April 18th, 2022
This year we are very happy to welcome 187 new students to the Department of English Studies. After all the confusion caused by Covid-19 over the past two years and the switching back and forth between online and in-person classes, we are pleased to be able to start the 2022 academic year with the majority of our classes taught face-to-face in the classroom. It has been nice to see many new faces and to witness the campus coming back to life again after the spring break.
2022 marks the 67th year since the founding of the Department of English Studies and we are still staying true to our mission of providing the highest quality English education, whilst also providing students with considerable freedom to pursue a specialized field of study and research, whether that be area studies, linguistics and language teaching, or international relations. What distinguishes our department from English departments at other universities is our emphasis, not merely on learning the basic mechanics of English, but on using English to learn more about and participate in the global community. Of course, we spend a lot of time refining students’ speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, but we also place emphasis on critical thinking and academic skills so that students can use their English to engage with issues in the wider world. Indeed, it is our goal for students to be able to use English as a springboard to connect to the world stage. We want to inspire you to find your passion and it is our hope that you will use the knowledge and skills that you learn here to try to tackle many of the issues facing the world today. During these times of great change and uncertainty, more than ever before Japan and the world needs people like you: people who are interested in communicating with people from other backgrounds, people who want to know more about the English-speaking world and beyond, and people who want to gain a real understanding of the social, political and cultural state of the world. In line with the University’s motto, ‘For Others, With Others’, at the Department of English Studies, we want to encourage you to use your English skills for the greater common good and to strive to make the world a better place.
We also pride ourselves on our dedication to excellence. In addition to having some of highest achieving students in the university, the Department of English Studies is one of the departments that send the largest number of students to study abroad. Additionally, we are the only department at Sophia that has successfully had students accepted for the prestigious Geneva 3+2 programme, which enables students to gain both an undergraduate degree from Sophia and a master’s degree from the Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland within five years.
But more than anything, we pride ourselves on the strong community spirit within our department. Although we are the largest department in the Faculty of Foreign Studies, we are a friendly, supportive and inclusive department and we aim to provide a safe space where you can develop your strengths and pursue your dreams. For prospective new students, we hope that you will consider joining us too, so that we can welcome you wholeheartedly as a new member of the Sophia family.
