School of Law / Graduate School of Law

Faculty Introduction

Academic postgraduate programs in law and politics within Nagoya University are administered by the Graduate School of Law, which also serves as the center for research in these fields. Undergraduate education is offered within the School of Law, which shares facilities and staff with the Graduate School. All programs taught in both institutions undergo continuous review thus securing an efficient and productive environment for academic study.

The Graduate School of Law consists of two departments. One is the Nagoya University Law School where training is provided for future judges, lawyers, and other legal professionals. The other is the Combined Graduate Program in Law and Political Science.

The latter department has three programs. First of all, there is the Academics-Researcher Program which is aimed at those pursuing academic careers in Japan–although non-Japanese students can also join. Second is the Applied Law and Politics Program. This program is for students to learn about and get more professional knowledge of law and politics in order to play central roles in society as businesspersons, civil servants, paralegals and so on. Third is the Law and Political Science Program for International Students. This program is mostly conducted in English (but it has also a Japanese-taught program), and aims to further the education of legal professionals, policymakers, civil servants and legal educators, particularly in Asian Countries. Students who complete these programs are granted the degree of Master of Laws (Comparative Law) or the degree of Doctor of Laws (Comparative Law).

The School of Law offers courses in various subjects in legal and political science and provides the students with solid, fundamental knowledge with the aim of forging minds that can offer comprehensive and reasonable judgments to help solve the difficult challenges facing contemporary society.

The following are some of the characteristics of our School. Firstly the selection of courses is basically free in keeping with our respect for student autonomy. Secondly, many of the seminars are conducted in small numbers. Common basic seminars are offered to first year students, and advanced specialized seminars are open to students from second to fourth year. A student who joins a seminar is supervised by a faculty member. Thirdly, in recent years, a Peer Support Initiative (PSI) course has been established. This course is aimed at Japanese students who wish to study with overseas students and who seek experience training abroad further on. This course provides an opportunity for Japanese and overseas students to consult with each other, and to create study plans together to learn about the law, politics, culture and society of one another's country. Fourth, our faculty encourages internships in order to let our students know how the law and politics operate in practice, as well as to give them a chance to recognize their aptitudes and develop a perspective on available occupations.

Many of our former graduates are actively engaged in various fields, such as the judiciary, central and local government, private business, research, education and journalism.

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School of Law / Graduate School of Law