Major in Human Developmental Science

 Major in Child Development
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An increase in the numbers of NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and “Freeters” (young freelance part time workers who don’t have any steady occupation and often change jobs after a short time) is currently a social problem in Japan.  Some of these young people may be walking such a path as a way of “finding his/her identity.”  There must be quite a large number of young people who say, “I can be happy when I discover my own identity.”

However, what exactly are one’s “own identity” and “happiness” in this context?  Today, when values are becoming increasingly diversified, it is not very easy to find one’s “own identity” and “happiness.”  We are in the era of anxiety for all generations, and all the problems may originate in this fact.

The “Major in Human Developmental Science” has been established in order to tackle such problems related to human mind.  The subject of the research is the whole of human life from birth through growth and aging, and eventually to death.  Our goals are to understand and support human beings in each age level based on psychology, while at the same time, taking into account relationships among the human mind, society, education and culture.  Although the name includes “science,” research themes in this major are mostly in the area of liberal arts: “Human Formation and Education,” “Counseling,” “Career Development,” “Psychology of Aging and Society,” “Field Studies” and “Problems of School System.”  Advanced skills and understanding in natural sciences are not particularly required.

In this major, students can become a certified psychologist through the Japanese Psychological Association.  This is a basic certificate to prove that the certified person has an educational background in psychology.  We encourage students to obtain this certificate.

Those who are interested in school education can obtain a license for a high school teacher (civics) and a junior high school teacher (social studies).  In addition, those wishing to work in community-related fields of life-long education and citizens’ activities can obtain a license to become a social education director.

All of these certificates and licenses can be obtained at the same time.  We hope you aim to become a community coordinator who can provide mental support to people, or a teacher who has good understanding of students’ mental health.