The Institute for the Liberal Arts

Doshisha University was selected for the Japanese government’s Global 30 project for establishing core universities for internationalization in July 2009. This added a new dimension to Doshisha’s progress toward ‘internationalism’, one of the university’s educational ideals grounded on the founding spirit of its founder, Joseph Neesima. Doshisha’s various initiatives for further strengthening internationalization of university education have steadily achieved successful results. For example, the number of international students enrolled at the university has drastically exceeded the target number; international exchange and educational collaboration has expanded with an increase in the number of overseas partner universities; double-degree programs have started; and a growing number of Japanese students studying at Doshisha have been overseas through various study abroad programs. As part of Doshisha’s drive toward internationalism, the Institute for the Liberal Arts (ILA) was established in April 2011. The Institute for the Liberal Arts offers unique interdisciplinary programs, with all the subjects taught in English, where international students from various countries and regions study across six faculties in the humanities together with Japanese students. In the following, we will outline the current status and future direction of the ILA, which is highly expected to act to move the university to a global standard.

* Global 30 was restructured in 2011 as a project for establishing a university network for internationalization.