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The Human Sciences Program at Osaka University offers an interdisciplinary education designed to deepen understanding of human behavior, cultures, and societal dynamics. This program integrates perspectives from psychology, anthropology, sociology, and related fields to provide students with a comprehensive view of human life across different contexts and eras. Students are encouraged to explore the complexities of human nature, social institutions, and cultural developments through both theoretical frameworks and practical research methods. The curriculum includes courses on human development, social interactions, cultural diversity, and contemporary issues facing global societies. Emphasis is placed on cultivating critical thinking, analytical skills, and a global outlook, preparing graduates for diverse careers in research, education, policy-making, and international relations. The Human Sciences Program also offers opportunities for fieldwork, internships, and collaborative projects, enabling students to gain hands-on experience and apply their knowledge to real-world challenges. Faculty members are distinguished experts committed to supporting students’ academic growth and professional aspirations. Through a vibrant academic community, students can engage in seminars, workshops, and discussions that foster intellectual curiosity and exchange of ideas. The program aims to nurture well-rounded individuals equipped to contribute thoughtfully to society and to understand the intricate human factors that shape our world. Graduates of this program emerge as insightful, culturally aware, and socially responsible individuals capable of addressing complex issues with a nuanced perspective. This program is ideal for students passionate about exploring the human condition, committed to lifelong learning, and eager to make meaningful contributions in diverse fields related to human sciences.
General Education Subjects
Autumn Semester
Basic Subjects(Required)
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13A401 | Wed 4 | Academic Writing I | HUS-IN-002 |
| 13A403 | Mon 4 | Critical Thinking Skills | HUS-IN-006 |
| 13A405 | Wed 3 | Presentation Skills | HUS-IN-103 |
| 13A425 | Mon 5 | Quantitative Research Methods | HUS-IN-101 |
| 13A426 | Wed 4 | Qualitative Research Methods | HUS-IN-102 |
Basic Subjects(Elective)
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13A002 | Thu 4 | Approaches to Understanding Cultures | HUS-EX-102 |
| 13A039 | Tue 4 | Media and Communications in Japan | HUS-EX-103 |
| 13A407 | Thu 2 | Japanese Literature, Modern and Contemporary | HUS-EX-008 |
| -- | -- | Promoting Human Rights Education | HUS-EX-006 |
| -- | -- | Urban Disaster Prevention | HUS-EX-101 |
| -- | -- | Bioethics and Health Law: Legal Issues Concerning Biotechnology, Medicine and Health Care System | HUS-EX-104 |
| -- | -- | Introduction to Japanese Legal / Political System and Culture | HUS-EX-105 |
International General Education(Elective) *Japanese
Foreign Languages(Elective) *Japanese
Information Literacy and Processing(Required)
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13A419 | Tue 4 | Data Processing Skills | HUS-EX-013 |
Health and Sports(Required)
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13A020(TBA) | Fri 1 | Health & Sports 1 | -- |
Basic Major Subjects(Required)
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13A408 | Tue 2 | Sociology I | HUS-IN-008 |
| 13A410 | Thu 4 | Global Citizenship | HUS-IN-014 |
| 13A411 | Wed 2 | International Education Ⅰ | HUS-IN-013 |
| 13A417 | Fri 4 | Economics Ⅰ | HUS-IN-022 |
| 13A436 | Fri 3 | Gender Studies | HUS-IN-104 |
Basic Major Subjects(Elective)
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13A412 | Wed 3 | Introduction to Social Psychology | HUS-IN-016 |
| 13A414 | Mon 2 | Politics in Post-War Japan | HUS-IN-019 |
| 13A415 | Tue 5 | Religion in Japanese Society | HUS-EX-017 |
| 13A432 | Wed 5 | Japanese Myths and Legends | HUS-EX-019 |
| 13A437 | Thu 2 | Sociology II | HUS-IN-105 |
| 13A438 | Wed 2 | Anthropology II | HUS-IN-106 |
| 13A439 | Mon 3 | Japanese Law | HUS-IN-108 |
| 13A440 | Fri 2 | Media Sociology | HUS-IN-109 |
| 13A441 | Mon 2 | Cross Cultural Psychology | HUS-IN-110 |
| 13A443 | Thu 3 | Introduction to Civil Society Movements | HUS-IN-111 |
| 13A444 | Mon 4 | Economics II | HUS-IN-112 |
| 13A445 | Wed 2 | Politics II | HUS-EX-106 |
| 13A446 | Tue 5 | International Law | HUS-EX-107 |
Spring Semester
Basic Subjects(Required)
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13A421 | Wed 4 | Academic Writing Ⅱ | HUS-IN-003 |
| 13A423 | Mon 4 | Statistics for Social Research | HUS-IN-005 |
| -- | -- | Academic Writing II (Advanced Class) | HUS-IN-004 |
Basic Subjects(Elective)
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13A424 | Tue 4 | Psychology of Human Information Processing | HUS-IN-007 |
| 13A447 | Thu 2 | Osaka in Modern Japanese Literature | HUS-EX-007 |
| -- | -- | Human Motivation and Behavior in Social Context | HUS-EX-003 |
| -- | -- | Japan's Relations with Asian Countries after the Second World War | HUS-EX-010 |
International General Education(Elective) *Japanese
Foreign Languages(Elective) *Japanese
Health and Sports(Required)
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13A021 | Fri 1 | Health & Sports 2 | -- |
| 13A051 | Fri 1 | Health & Sports 2 | -- |
Basic Major Subjects(Required)
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13A409 | Fri 4 | Contemporary Japan | HUS-IN-010 |
| 13A428 | Tue 2 | Anthropology I | HUS-IN-009 |
| 13A429 | Mon 3 | Japanese History | HUS-IN-012 |
| 13A433 | Thu 3 | Human Rights | HUS-IN-023 |
Basic Major Subjects(Elective)
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13A413 | Thu 4 | Introduction to Sociology of Marriage and the Family | HUS-IN-017 |
| 13A418 | Mon 2 | Introduction to International Relations | HUS-EX-015 |
| 13A427 | Mon 2 | Japan in the World | HUS-IN-011 |
| 13A430 | Wed 2 | Self,Identity and Society | HUS-IN-015 |
| 13A431 | Thu 2 | Anthropology and Contemporary Global Issues | HUS-IN-021 |
| 13A434 | Wed 3 | Politics I | HUS-EX-014 |
| 13A435 | Tue 4 | Introduction to International Organizations | HUS-EX-016 |
| 13A416 | Studying Osaka | HUS-EX-018 | -- |
| 13A442 | International Educatin ll | HUS-IN-107 | -- |
Major Subjects
Autumn Semester
Required Subjects
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Z25501 | Wed 4.5 | Independent Study | HUS-IN-400 |
| Z25510 | Year-round | Fieldwork | HUS-IN-401 |
| Z25530 | Wed 4.5 | Dissertation Tutorial | HUS-IN-403 |
Elective subjects
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Z26001 | Thu 2 | Sexuality and Education | HUS-IN-301 |
| Z26002 | -- | Gender and Education | HUS-IN-302 |
| Z26004 | Thu 3 | Peace and Conflict Studies II | HUS-IN-304 |
| Z26008 | Thu 4 | Gender and Development | HUS-IN-308 |
| Z26009 | -- | Diversity and Human Rights in Japan | HUS-IN-309 |
| Z26011 | Mon 4 | Primatology in Japan | HUS-IN-311 |
| Z26012 | Mon 4 | Multivariate Data Science | HUS-IN-312 |
| Z26013 | Fri 3 | Issues in Asian Anthropology | HUS-IN-313 |
| Z26015 | Wed 3 | International Development and Collaboration Ⅱ | HUS-IN-315 |
| Z26016 | Tue 2 | Issues in Global Human Sciences | HUS-IN-316 |
| Z26019 | Wed 3 | Contemporary Japanese Thought | HUS-IN-319 |
| Z26023 | Tue 3 | Global Issues in Education | HUS-IN-323 |
| Z26024 | Wed 3 | Psychology of Aging | HUS-IN-324 |
| Z26025 | Fri 2 | Special Topic in Human Sciences I | HUS-IN-325 |
| Z26026 | Mon 3 | Special Topic in Human Sciences II | HUS-IN-326 |
| Z26027 | Mon 2 | Special Topic in Human Sciences III | HUS-IN-327 |
| Z26029 | Thu 3.4 | Special Topic in Human Sciences V | HUS-IN-329 |
| Z26031 | -- | Global Environment-Development Balance | HUS-EX-300 |
| Z26032 | -- | Global Civil Society | HUS-EX-301 |
| Z26034 | Thu 2 | World Affairs and the Media | HUS-EX-303 |
| Z26035 | Tue 2 | Economic Development | HUS-EX-304 |
| Z26036(TBA) | Fri 3.4.5 | Diplomacy, Economics and Politics in Japan | HUS-EX-305 |
| Z26037 | Mon 5 | Topics in Japanese Culture I | HUS-EX-306 |
| Z26039 | -- | Topics in Japanese Culture III | HUS-EX-308 |
| Z26041 | Tue 2 | Topics in Japanese Society I | HUS-EX-310 |
| Z26043 | Tue 2 | Topics in Japanese Society III | HUS-EX-312 |
| Z26045 | Mon 3 | Topics in Japanese Religion I | HUS-EX-314 |
| Z26047(TBA) | Topics in Japanese Political Thought I | HUS-EX-316 | |
| Z26052 | Thu 5 | History of Meiji Japan | HUS-EX-321 |
| Z26053 | Wed 2 | Traditional Performing Arts in Contemporary Japanese Society | HUS-EX-322 |
| Z26054 | -- | Gender in Contemporary Japanese popular Culture | HUS-EX-323 |
| Z26501 | Tue 4 | Ethnographic Fieldwork | HUS-IN-330 |
| Z26505 | Fri 4 | Seminar in Cultural Icons in Manga and Anime | HUS-IN-334 |
| Z26507 | Mon 3 | Seminar for Contemporary Philosophy | HUS-IN-336 |
| Z26508 | Tue 2 | Seminar in International Labor Theory | HUS-IN-337 |
Spring Semester
Required Subjects
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Z25001 | Thu 3 | Peace and Conflict Studies I | HUS-IN-200 |
| Z25002 | Wed 2 | Sociology of Knowledge | HUS-IN-300 |
| Z25510 | Year-round | Fieldwork | HUS-IN-401 |
| Z25520 | Wed 4.5 | Dissertation Seminar | HUS-IN-402 |
Elective subjects
| Course Code | Day/Period | Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Z26003 | Wed 3 | Social Stratification in Japanese Society | HUS-IN-303 |
| Z26005 | -- | Popular Culture in Japan | HUS-IN-305 |
| Z26006 | Wed 3 | Current Issues in Japanese Law and Society | HUS-IN-306 |
| Z26007 | Fri 3 | Global Poverty and Development | HUS-IN-307 |
| Z26010 | Thu 4.5 | Contemporary Educational Issues in Japan | HUS-IN-310 |
| Z26014 | Wed 3 | International Development and Collaboration I | HUS-IN-314 |
| Z26017 | Tue 4 | Disaster Prevention and International Cooperation | HUS-IN-317 |
| Z26018 | -- | Comparative Study of Civilization | HUS-IN-318 |
| Z26020 | Thu 2 | Comparative Theories of Society and Culture | HUS-IN-320 |
| Z26021 | Fri 4 | Issues in Gerontology | HUS-IN-321 |
| Z26022 | Tue 2 | Food, Culture and Society | HUS-IN-322 |
| Z26030 | Thu 2 | Peace Operations and the Global Community | HUS-EX-300 |
| Z26033 | Tue 4 | International Trade and Investment | HUS-EX-302 |
| Z26038 | Mon 5 | Topics in Japanese Culture II | HUS-EX-307 |
| Z26040 | -- | Topics in Japanese Culture IV | HUS-EX-309 |
| Z26042 | Tue 2 | Topics in Japanese Society II | HUS-EX-311 |
| Z26044 | -- | Topics in Japanese Society IV | HUS-EX-313 |
| Z26046 | Mon 3 | Topics in Japanese Religion II | HUS-EX-315 |
| Z26048 | Fri 3 | Topics in Japanese Political Thought II | HUS-EX-317 |
| Z26049 | Mon 2 | Japanese Aesthetics | HUS-EX-318 |
| Z26050 | Thu 3 | Classic Poetry in China, Japan and Korea | HUS-EX-319 |
| Z26051 | Tue 4 | Japanese Philosophical Thoughts in Global Contexts | HUS-EX-320 |
| Z26502 | Mon 3 | Seminar in Critical Studies of Globalizaton | HUS-IN-331 |
| Z26503 | Fri 2 | Seminar in Studies of Multicultural Societies | HUS-IN-332 |
| Z26504 | -- | Seminar in Human Rights and Cultural Relativism | HUS-IN-333 |
| Z26506 | Mon 5 | Seminar in Measurements of Poverty and Inequality | HUS-IN-335 |
- Application Fee: 17,000 JPY
- Enrollment fee: 282,000 JPY
- International applicants (students from outside of Japan) who have completed a standard 12-year school education curriculum of a country other than Japan. Included here are applicants who have completed a standard 12-year school education curriculum in a country outside Japan in less than 12 years as a result of being promoted a grade ahead of their peers.
- TOEFL iBT (Internet-based TOEFL) A minimum score of 80 is required.
- IELTS Academic Module A minimum score of 6.0 is required. I
- Secondary school transcripts and certificates
- Application Essays- Personal statement and Additional essay
- Letter of recommendation Submit a letter of recommendation from the principal and/or a senior science teacher of the last secondary school you attended, along with an evaluation of your personality and academic results. The form is not designated. A science teacher who knows the applicant well is preferable. The letter should be sealed and signed by the principal / teacher (opened letters will not be accepted).
- Results of national standardized tests for university admission Submit official scores of any standardized academic test for university entrance that you have taken.
Scholarships
- MEXT Scholarship
- Osaka University Scholarship. This scholarship is for students with outstanding grades. A monthly stipend of 80,000 JPY is provided to those who received an OU scholarship.
The Human Sciences Program at Osaka University offers an interdisciplinary education aimed at understanding human beings from multiple perspectives. The curriculum is designed to explore various aspects of human life, including social, cultural, psychological, and biological dimensions. Students have the opportunity to engage with a wide range of disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, history, and philosophy, enabling them to develop a comprehensive understanding of human behavior and society. The program emphasizes critical thinking, research skills, and the ability to analyze complex social issues. Through coursework, seminars, and research projects, students are encouraged to examine contemporary challenges faced by societies around the world, fostering a global perspective and fostering innovative solutions. Osaka University’s Human Sciences Program also promotes international exchange and collaborative research, allowing students to gain diverse cultural insights and build networks with scholars worldwide. Graduates of the program are well-equipped to pursue careers in education, research, public policy, social work, and international organizations. The program’s faculty consists of experienced professors who are actively involved in cutting-edge research, ensuring that students receive current and relevant education. Facilities include well-equipped laboratories, libraries, and study spaces to support advanced learning and research activities. The program also aims to cultivate ethical and socially responsible individuals who understand human diversity and promote peace and social justice. Overall, Osaka University's Human Sciences Program provides a rich academic environment that nurtures critical inquiry, intercultural understanding, and practical application of knowledge concerning human beings and society.