School of Environmental System Sciences

School of Environmental System Sciences

Over View

The school explores the latest environmental issues such as global warming and social topics on poverty, religious conflict, and human environment, which includes themes such as withdrawal from society. Students acquire the ability to take on the diverse challenges that we face today and to find the solutions through a multifaceted approach that combines the aspects of nature, society, and human beings

School of Environmental System Sciences

Three Courses

Environmental Symbiosis

Acquiring specialized knowledge and skills mainly in the areas of natural environmental sciences to contemplate ecologically harmonious systems of symbiosis for humans

Ecosystems, systems of symbiosis, exist in the sea and the mountains, and even in deserts. We humans have built cities on top of a natural environment comprising ecosystems. As a result, our urbanism has caused numerous problems to ecosystems, including our own. To find solutions to these problems, the Environmental Symbiosis Course aims at understanding Nature’s systems and contemplating systems of symbiosis for humans in the natural environment. In the first year, the students take introductory courses that are common to all Colleges and Schools so as to cultivate an interdisciplinary perspective. In the second year, they take such courses as Ecology of Marine Environments, and Ecology of Terrestrial Environments, Environmental Policy, and Environmental Sociology to acquire interdisciplinary knowledge and methodologies. They also take courses from a well-balanced mixture of humanities subjects (e.g., Understanding Foreign Cultures, Culture and Coexistence, and Culture and Landscape) and scientific subjects (e.g., Public Health, Atmospheric and Oceanic Environmental Studies, and Urban Environmental Science). In the third year and onward, the students pursue further specialization while taking such courses as Environmental Assessment, and Environmental Modeling, Restoration and Conservation, thereby understanding methodologies in various fields and developing their ability to respond to actual environmental issues.

Human Coexistence

Exploring practical knowledge and wisdom to construct a social environment that allows coexistence of diverse values founded on mutual understanding and without oppression

In present and future society, it is essential to acquire the ability to effectively communicate with others so as to respect and coexist in harmony with others who have different values regarding lifestyle, view of life, and approaches to interpersonal relationships. In the Human Coexistence Course, the students train to acquire such ability so as to participate in the construction of a social environment that enables all members to achieve happiness. To this end, the students deepen their understanding of diverse thought systems, social issues, communication, and language as a tool for communication. Concretely, they study well-balanced course subjects, including the following: Modern Social Thought, Social Coexistence and Religion, and The Human Being in Contemporary Society, which analyze social phenomena from the standpoint of symbiosis; Social Coexistence and Human Identity, and Urban Cultural Studies, which examine social systems; and Media Communication, and Linguistic Systems and Culture, which approach issues from the perspective of communication. The students are expected to understand problems in human society from various angles and examine paths to problem-solving. They also engage in project-centered exercises, including social surveys to cultivate their practical skills and competences.

Human Environment

Deeply analyzing fundamental issues concerning human beings and the environment from the specialized perspectives of cognitive science and general and clinical psychology for harmonious environmental systems

"What is a human being?" "What is environment?" "What is the ideal relationship between humans and their environment?" … One approach to answering such fundamental questions is to study human behavior and mental processes from a psychological perspective. In the Human Environment Course, the students are offered course subjects that explore this theme from the specialized viewpoints of cognitive science and general and clinical psychology. They build their scientific foundation through required specialized courses in cognitive science, environmental psychology, social psychology, and clinical psychology, such as Cognitive Science I and II, Environmental Psychology, Interpersonal Environment and Cognition, and Introduction to Clinical Psychology. The students then move on to study a broad range of branches of psychology, including cognitive science and general and clinical psychology, through such subjects as Seminars in Human Environment Science I and II, Psychological Testing, Psychopathology of Mental Disorders, and Cultural Psychology. Particular importance is attached to empirical understanding through experiments and psychological tests as part of the process of deepening the respective specialized perspectives of students. The ultimate educational goal of the Course is to develop the students’ practical ability to participate in the construction of an environmental system that enables authentic self-realization for humans.