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ICHIHASHI Masaru
Director, Joint International Master’s Program in Sustainable Development
(Hiroshima University – University of Graz)
The Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences Joint International Master’s Program in Sustainable Development (Hiroshima University – University of Graz) is the first Joint Degree Program in the master’s course for Hiroshima University (HU), along with the Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering Joint International Master’s Program in Sustainable Development (Hiroshima University – Leipzig University). They are launched for the purpose of developing excellent human resources with highly specialized knowledge, skills, and experience which will help achieve the SDGs goals. During the first semester (out of four, two years in total), the students study the basic subjects at their entrance universities. During the second and the third semesters, they study the specialized, practical and integrated subjects at their partner universities. During the fourth semester, they write the master’s thesis at their entrance universities. Graduates are awarded a Master’s degree (Master of Science) which is jointly signed by both universities.
In this international program, the Joint Degree Program, through studying at another university in a different country, students can develop a broader perspective, multi-view thinking, the ability to play a part in the regional and global communities and acquire skills to deal with a variety of issues. In addition, through developing a curriculum shared by both universities, and by means of education and academic supervision conducted in cooperation by faculty members of either university, a program can be provided which fully shares the features of both universities.
Our partner university is the University of Graz, which is known as the second oldest and largest university in Austria. Graz is an historical town with many art and other museums, and at the same time, it is one of the most famous university towns in Europe. The University of Graz started to work on academic research regarding sustainable development very early, and has many programs related to it. In the Joint Degree program, students can select from several programs including Sustainable Management in Companies, Innovation and Transition Management, Climate Change, which are especially characteristic of the University of Graz. Students can thus study the above programs, together with the study of international cooperation through social science approaches, in courses such as Public Policies for Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries, Economic Analysis, and Social Science Analysis, which are characteristic of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University. We welcome the participation of people who hope to study at both Hiroshima University, which has an Asian cultural background, and the University of Graz, which has a European cultural background. We welcome the participation of people full of intellectual curiosity who try to solve global issues.
from the left: (University of Graz) Associate Prof. Brudermann Thomas, Ms. Krawagna Ulrike
(Hiroshima University) Prof. Kaneko, Prof. Maruyama
