two majors are grouped in "Basic Research in Psychological Sciences Group I" and "Basic Research in Psychological Sciences Group II." Note that "Foundation of Psychological Science I" and "Foundation of Psychological Science II" are compulsory among "Group I" courses, while "Experimental Psychology" and "Developmental Psychology" are optional. As for the Group II courses, "Psychometrics" is compulsory.

The Doctoral Program aims to further advance and deepen the students' research based on their achievements in the Masters' Program. Courses such as "Special Research on Neurophysiology", "Special Research on Perceptual Psychology", "Special Research on Social Psychology", "Special Research on Traffic Psychology" and "Special Research on Clinical Psychology" are offered to support this objective, through which students will be provided advice on their specific research, as well as on their submission of their dissertation. In order to help students promote their research activities, relevant lecture courses are also offered, such as: "Special Lecture on Neurophysiology", "Special Lecture on Perceptual Psychology", "Special Lecture on Social Psychology", "Special Lecture on Traffic Psychology", and "Special Lecture on Clinical Psychology." With its specifically designed curriculum, the Doctoral Program contributes to producing highly skilled psychology professionals and researchers (to meet the demands in Japan).

Each student is assigned to an Academic Advisor in the respective major field and research problem area. The Advisor will help with the student's research, including preparation for writing the thesis. Instructors other than those assigned as Advisors are also readily available for assistance.

Our School prepares students to pursue careers as highly skilled professionals and experts in the fields of psychology, technology, and research, and as government officials, school counselors, and industrial counselors, both at community and corporate levels. The Psychology Master's Program is designed for students desiring to be qualified as Senior Traffic Psychologists or Applied Psychologists. The Clinical Psychology Master's Program is a designated Class 1 Designated Graduate School (designation by the Foundation of the Japanese Certification Board for Clinical Psychologists: http://www.fjcbcp.or.jp/). Graduates from the latter Program are qualified to take the Examination for Clinical Psychologist Certification.