Nara Women's University

Educational Features

Course System

Nara Women’s University Faculty of Letters has introduced a “course system.” New students enter the University as “first-year Faculty of Letters students.” At this stage their area of specialization is undecided.

　Under the course system, students decide before the end of their 1st year which of three departments they wish to join: the Department of History, Sociology and Geography; the Department of Language and Culture; or the Department of Human Sciences. Each department is divided into several courses, and students formulate their study plans in accordance with the course they choose, but it is possible to change courses during their 2nd year.

　Before the end of their 2nd year, students decide which course of study they wish to pursue. In accordance with their chosen course, students decide their research topic, which can lead to their graduation thesis.

　Most class subjects are open to all students studying in the department and the faculty, not limited to the students studying in that particular course. Regardless of the department/course a student chooses, she is able to take a diverse range of subjects in accordance with her interest.

　The course system is a form of curriculum that supports the autonomous learning of each and every student so that while they nurture broad perspectives, they eventually find their own themes and deepen their professional expertise.

　NB: On the Childhood Education Specialist Program, students are affiliated to the Department of Human Sciences from the first year, and in the third year they select to study on either the Education-Philosophical Anthropology Course or the Psychology Course.

Childhood Education Specialist Program

Under the Department of Human Sciences, the Faculty of Letters provides the Childhood Education Specialist Program to foster kindergarten and elementary school teachers. Based on the wide-ranging learning in the Faculty of Letters, students who study the varied specialized subjects in the Department of Human Sciences can acquire the respective type 1 teaching certificates for kindergartens and elementary schools. The Program aims to foster teachers who are able to contribute to solving educational issues in today's society or creating the future society and culture from the perspective of educators.

Six-year Integrated Education Program

Program Outline

　The Six-year Integrated Education Program is a special program that seamlessly and flexibly uses the six years (four years at the undergraduate faculty and two years at the graduate school master’s course) to enable students to take on the challenge of long-term research, as well as study abroad and internships, which would be difficult over a normal course.

Selection Method for Program Students

　Whether or not students can enroll in the Program is decided upon by the joint results of screening documents and conducting interviews in their third year at the undergraduate faculty. In the event that Program students continue to the master’s course of the University’s Graduate School of Humanities and Science, the basis for selection is recommendation-based entrance exam.

Program Special Scholarship System

　The examination fees and amounts equivalent to the admission fees are paid for as scholarships for students with exceptional results.

International Exchange and Study Abroad

　The University accepts international students, and implements entrance examinations for self-supporting international students. It is also possible to attend the University as a research student of the Faculty of Letters. With regard to the self-supporting international students’ entrance examinations, please refer to the “Degree Programs” webpage, and with regard to research students, please refer to “Non-Degree Programs” webpage.

More detailed information about study abroad and international exchange can be found on the various links on the University’s “Study Abroad and International Exchange” webpage.

Qualifications that Can Be Acquired

Types of teaching qualifications that can be acquired

Department of History, Sociology, and Geography

Lower Secondary School Type I (Social Studies)
Upper Secondary School Type I (Geography and History, Civics)

Department of Language and Culture

Lower Secondary School Type I (Japanese Language, English)
Upper Secondary School Type I (Japanese Language, Calligraphy, English)

Department of Human Sciences

Kindergarten Type I
Elementary School Type
NB: Childhood Education Specialist Program only

Qualifications that can be acquired and eligibility requirements attained

Department of History, Sociology, and Geography

Curator
School Librarian

Department of Human Sciencesy

Curator
School Librarian
Certified Public Psychologists (The eligibility requirements for the examination can be attained.)

The qualifications and licenses above are those provided by each department. It is also possible to acquire them at other departments and faculties.
The Type 1 Elementary School Teaching Certificate becomes an Advanced Certificate (not including calligraphy) by continuing to the Graduate School and acquiring the designated credits.
At the Department of Human Sciences, students can attain the eligibility requirements for the Certified Public Psychologist’s examination by competing their course at the Graduate School.

Career Paths After Graduation

We often hear students asking “what shall I do after I have graduated from the Faculty of Letters?” The students who graduate from the Faculty of Letters are active in a highly diverse range of areas.

Students have gone on to find the jobs that they want to do in, for example, manufacturing companies, IT and the finance sector, gained employment and are now active members of society.

Some students proceed to the Graduate School in order to deepen their research in the research fields they specialize in or to acquire advanced professional qualifications, while many others aim to become national or local public employees.

Research Students, Credited Auditors, and Auditing Students

Research students implement specified item research under the instruction of a supervisor. The credited auditors and auditing students systems are for those who wish to study or attend lectures on only the specific subjects of interest to them.

Students enter the University in April and October, and the deadlines for application are late February and early September. Please refer to the “Non-Degree Programs” webpage on the University website for more details on application eligibility etc.

To foreigners wishing to apply to become research students at the Faculty of Letters

Prior to application, a screening and interview process will be conducted by the Faculty of Letters (the entry system). We need to check application documents and coordinate the dates and times of the interviews, so please make your entries as early as possible.

<Application procedures>

NB: Those who are applying to become research students in the Faculty of Letters must without fail be able to attend an in-person interview.

In principle, those living overseas may not make an entry.

(Entry period)

The end of July for those wishing to enter the University in October, and the end of December for those wishing to enter in April

Enter the requisite matters on the entry sheet, attach the required documents, and send them by email to the Faculty of Letters Section of the Nara Women’s University Educational Affairs Division (bun☆jimu.nara-wu.ac.jp) .(Change “☆” to @ (single-byte character) when sending the e-mail.)

Please note that if the data sent is likely to exceed 2MB you should split it across two or more messages.

(Documents required)

Nara Women’s University Faculty of Letters Research Student Entry Sheet
Document certifying your graduation (or expected graduation) from your last school of learning
Academic record at the university, etc. you graduated from
(Only in the case of those graduating (or expecting to graduate from) a university in mainland China) Education record certificate issued by the Chinese Ministry of Education (English language version. The certificate should be issued by the CHSI, scanned to PDF and attached to the e-mail.)
Documents from which it is possible to ascertain the curriculum of the university, etc. you graduated from
Documents enabling the verification of your Japanese (and if available English) language proficiency

NB: In order to apply it is required that you have obtained the level N1 in the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test.

<Preliminary screening>

The documents you have submitted are screened, and you will be contacted by the Faculty of Letters by the end of the month following submission. Please bear in mind that in some cases the university may not be able to meet your wishes.

<Interviews>

You will be individually contacted concerning the date and time of the interview based on the results of the screening.
A decision will be made on the day of the interview based on discussion with the applicant.
On the day of the interview, please be sure to bring your residence card (or a passport and so on containing your personal identification with a photograph). You may be requested to bring other documents.

<Official application>

(If submitting an application is approved following the result of the interview)

Please prepare the documents requisite for the official application, and submit them with the examination fee by the designated date.
The application documents can be obtained from the “Non-Degree Programs” webpage of the University website