Curriculum Structure

The GLA curriculum is centered on Foundation Courses, Introductory Courses, Intermediate Courses and Advanced courses, and consists of seven subject groups. Students are able to freely and systematically learn to identify and solve their own problems.

General Curriculum Overview

Below is a general curriculum overview for students starting their study from April 2023 at Ritsumeikan University (RU). The actual semester-by-semester study plan will differ for students commencing their study in September at Ritsumeikan as well as those who begin their study in February at Australian National University (ANU). See the sample study plans for details.

Four Years at Both Osaka Ibaraki Campus (OIC) and ANU Canberra Campus (Enrollment in and after 2023)

Foundation Courses

Students can learn the fundamental academic skills in College of Global Liberal Arts.

  • College Writing 1 & 2
  • Critical Thinking 1 & 2
  • Foundations in Research Skills 1 & 2

Introductory Courses

Students acquire fundamental knowledge in respective disciplines.

  • Art History
  • Innovation and Knowledge Management
  • Algorithms and Programming
  • Cultural Studies
  • Communication Design
  • Market Economy
  • Education
  • Historical Methods
  • Global History
  • Japanese History
  • Journalism
  • Literature
  • Religion
  • Anthropology
  • Scientific Thinking
  • Science and Technology
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Philosophy: Values and Society
  • Philosophy: Knowledge and Reality
  • Politics
  • International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Research Methods in Social Sciences
  • Sociology
  • Historical Sociology

Intermediate Courses

Students acquire applied knowledge in respective disciplines.

  • Global Art History
  • Histories in Modern and Contemporary Art
  • Global Management Studies
  • Global Business Strategy
  • Social and Technological Innovation Management
  • Applied Data Curation
  • Computational Musicology
  • Technology and Environmentalism in Cultural Studies
  • Human Factors in Interaction Design
  • Institutionalism and Economic Growth
  • History Workshop
  • Asia and the World in Historical Perspective
  • Historiography
  • Material Culture and Global History
  • Ocean and Society: The Blue Bridge in the Asia Pacific
  • Global Media Cultures
  • Project Management
  • Issues in Ethics
  • Japanese Philosophy
  • State-Building, Governance, and Governmentality
  • Politics of History
  • Contemporary Japan
  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Classical Social and Political Theory
  • Contemporary Social and Political Theory
  • Global Historical Sociology
  • Global Society
  • International Migration

Advanced Courses

Students will complete research and work to put to use what they have studied at GLA in a more practical context.

  • Research Seminar
  • Thesis

Special Lectures

Students study special topics that transcend academic disciplines and acquire innovative perspectives.

  • Special Lecture (Arts and Humanities)
  • Special Lecture (Social Sciences)
  • Special Lecture (Science and Technology)

Japanese Language Courses

  • Elementary Japanese 1 - 3
  • Intermediate Japanese 1 - 2 (Comprehensive)
  • Advanced Japanese (Comprehensive)
  • Advanced Japanese (Grammar & Writing)
  • Advanced Japanese (Listening & Speaking)
  • Advanced Japanese (Career Japanese)
  • Japanese VII (Composition)
  • Japanese VII (Reading Comprehension)
  • Japanese VII (Listening & Oral Comprehension)
  • Japanese VIII (Career Japanese)

Others

  • English for Speakers of Other Languages
  • Liberal Arts Experience
  • Career Design 1 & 2
  • Internship 1 & 2 & 3