The Course of Marine Policy and Management fosters professionals who are involved in policy making, utilization and management, and environmental culture in the marine and coastal areas, focusing on the following three areas:
For this purpose, this course offers lecture courses and practical training in a wide range of fields.
In order to manage and administer the multifaceted use of the oceans comprehensively, we need interdisciplinary knowledge across a variety of fields in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. In this course, students can acquire advanced knowledge in a variety of fields required for marine utilization and management, such as “Fisheries Stock Management” for the sustainable use of marine living resources, “Maritime International Relations” to study international issues related to the sea, “Ocean Literacy” to share the knowledge that forms the basis for marine utilization and management, “Multicultural Studies” to understand various aspects of local communities from a sociological perspective.
There has been a history of tough negotiations among nations before a system for the use and management of the oceans was established. As a result of these negotiations, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which comprehensively orders the use and management of the entire ocean area, is now functioning. The implementation of comprehensive management of the oceans and coastal areas has been a challenge for the coastal nations around the world that share the common goal of "sustainable development" since the action plan "Agenda 21" adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, or Earth Summit. In this course, students can acquire the basics of understanding the ocean on a global scale and taking action in local communities to realize sustainable oceans and coastal areas.
There are two possible fields for the Marine Policy and Management. One is the field of society, where sustainable oceans are realized through negotiations with other nations and organizations, and the other is, of course, the field of the ocean and coastal areas. Through “Practical ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) Training”, “Internship for Marine Management Policy”, students can acquire the knowledge and practical skills necessary for problem-solving and decision-making in both social and marine/coastal settings.
Based on the above three focuses, the Course of Marine Policy and Management fosters highly-skilled professionals who possess comprehensive knowledge of the ocean and who can formulate ocean policies from a long-term, multifaceted perspective. Therefore, this course provides education that integrates the natural and social sciences, as well as practical education and research through field training.
In order to enable students to acquire mastery of extensive and comprehensive/interdisciplinary expertise related to study of marine management and policies, we organize/implement curricula to study fields that straddle natural science, social science and the humanities, and also provide practical education by means of case methods, field practice, etc.
Through education and practical education by means of special seminars / experiments and research / preparation of a master's thesis, we enable students to acquire the ability to promote research, the ability to explain research results logically, ethics with regard to academic research, etc., and the ability to identify issues and solve them by themselves.
We shall recognize the completion by and grant a master's degree (Marine Science) to students who have earned the prescribed number of credits, who have the competencies and core qualities described in the following item, and who have been recognized to have academic significance, novelty, originality and practical value in each research field in the thesis review and the final examination.