Graduate School of Economics

Introduction to Graduate School of Economics,
Rissho University

Welcome to the official website of the Graduate School of Economics at Rissho University! Rissho University is a prestigious institution with over 150 years of history and tradition, located in Shinagawa, central Tokyo. The Graduate School of Economics was established in 1988 and currently offers master’s and doctoral programs. Since 2017, in addition to the traditional “Economic Systems Research Course” and “Environmental Systems Research Course,” the “Regional Systems Research Course” has also been introduced.

　Since its establishment, our graduate school has primarily welcomed Chinese students, and it also attracts international students from various countries who study alongside Japanese students. This is the first major feature of our graduate school. In a well-equipped research environment with a rich collection of books, students from all over the world gather to study and exchange knowledge. To date, our graduate school has not only collaborated with universities within Japan but has also sent many talents to overseas institutions such as Beijing Jiaotong University (Beijing, China), East China Normal University (Shanghai, China), and the University of Cincinnati (Ohio, USA).

One of the most important aspects of studying and researching at the graduate school is meeting your supervising professors. By receiving guidance from professors whose research themes align with your own, you can effectively advance your research. At our graduate school, we highly respect the individuality and research topics of our students, and supervising professors are assigned based on the preferences of each student at the time of enrollment. This has been a tradition since the founding of our graduate school and is its second major feature. The Graduate School of Economics has professors who can guide students in theoretical fields such as microeconomics and macroeconomics, as well as applied fields such as finance and public finance. There are also professors specializing in humanities and social sciences, such as mathematics and language, who teach various specialized courses at the graduate school.

In addition to accepting international students, we also open graduate education to working professionals. We have established a special admission system for working professionals and introduced a “long-term study system” that allows the extension of the standard period of study. Specifically, the master’s program can be extended to a maximum of four years, and the doctoral program can be extended to a maximum of six years. In recent years, the number of working professionals studying at our graduate school and striving to obtain doctoral degrees has been increasing, producing valuable research results such as “Research on Mitigating Heat Environment Issues in Ota Ward from the Perspective of Regional and Environmental Studies.”

The third major feature is that many students focus on the Chinese economy, researching energy issues, agricultural issues, and environmental issues in China from different perspectives. This can be seen in the research themes of recent dissertations. The fourth major feature is that with the development of economic globalization, the role of “regional economies” has attracted significant attention. To this end, our graduate school introduced the “Regional Systems Research Course” in 2017, incorporating a diverse curriculum. The courses cover theoretical subjects such as microeconomics and macroeconomics, as well as specialized fields such as finance, public finance, and labor. Additionally, courses on the Japanese economy, Chinese economy, European economy, and emerging economies, supported by the outstanding research achievements of our faculty, are also offered. To empirically analyze economic issues, the curriculum includes subjects such as economic mathematics, data analysis, and research Japanese.

Students comprehensively study the courses of economic systems, environmental systems, and regional systems, and conduct planned research according to their respective research goals. Additionally, there are courses aimed at improving thinking and judgment skills through small class lectures and seminars to systematically prepare for academic thesis writing. Writing a thesis requires participating in research guidance seminars by supervising professors. To deepen cross-cultural contact and exchange, and to enrich global studies, there are also elective courses aimed at language training.

In addition to the extensive specialized subjects of the three courses, the Graduate School of Economics also holds extracurricular study sessions for current students every year. Through extracurricular trips, we promote exchange among students and enhance the camaraderie between students and faculty. The student-exclusive research rooms are equipped with PCs, multifunction printers, a wealth of specialized books, and the latest econometrics software such as Stata and Eviews, providing an environment dedicated to research. Additionally, every year, professional Japanese teachers offer research Japanese courses, through which students learn to use correct Japanese expressions to write papers. Even international students who are not proficient in Japanese can successfully complete their dissertations.

This is the introduction to the Graduate School of Economics at Rissho University. We look forward to your joining us to explore the mysteries and future of economics together.