Given the recent remarkable progress in science and technology, it is becoming increasingly important to produce graduates with highly specialized knowledge and capabilities.
   In terms of both scale and personnel, Kobe Gakuin University boasts one of the finest graduate schools in the Kansai region. Leaders of the next generation are trained here, through theoretical and applied research in various fields of specialization.
   Each division of the Graduate School produces notable research results, results that contribute to the advancement of society and culture. The Graduate School of Food and Medicinal Sciences in particular is highly reputed, both here and abroad, for its unique graduate program; a program that bridges the Graduate Schools of Nutrition and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
   The university also actively undertakes joint research which transcends the conventional boundaries of specialized fields. As an institution with strong ties to society, rather than an ivory tower with a monopoly on knowledge, the Graduate School is attracting wide attention from industry and other fields.
   Each division of the Graduate School is briefly profiled below.

The Graduate School of Law

   The Graduate School of Law is comprised of two “majors”: Law, and International Relations and Law.
   In the major in Law, there are both a Master's Program and a Doctoral Program. These programs are not limited by a course system, but instead have two groups of subjects: public law subjects such as constitutional, administrative, and criminal law; and private law subjects such as civil and commercial laws.
   The goal of the major in International Relations and Law - which was established in April 1998 as the first Master's program in Japan - is to provide higher education necessary for public servants, company employees, and various other professionals with a broad, international perspective. There are three groups of subjects in this major: those relating to international law, international private law, and EC laws; those relating to international trade law and international corporate law; and those relating to international politics and international theory.
   Each major offers its own “special lectures” and “special research.” In the special lectures, a theme is selected according to the students' interests, and the lectures are delivered at the laboratories or seminar rooms in a very congenial style. Special research, as the name suggests, provides academic assistance in writing the Master's or Doctoral thesis from the professor in charge of guidance for the particular student's research project.

The Graduate School of Economics

   The goal of the Graduate School of Economics is to deepen the students' mastery of the theory and specialized knowledge involved in the fields of economics and business administration. This is comprised of a Master's Program and a Doctoral Program in Economics, and a Master's Program in Business Administration.
   The Master's Program, where students acquire a broad range of specialized knowledge, is a path for those whose ambition is to become a specialist in the business world, or a professional in a specialized field such as tax accounting. The Doctoral Program, on the other hand, is a path for those students who wish to continue intensive research in high-level academic areas.

The Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences

   The Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences offers two majors: Human Behavior and Areal Cultures. In addition to the Master's Program, a Doctoral Program was established in April 1996.
   The main objective of Humanities and Sciences is to study the patterns of human behavior and its product, culture, at a comprehensive and sophisticated level. For this reason, the faculty has developed a unique curriculum.
   The major in Human Behavior comprises the following courses: Behavior and Culture, Educational Philosophy, Social Structures, and Behavioral Development, plus the common basic courses which are covered in workshops. The major in Areal Cultures includes the following: Basic Cultural Issues, Areal Environment, Japanese History, Western History, Japanese Language and Culture, and English Language and Culture, together with their respective workshops.
   These courses are given in the form of lectures emphasizing methodology, special lectures aimed at imparting depth and width to topics and, as mentioned above, workshops with emphasis on training.
   While this graduate school was established in 1994 and is, therefore, still new, its mission is to produce scholars with outstanding research capabilities who are able to meet the needs of science and society.

The Graduate School of Nutrition

   The Graduate School of Nutrition offers a Master Program with a major in nutrition.
   This new discipline centers on health science, which organically integrates food science, physiology, and other related sciences with conventional studies of nutrition.
   The curriculum comprises eight courses: Nutritional Physiology, Nutritional Chemistry, Nutritional Pathology, Nutritional Administration, Food Chemistry, Food Nutrition, Public Health and Physiology. Each course consists of advanced lectures, seminars, research programs, and current topics on nutrition and health science. The objective of this discipline is to pursue advanced research, detailed data collection and analysis capabilities under the guidance of each instructor, with “exploring the functions of food” as the unified theme. In addition, in the pursuit of meaning and truth in scholarship, research results are presented at academic societies, and articles are contributed to academic journals.

The Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences

   The Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences offers a Master's Program with a major in pharmaceutical sciences. The objective of this discipline is to acquire advanced expertise and research technique in each field of pharmaceutical sciences, as well as to foster the ability to seek and implement solutions to given tasks.
   The curriculum comprises courses in three fields such as chemistry, pharmaceutics, and biology, with classes including specialized lectures and seminars. In pharmaceutical seminars, techniques for reading, writing, and presenting scientific papers in English are studied, to prepare students for presentations at overseas academic meetings. Since the 1996 academic year, a course with emphasis on clinical pharmacy education has been offered.

The Graduate School of Food and Medicinal Sciences

   The Graduate School of Food and Medicinal Sciences offers a Doctoral Program to those who have completed a Master Program in nutrition, pharmaceutical sciences, or related disciplines. The objective of this program is to foster the creative ability required for conducting interdisciplinary comprehensive research in basic science related to advanced food and pharmaceuticals, and to contribute to an enhanced knowledge of science together with the promotion of health care. Students completing the program are granted a doctoral degree in nutrition or pharmaceutical science.
   The curriculum comprises four courses: Basic Food and Drug Science, Study of Resources, Chemistry of Bioactive Substances and Hygiene, plus special lectures in related subjects. In addition, seminars and research guidance are provided for each course, in order to produce scholars well-equipped in comprehensive basic fields related to food and pharmaceuticals. The program also aims to cultivate advanced information processing and research capabilities, so as to produce independent scholars and leaders in world opinion in this field.