Design Academia - 国公立デザイン系大学会議

Graduate Program for Highly Skilled Researchers in Design Who Create New Social Systems

The degree program of the graduate schools of our university, which started planning in 2015, began in 2020 after various studies. The purpose of the program is to acquire the practical ability to create products and environments that improve people’s minds, to create social systems that develop good and fulfilling connections between people, and to foster highly skilled professionals or researchers with the qualities of top international leaders who will play a central role in various research and educational institutions, and apply their creativity to nurture, maintain, and revitalize rich and constructive communities and societies. Design education is positioned as a Degree Program in Design (DPD). In addition to the Science of Art and Design, Product and Information Design, Architecture and Housing Design, and Entertainment Design programs, we have realized a cross-sectional educational system that includes the collaboration of the graduate school with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (NILIM), as well as faculty members affiliated with systems information engineering, medical science and technology, and disability science.

A degree program system is an educational program in which students are selected and nurtured based on a systematic design of subjects (CP: Curriculum Policy), a clear description of the competencies to be acquired for a degree (DP: Diploma Policy), and a clear description of the students to be sought (AP: Admission Policy). (AP: Admission Policy). The University of Tsukuba positions each element of the DP as competence and summarizes the competencies to be acquired as a graduate student and a specialized degree program. It is a system that allows students to complete their master’s and doctoral programs when they have acquired competencies appropriate to their level. The Graduate School Establishment Standards stipulate that the requirements for completion of a graduate program are: 1) completion period, 2) credits earned, 3) research guidance, 4) results of research guidance (dissertation), and 5) final examination. The DPD clearly positions the examination of competencies as one of the requirements for completion. To facilitate the acquisition of competence, the DPD is designed to lead to smooth learning by introducing an achievement evaluation process that combines self-evaluation by students and evaluation by the organization according to each program.

The university has shifted from 85 Programs in 8 Graduate Schools to 56 specific degree programs in 6 Degree Programs in 3 Graduate Schools. The former Graduate Schools are now positioned as Graduate Schools and Programs as Degree Programs, which means that 85 Programs have been reorganized into 6 Degree Programs. In other words, the Degree Programs in the Graduate Schools will be positioned under the major fields of study, allowing the university to design the organization flexibly.

To make the most of this advantage, we need to enhance our internal quality assurance system. Therefore, we have established a new Office of Management for Teaching and Learning and introduced a system to enhance the quality assurance of all degree programs by conducting annual monitoring and holistic reviews every few years.https://www.geijutsu.tsukuba.ac.jp/dpd/

 

2022.3.29