Educational/Research Objectives and Policies - Faculty of Economics

Educational and Research Objectives

To nurture talented individuals described in the “school philosophy” of the university, Kyoto Sankyo University’s Faculty of Economics has established the following objectives for its education and research. Specifically, we aim to nurture “outstanding professionals in economics” with sound personalities, who are capable of making accurate and comprehensive judgment with a global perspective based on economic thinking, information processing skills, and wide-ranging education required to play an active role in various fields in the future. To achieve this goal, we have established the following policies for approving graduation and conferring a bachelor’s degree (in economics), organizing and implementing the curriculum, and admitting students.

Policies

Diploma Policy

To ensure that students acquire the following four qualities established by the Faculty of Economics based on the school philosophy, a “bachelor’s degree (in economics)” is conferred on students who have earned 124 or more credits, including the required number of credits for each subject:

Sufficient economic thinking (knowledge and skills) and wide-ranging education required to understand trends in Japanese and global economies
Ability to analyze actual economies logically and from a multilateral perspective, based on the economic thinking and wide-ranging education acquired
Ability to appropriately convey results and solutions stemming from one’s own analyses to third parties
Attitude to understand the real world based on economic thinking, and willingness and ability to fulfill one’s own social role with moral integrity while understanding economic and social trends logically and from a multilateral perspective

Curriculum Policy

To achieve the goals set out in the Diploma Policy (for approving graduation and conferring degrees), the Faculty of Economics has systematically organized courses into general education and specialized education, and we are offering a curriculum designed to foster wide-ranging education, economic thinking, and information processing skills, as well as communication skills and other problem-solving abilities.

Using a numbering system for each specialized education course, care has been taken to enable students to study economics in a sequential manner, from basic to applied to advanced over the four years. The curriculum is optimized by understanding students’ perceptions of their own development, and their opinions on individual classes and the curriculum through our “Survey on Feelings about Learning Outcomes” conducted at the end of each semester. By periodically conducting systematic inspections on the syllabus of each course, we are developing an environment that can guarantee the quality of the educational content outlined below while gathering information that will help enhance the quality of our education in subsequent years.

1.Educational Content

Year 1
We provide first-year introductory courses designed to foster basic knowledge of “economics” and “statistics,” as well as academic skills, and prepare students to take specialized education courses in earnest from the second year. Parallel to this, we encourage students to acquire a wide-ranging education and basic linguistic skills by asking them to take courses from “humanities” and “natural sciences” areas of the “human science education courses,” a general education course stipulated in the university’s Curriculum Policy, as well as “English language education courses” and other “foreign language education courses.” (Diploma Policy 1.)

Year 2
In the second year, students begin taking full-fledged specialized education courses. In the second year, students choose a specialized program (Contemporary Economic Studies, Business Economics, Regional Economics, Global Economic Studies), from a wide range of basic and applied level courses offered, and systematic learning is encouraged by requiring students to choose courses from various required elective courses offered within the Faculty.
In addition, in “Seminar I,” which also begins in the second year, small group instruction is provided on specific research themes to help students develop economic thinking and information processing skills and to prepare for graduation research from the third year. (Diploma Policy 1.2.)

Year 4
In the fourth year, learning primarily consists of specialized education courses at the advanced level, which are also connected to the education provided at Graduate School, as well as “Seminar IV,” in which students conduct their graduation research. Students complete their graduation research, applying the economic thinking, wide-ranging education, information processing skills, and problem identification/solving skills that they have acquired so far, while also developing their communication skills through the experience of conveying this information to third parties. (Diploma Policy 1.2.3.4.)

2. Educational Methods

The educational methods of the courses taken during the four years vary depending on whether the course is a lecture, seminar, or practical learning course.

The main aim of the lecture courses is to acquire specialized knowledge in an efficient manner. The main aim of the seminar courses is to cultivate communication skills needed in the real world through independent-minded learning, such as information gathering, group work, presentations, debates, and thesis preparation. The main aim of the practical learning courses is to acquire the ability to organize statistical information using computer technology and analyze this information using objective methods.

In the seminar and practical learning courses, students engage in active learning through independent-minded activities as individuals or groups. In addition, for the lecture courses, we take various steps to develop teaching materials and lectures to encourage students to engage in independent learning.

3. Evaluation of Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes of each course are evaluated through the recognition of credit according to the academic assessment method stipulated in the syllabus for each course, which include scores on periodic examinations, average scores for the 15 lectures, and regular submission of assignments.

Admission Policy

The Faculty of Economics seeks students who approve of the “school philosophy” of the university and the “educational and research objectives” of the Faculty of Economics. Moreover, to ensure that all students in the four-year curriculum can develop into the kind of individuals described in the Faculty Diploma Policy, applicants should have the following qualities:

Basic academic ability required to understand economic thinking
Strong problem awareness regarding the various issues that should be resolved by economic society today
Willingness to deepen learning under the conviction of efforts toward the realization of a better economic society through economic knowledge, skills, and thinking ability

Students are selected using a variety of methods, as stipulated in the Admission Policy of Kyoto Sangyo University. Our characteristic selection procedure is AO (Admissions Office) entrance exam. For AO entrance examinees , we seek applicants with the qualities needed to actively participate in extracurricular activities after entering the university, show leadership, and contribute to the improvement of educational outcomes of the Faculty of Economics while aiming to improve their individual abilities. Therefore, in the AO entrance exam selection process, importance is placed on having not only (1) knowledge and skills and (2) the ability to think, make judgments, and express ideas but also (3) the willingness to learn autonomously while collaborating with a variety of individuals. Therefore, we seek applicants with excellent communication skills and a positive attitude.