Kobe University Graduate School of Economics Faculty of Economics 2018 1 Admission Policy Graduate Undergraduate Economics investigates how to improve our The Faculty of Economics is seeking to fos- welfare. The Graduate School of Economics is ter individuals who can play leading roles in seeking to foster individuals who can conduct wide-ranging fields in society on the basis of research in economics or work as professionals a spirit of integrity, freedom and cooperation with a high level of expertise on the basis of which has been handed down since the estab- a spirit of integrity, freedom and cooperation lishment of Kobe Higher Commercial School, the which has been handed down since the estab- lishment of Kobe Higher Commercial School, the predecessor. predecessor. The Faculty of Economics accepts students with The Graduate School of Economics accepts stu- the following qualifications: dents with the following qualifications: 1. Student who has the ability to analyze accu- 1. Student who has great enthusiasm for ac- rately and think logically and creatively various quiring in-depth knowledge based on a broad phenomena in society with specialized knowl- perspective and specialized knowledge in eco- edge based on economics as well as extensive nomics. 2. Student who has the ability to analyze and and rich liberal arts. think various social phenomena logically on 2. Student who can exercise communication the basis of economics from professional view- skills excellently. points. 3. Student who has English and/or other lan- guage skills to play active roles in the interna- tional community, and the ability to under- stand different cultures. Number of Ph.D. Number of Documents Awarded 4th 3rd Web of Science MEXT Website Thomson Reuters Article Database Contents Social Science, 2014 in Japan Economics, 2007-2017 in Japan Why Study Economics at 1 Times Cited Kobe University? Number of Ph.D. Awarded 3rd 4th The Kobe Advantage 2 MEXT Website Web of Science Social Science Thomson Reuters Article Database July 1991 - March 2015 in Japan Economics, 2007-2017 in Japan Faculty Members 4 Facts and Figures 6 By Subject Proportion of Academ- ics with Ph.D. Conferences 9 6th (26th in Asia) 4th Messages from Alumni QS World University Rankings 2017 Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. 11 Economics & Econometrics in Japan Economics, National Universities, 2016 and Students Facilities, Scholarships, 12 Top 12.5% institutions Proportion of Foreign Supports in Asia Academics 27th 8th (out of 1321 institutions) Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. IDEAS, as of January 2018 National Universities, 2016 2 Why Study Economics at Kobe University? Kobe University has a long tradition of fields such as economic ethics, econom- research and education in social scienc- ics of technology, economics of popula- es since its foundation as Kobe Higher tion and foods, and economic analysis of Commercial School, a business school major regional economies like the United at the time, in 1902. Over the years, the States, the EU, China, India, Asia, Latin university has been expanding and cur- America as well as Japan. The Graduate rently has a dozen of faculties in various School of International Cooperation Stud- areas of arts and sciences, but the social ies, which was founded in 1992, also has science schools still remain to be its core. many researchers specialized in the eco- The Graduate School of Economics and nomic development of Asian and African the Faculty of Economics offer exception- Economies. ally rich learning and research environ- Our rich education and research envi- ments for students in cooperation with ronment have been enhanced through- other social science institutions such out the long history. In recent years, we as the Graduate School of Business Ad- have been expanding our international ministration and the School of Business education programs and networks with Administration, the Graduate School of foreign universities. In particular, we have Law and the Faculty of Law, the Gradu- started the GMAP (Global Master Pro- ate School of International Cooperation gram), in which all the courses are taught Studies, and the Research Institute for in English, in order to receive overseas Economics and Business Administration. students and to send our Japanese stu- The Graduate School of Economics and dents abroad to partner universities. the Faculty of Economics have over 50 With sponsorship from the EU govern- faculty members who do research and ment, we founded the EU Institute Japan education in almost all areas of econom- in Kansai jointly with the Graduate School ics. We offer courses not only about basic of Law and the Faculty of Law and in co- core subjects such as microeconomic operation with a couple of neighboring theory, macroeconomic theory, statistics, universities. Also, the Graduate School of econometrics, and Japanese and Western Economics and the Research Institute for economic histories, but also on numer- Economics and Business Administration ous applied fields such as international founded the Kobe University Microdata trade, money and finance, public eco- Center, as a research center in economics nomics, labor economics, environmental in Japan, which assists researchers in economics, industrial organization, and using micro-level data owned by the Jap- social policies. In addition, we offer a anese Government. number of rare courses in important “I have been at Kobe University from October, 2001 to March, 2006, a period in which I completed my Ph.D. de- gree in Economics. My experience in Japan, generally and specifically in Kobe, has been one of the richest periods of my life. The Graduate School of Economics at Kobe University offers a very competitive learning and research environments, with highly experienced professors and a rich library. Besides taking advantages of the quality of the learning and research environments, I made very good friends and discovered a very rich culture. The knowledge and ability I acquired at Kobe University have a great in- fluence on my working style and my career in Côte d’Ivoire where people use to call me the “Japanese”. I express my sincere gratitude to the Japanese Government for the scholarship I received and to all the staff of the Graduate School of Economics at Kobe University.” Alban Alphonse E. AHOURE (Republic of Côte d’Ivoire) Associate Professor at University Felix Houphouet Boigny of Abidjan (Republic of Côte d’Ivoire) and Direc- tor of the Economic Policy Unit of CIRES, a think tank affiliated to his University and created 25 years ago by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the state of Côte d’Ivoire 1 The Kobe Advantage Economics beyond Borders students from these partner universities, KUPES (Kobe University Pro- at both undergraduate and graduate lev- As Japan is now embedded in the el. Partner universities’ students can at- gramme for European Stud- global economy, the combination of ex- tend courses either taught in English or in ies) pertise in economics and international Japanese. These students learn and share experience will expand students’ career their experiences with the Japanese stu- The KUPES provides an integrated potential. We, therefore, provide special dents. curriculum for students from B2 (2nd international programs for students at Moreover, we conduct several double year bachelor) to master’s level, foster- both the undergraduate and the master degree programs, mostly at master level, ing an interdisciplinary understanding level. These programs aim to enhance with our partner universities: KU Leuven of the EU and its relations with Japan. students’ specialized and interdisciplinary (Belgium), Beijing Foreign Studies Uni- KUPES students major in Intercultural knowledge as well as English ability for versity (China), Wuhan University (China) Studies, Global Human Sciences, Law or working internationally. and Foreign Trade University (Vietnam). Economics while acquiring specialized At the undergraduate level, two pro- Under this program, students are study- knowledge of the EU and its social issues grams, called the IFEEK and the KUPES, ing at the partner university for one year in both Japanese and English. They are are offered. The IFEEK (International Five- and at Kobe University for another year. trained to analyze and research Europe- year Economics Education Program at Students that successfully complete the an issues from multifaceted viewpoints, Kobe) focuses on acquiring specialized coursework and write a master (or a and are encouraged to critically examine knowledge in economics and English bachelor) thesis, will receive two diplo- international trends from a comparative ability. The KUPES (Kobe University Pro- mas, one from Kobe University and an- perspective. gramme for European Studies) emphasiz- other from the partner university. As part of the structured curriculum, es fostering interdisciplinary perspectives KUPES students attend special lectures, and insights on the EU. Both programs of- seminars and guest speaker events on fer courses taught in English and include IFEEK (International Five- the history of the EU, as well as its soci- studying abroad as a requirement for cer- year Economics Education ety, politics and economics. The interdis- tification. Students start the programs in Program at Kobe) ciplinary classes cover a wide range of the second year of their undergraduate issues such as migration, identity, labor, study and continue at the master level. Graduate School of Economics at Kobe agriculture, environment, and