University of Tokyo announces new department with all classes taught in English

Japan’s most prestigious university adds its first new department in nearly 70 years as it strives for greater internationalization.

The University of Tokyo is Japan’s most prestigious institute of higher learning, and by a wide margin. So it was a very big deal this month when the school announced that it will be opening its first new department in almost 70 years, and then the surprises got even bigger.

The new department will be called the College of Design. That’s not a translation of “Design-gakubu” or some other Japanese equivalent either; the in-English “College of Design” is the official name of the new department, and all of its classes will be conducted in English.

The College of Design, which the University of Tokyo is also calling UTokyo College of Design and UTokyo Design, is part of the school’s push for a more global learning environment and student body. Currently only about two percent of undergraduate students at the University of Tokyo are non-Japanese, in stark contrast to top schools in many other countries with a much more international enrollment. Courses will be taught by non-Japanese professors from within the University of Tokyo, and in addition to being the first new department since 1958, the College of Design will also have the University of Tokyo’s first-ever foreign dean.

The department is looking to enroll 100 students per year, with a target of half of them being non-Japanese. Tokyo University’s entrance exam is notoriously difficult, even by the already intimidating standards of Japanese higher education, but the College of Design will have a separate, as-yet unannounced admissions process. The program’s website says that the selection system will “[assess] students’ future potential by evaluating academic achievements and considering personal attributes, talents, and experiences shaped by distinctive life situations.”

All College of Design students will be required to live in a dormitory during their freshman year, with the aim of fostering international understanding through shared living spaces. Unlike other departments at the University of Tokyo, which follow the Japanese custom of starting their school year in the spring, the College of Design’s classes will begin in the fall, aligning with academic norms in North America and Europe. The College of Design program will be a five-year course during which students will earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree.

Details on specific classes and fields of study have not been announced, but the university says its goal is to cultivate scholars who can take future leadership roles in dealing with such complex and varied issues as climate change, biodiversity, and digitalization.

The Tokyo University College of Design is slated to open in the fall of 2027, with application details to be announced at a future time.

Source: University of Tokyo College of Design official website, Yomiuri Shimbun
Top image: Wikipedia/Kakidai
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