The LL.M. & LL.D. programs at the Faculty of Law

Competing in the global market for graduate legal education

In 1994, Kyushu University became the first university in Japan to offer a Master's Degree in Law (LL.M) taught entirely in English. The LL.M. program was at the time of its inception, and has continued to be, innovative in several aspects. First, by offering law graduates from all over the word the unique opportunity to study in a Japanese university without first mastering the Japanese language, the program overcomes what was traditionally the major obstacle for prospective law students seeking to pursue their studies in Japan. Secondly, faculty members teaching on the LL.M. program have extensive experience in academia and the legal profession, but also in the commercial sector and working for international organizations. Moreover, with several faculty coming from overseas, the program combines academic excellence with a strong international flavor. Finally, by maintaining a thematic focus on contemporary issues in international economic and business law, the program provides students with the necessary knowledge base and skill set to operate effectively in today's globalized business environment. Now in its eleventh year and with over one hundred graduates from over twenty countries, the LL.M. has proved to be hugely successful with graduates going on to pursue successful careers in the legal profession, not only in their home countries, but also internationally.

The success of the LL.M. program enabled the Faculty of Law to launch an LL.D. Program in 2001. Again, this program is unique in a Japanese context in that it allows students to complete a doctoral degree in English at a Japanese law faculty. The LL.D. program is innovative in several other ways in order to ensure the excellence of the doctoral research output. In addition to the main academic supervisor, all students are assigned a general supervisor who continually monitors student progress throughout their doctoral study. Moreover, twice a year all faculty and students attend a Comprehensive Research Seminar (CRS) at which students present their research to other faculty members and students. Held over a weekend at Kyushu University's facility in Sasaguri, the CRS provides students with a productive opportunity to receive extensive feedback on their research progress in a relaxed but intellectually intense atmosphere. Finally, an annual alumni seminar was inaugurated in February 2006 at which former graduates from both the LL.M. and LL.D. programs, as well as scholars from overseas, are invited to Fukuoka to participate in a high-level workshop on themes connected to international business and economic law.

These educational developments have received recognition from the Ministry of Education. In July 2006, the Faculty of Law was rewarded with a substantial grant as part of the Ministry's Excellence in Graduate School program. This money will allow the LL.D. program to develop further by providing students with the chance to pursue research overseas at various partner institutions (including New York University and National University Singapore), as well as inviting leading scholars from overseas in the field of international economic and business law to teach classes and consult with students about their research progress. This research money thus facilitates the creation of a sustainable infrastructure for the law faculty's graduate level programs that will ensure their continued success.

As graduate level qualifications becomes increasingly essential for young legal professionals, and as law faculties around the world respond to this new demand by expanding their activities at a Master's and Doctoral level, the global market in legal education has become increasingly competitive. By providing the kind of educational opportunities afforded by the LL.M. & LL.D. programs, the Faculty of Law has strategically positioned itself as a market leader both within Japan and internationally.

URL:http://www.law.kyushu-u.ac.jp/programsinenglish/ index.htm

Asia in Today's World (ATW)

International Summer Program for Asian Studies and Laboratory Work

Kyushu University International Student Center has offered an international summer program, Asia in Today's World (ATW), since 2001. 2006 ATW was held from July 3 to August 11,and hosted 55 students, which is the largest number of participants since the program started, from 24 overseas universities.

[2006 participants home universities]

ATW is a six-week program for undergraduate and graduate students in any major. One of its distinctive features is that ATW is not merely for learning Japanese language but a comprehensive academic program offering Asian studies and laboratory work options. These options are recognized as valuable assets of the program by the participants, and are reflected by their feedback to the 2006 program evaluation questionnaires in which 97% of answers on the Asian Studies Courses/Laboratory Work were "excellent" or "good." The following comments from students highlight the success of the program.

• I could learn not only the Japanese language but also Japanese history and politics. I could not find any program that gives opportunities like ATW.
• The most impressive part of the ATW program is its success in creating an opportunity for students from very diverse backgrounds all over the world to discuss sensitive issues through the Asia Studies courses over an extended period of six weeks.
• The Laboratory Work option was the most attractive part of the program.

Asian Studies Courses

The Asian Studies Courses enable the students to approach Asia, not only Japan, from various directions without a language barrier as all courses are lectured in English. We have invited professors from Amherst College, Rice University, Seoul National University, University of Arizona, University of California-Davis, and University of Essex to lecture at ATW over the past years. And this year, four Asian Studies courses were lectured by professors invited from the National University of Singapore and Catholic University of Leuven, as well as Kyushu University faculty.

• Death in the Japanese Literary Tradition
  Noel J. PINNINGTON, Asia Center, Kyushu University
• Food and Agricultural Economics in Japan and Asia-Pacific
  Shoji SHINKAI, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University
• Japan and Asia-Pacific in Modern Times
  See Heng TEOW, National University of Singapore
• Japan and Regional Integration in Asia
  Dimitri VANOVERBEKE, Catholic University of Leuven

Laboratory Work

There are not many summer programs in Japan that offer a laboratory work option for natural science major students. This Laboratory Work option undoubtedly adds more attractiveness to the program. Students who took laboratory work, most of whom are undergraduate students, said that it was a valuable challenge to do experiments and study with graduate students and a professor, which is a very rare opportunity for undergraduate students. Fields of research range from Electrical Information Engineering, Material Science, Earth Resources Engineering, Energy Science, Medical Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, to various other natural science subjects, and ATW has enjoyed the relevant faculty's cooperation. For the 2006 program, three students studied on a Laboratory Work course under the guidance of a professor in the field.

• Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Vehicles
  Tatsuya ISHIKAWA, Faculty of Engineering
• Material Science
  Hiroshi KITAGAWA, Faculty of Science
• One-Dimensional Photonic Crystals
  Kiyotoshi YASUMOTO, Faculty of Engineering

The above mentioned Asian Studies Courses are also open to Kyushu University students and we strongly recommend anyone who is thinking of studying abroad in the near future to take or audit the courses. The experience will offer Kyushu University students an excellent opportunity both to improve their English language skills and to meet international students of the same age from around the world. Next year's ATW will be held from early in July for 6 weeks.

URL: http://www.isc.kyushu-u.ac.jp/atw/