Completion Requirements and Subjects

Basic Requirements for Completion

Students will be qualified for the degree upon successful completion of the following requirements:

  1. Period of Enrollment: In principle, a student must be enrolled as a regular, full-time student in the Master’s Program for 2 years. However, the degree may also be granted to outstanding students in less than two years. In this case, the minimum period of full-time enrollment is 1.5 years.
  2. Credit Requirements: Students are required to earn 44 credits or more which must include all credits from Required Subjects and Seminars and 8 credits from Elective Subjects to complete the program.
  3. Research Project (Master's Thesis/Independent Final Report/Internship-based Case Study/Business Plan) Requirements: All students must complete an extended piece of writing (Research Project), which presents the findings and conclusions of their individual research. GSM students may choose between 4 types of Research Projects: Master’s Thesis, Independent Final Report, Internship-based Case Study, or Business Plan. All Research Projects must be approved in accordance with the University's examination procedures. For further details on requirements and examination procedures, see the information in the Research Projects page.

Credit Requirements for Completion

Students must acquire at least 44 credits for program completion. In addition to the designated minimum number of credits from Required Subjects (26), Elective Subjects (8) and Seminars (6), students must complete at least additional 4 credits from any of the subject categories listed below. Please check the GSM Subject List below for the category in which each class falls (i.e. Required Subject, Seminar Subject, etc.).

Subject Type Minimum Required Credits Credit Rules
Required Subjects 26 --
Elective Subjects 8 Students should register for subjects related to their chosen Specialization*.
Any credits earned from Elective Subjects exceeding the minimum required
Seminars 6 -
Core Related Subjects - Credits earned from Core Related Subjects will count towards the credits required for program completion **
TOTAL 44 *See below for a list of Specializations
**Subjects from the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies will also be counted

Specialization Requirements

Students may specialize in one of the four fields (see below table) if the following requirements are fulfilled:
1. Completed at least 4 Elective Subjects (8 credits) in the field.
2. The supervisor must be affiliated in the field.

Specialization
Japanese Management (JM)
Accounting and Finance (AF)
Marketing and Management (MM)
Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Operations Management (EIM)

In addition, students whose primary specialization is AF, MM, or EIM (meaning they have fulfilled the requirements above for any of these three specializations), and who have completed more than 4 Elective Subjects (8 credits) from JM, can apply for a Double Specialization.
Students whose primary specialization is JM cannot apply for a Double Specialization. Please see the table below for a visualization of the possible Double Specializations.

Possible Double Specializations
Primary Specialization Secondary Specialization
Accounting and Finance (AF) Japanese Management (JM)
Marketing and Management (MM) Japanese Management (JM)
Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Operations Management (EIM) Japanese Management (JM)

Credit Limits

GSM Model Registration – it is recommended that students register for courses as shown below.

Maximum Credit Limits 2-year Standard Completion 1.5-year Accelerated Completion
1st semester 22 16 16
2nd semester 22 12 18
3rd semester 22 10 10
4th semester 22 6 -
Notes:
1. Students will not be penalized or charged extra fees for earning more than 44 credits.
2. Upon acquisition of 44 credits and the fulfillment of all graduation requirements, students will be awarded a Master’s degree. Students may not register for additional subjects after completing all graduation requirements.

Subjects in the Graduate School of Management (students who enrolled as new students in AY 2023 or later.)

GSM Subject List (PDF)
GSM Subject Codes (PDF)
GSM Curriculum Alignment Matrix (CAM) (PDF)

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