SGPAS - Sophia University, Graduate Program in Area Studies, Graduate School of Global Studies

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Thesis

Conditions for Completion and Degrees Awarded

Master's Program

Degree: Master (Area Studies) / Master of Arts / Abbreviation: M.A. (Area Studies)

Area Studies Program at the Graduate School of Global Studies
  1. Students must have completed the following required courses: Methodology of Area Studies, Methodology of Field Research, and Ecological Anthropology.
  2. Students must attend their Area Studies specialization courses of their academic supervisor, and successfully acquire the unit points.
  3. In addition to the Area Studies specialization courses of their academic supervisor, students must complete at least 12 unit points from Course Group B: Area Studies Specialization Courses.
  4. Students must complete at least 6 unit points from Course Group C: Interregional Comparative Studies Courses.
  5. Students must complete at least 30 unit points including those specified in items 1 to 4 above. In addition, students should be aware that certain limitations apply to enrollment in courses offered outside of the Area Studies Program, such as the stipulation that points acquired from undergraduate courses may not be taken into account in relation to these Conditions of Completion.
  6. Students must submit a master's thesis in accordance with the specified procedures, and must pass the oral examination.

Doctoral Program

Degree: Doctor (Area Studies)/ Doctor of Philosophy/ Abbreviation: Ph.D. (Area Studies)

Area Studies Program at the Graduate School of Global Studies
  1. Students must have received adequate research guidance from their academic supervisor.
  2. Students must complete at least 30 unit points (including those points acquired during a master's program).
  3. Students must pass the qualifying examination for submission of a doctoral thesis.
  4. Students must present their thesis plans at the doctoral thesis plan seminar.
  5. Students must have their doctoral thesis plan accepted.
  6. Students must have their doctoral thesis accepted, and pass the review and examinations process.

Master's Thesis

I. Master's Thesis Plan

  1. Students enrolled in a master's program must submit their research themes and a research outline to the Program Chair (Program Office) by the specified date in July of the year of their enrollment (the format to be used for submissions is specified elsewhere).
  2. Students writing a master's thesis must receive guidance regarding their master's thesis from their supervisor by February of the year preceding the year in which they will write the thesis.
  3. Students must submit a master's thesis plan (format specified elsewhere) to the Program Chair (Program Office) and to their supervisor by the specified date in May of the year in which they will submit their master's thesis. Students must receive informal approval from their supervisor before submitting their thesis plan.
  4. Students must submit the official title of their thesis to the Program Chair (Program Office) by the specified date in December of the year in which they will submit their master's thesis.

II. Format of Theses

  1. As a general rule theses should be submitted in Japanese, but English may be accepted under certain circumstances.
  2. In general, the length of the main body of theses should be around 100 pages (400 Japanese characters per page) if submitted in Japanese, or around 17,000 words if submitted in English.
  3. Theses should be submitted on A4 paper with text oriented from left to right.

III. Submission Procedures

  1. Students planning to submit a thesis must register to submit the thesis together with the courses they will take by submitting the registration form and notification of registration (OCR forms) within the registration period in the year of submission (Office of Academic Affairs).
  2. Master's thesis plans are to be submitted by the specified date in May of the year of submission (see section I, item 3 above).
  3. The Program Chair should be notified of the official master's thesis title by the specified date in December.
  4. Master's thesis submission and grading forms are distributed to students (distributed by the Office of Academic Affairs in early December).
  5. Students return the completed submission forms to the Office of Academic Affairs and submit their master's theses to the Program Office within the submissions period (refer to the Course Registration Handbook). An original and two copies (holes should not be punched in the paper) must be submitted in the envelope specified by the Program Office, and the envelope should be clearly marked with the faculty and program name as well as the full name of the student submitting the thesis. (Refer to the Graduate Program Course Registration Handbook for further details.)
  6. An English translation of the thesis abstract (around 2,000 characters in Japanese and 850 words in English) and title should be submitted to the Program Chair (Program Office) by the specified date.

　(Approved at the Area Studies program board meeting on February 24, 1999)
　(Mar. 2005: Partial revision)
　(Mar. 2006: Partial revision)

Doctoral Thesis

I. Doctoral Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination for the submission of a doctoral thesis involves the submission of written reports on predetermined themes as well as an oral examination (30 to 40 minutes).

  1. Written reports are submitted on both of the following two subjects:
    1. An examination regarding overall understanding of the wider area that encompasses the region (country) in which the student specializes.
    2. A report regarding the students area of specialization or academic discipline (for example, economics, cultural anthropology, etc.) to the extent that it relates to Area Studies.
    3. he entrance examination for the doctoral program will be taken as evidence of language ability in lieu of a language examination.

      * Regarding the written examination on two subjects described above: as a general rule, the topic will be set by student's academic supervisor for one of the subjects, and set by another faculty member for the other subject.
  2. Written reports on each subject, each with a maximum length of 8,000 characters in Japanese and 3,400 words in English (excluding references), should be prepared and submitted to the Program Office within one month of the report topics being set.
  3. As a general rule, students are required to have been enrolled in the doctoral program for at least one year as a prerequisite for taking the examination, and students failing the examination will only be permitted to retake it once.
  4. Examinations will generally be conducted twice a year in May and November, and examination application forms must be submitted to the Program Office at least six months prior to taking the examination.
  5. Individual report topics will be set for each student, and graded by multiple evaluators.

　Supplementary provisions
　（1）These provisions were revised and took effect from April 1, 2003.
　　 　(Revision approved at the Area Studies board meeting on July 17, 2002)

II. Doctoral Thesis Plan

  1. Students who pass the qualifying examination for the submission of a doctoral thesis must then submit a thesis plan. Theses should be submitted on A4 paper with text oriented from left to right, and should be around 12,000 characters (5,100 words) in length (main body only).
  2. The doctoral thesis plan will be examined by the student's academic supervisor, one other member of the faculty, and the Program Chair, and students may submit their doctoral thesis once the thesis plan has been accepted.

III. The Doctoral Thesis Plan Seminar

  1. Students are required to present their research plans at a doctoral thesis plan seminar organized by the program to which they belong at around the same time as submitting their doctoral thesis plan.

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