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Art and Design Studies

The Graduate School program is comprised of two programs, an on-site program and a correspondence education program. The on-site program offers both master and doctoral courses. While each field has own individuality in its tuition of the area, students can be instructed beyond barriers of the fields which enables them to pursue their own research or art works.

Master Course / Doctoral Course


Art Major Available Degree
Master Course Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A) or Master of Arts (M.A)

Global Seminar

Master Course

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A) or Master of Arts (M.A)

Historical Heritage Research Field

Theory of History and Culture, Science of Cultural Property, Archeology, Theory of Preservation and Restoration, Theory of Landscape Gardening

Master Course

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A) or Master of Arts (M.A)

Doctoral Course

Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A) or Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Fine and Applied Arts Field

Sculpture and Three-Dimensional Art, Ceramic Arts, Textiles, Photography and Video, Japanese Painting, Oil Painting, Printmaking

Information Design and Product Design Field

Information Design, Graphic Design, Visual Communication Design, Character Design, Game Design, Product Design, Media Contents Production[ Illustration / Picture Book / Manga / Animation ]

Cultural Design and Art Education Field

Cultural Innovation, Media Contents Research, Interdisciplinary Program

Architecture and Environmental Design Field

Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Design, Regional Design, Japanese Garden

Art and Cultural Research Field

Students are able to research and study historically and theoretically, in various fields of art and culture, from art or craft history, literature, performing art theory, film theory, to the latest pop culture. Studying with a wide variety of professors, and occasionally working at the actual scene of creation or with the artist, students are able to deepen their research using real-time information from what they actually experienced, not as armchair theory. The cross-sectional guidance system enables students to learn directly from leading professionals in each field, not just from their specialized field, and one of the biggest features of the department is that students can acquire a comprehensive point of view.

Historical Heritage Research Field

In the research area for Historical Heritage, students actually work with leading researchers and engineers in study, research and restoration activities, and acquire the techniques and what it means to be a professional. For example, with the cooperation of expert research institutions outside the school such as the Gangoji Institute for Research of Cultural Property, we work on research activities in preservation and restoration. With the prospect of becoming an expert of various cultural assets, we promote research activities focused on the relationship with society. In the research area for Japanese Garden Art, we look at Japanese gardens from various points of view, from gardening, landscape, and architecture, as well as art and craft, tea ceremony and flower arrangement as culture in everyday life, to philosophy and religion, which are the foundations of spiritual culture. Also, through commissioned projects like designing plants in gardens using traditional gardening techniques or restoration projects of ponds and river dikes, we are able to do comprehensive research based on theory and practice.

Mixed Media Field

The Mixed Media Field of the major covers broad themes of expression, such as three-dimensional art, textiles, ceramic arts, photography. To be able to interact with all kinds of raw materials and techniques of expression, and to materialize a more creative “art making,” we have prepared an environment to research and study integral representation at a 3D studio (using metal, resin, stone, and wood), ceramic art studio, photography studio, dyeing and weaving studio, “ULTRA FACTORY,” a shared studio, and by cooperating with institutions outside the school. Faculty are leading artists: contemporary artists, Noboru Tsubaki, Kenji Yanobe, Miwa Yanagi, and sculptor Kohei Nawa, to name a few. Students create their own original representation by witnessing the scene of the cutting edge art and mastering the techniques and mindset of artists working on an international level.

Painting Field

This is a field where students take an intense look at themselves, taking time to face their work, and realize their theme and ideas. Studying Japanese painting is about pursuing spirituality and art technique, while weaving in studies of classical techniques like reproduction and questioning the essence of what lies beneath the expression of painting. On the other hand, studying oil painting is to face the canvas with an independent point of view, and, through the process of oil painting, coating the picture with layers of paint, students explore what way they live and carve their own path, stroke by stroke.

Visual Creation Field

In this field of study, students create works based on actual experience, led by leading illustrators, animators, and manga authors active in their profession. Students learn an attitude towards design and manufacturing, and production techniques of professionals. While deepening their knowledge in the media structure behind production and the methods of editing information, we nurture students who can be an immediate asset at the sites of production, or become an independent artist. Instead of focusing solely on art, students produce new creation in which the fields of art and design are merged.

Design Field

Instead of designing merely for superficial beauty, our aim is to solve various social issues with the strength of design and to practically enable students to comprehensively take in all genres such as product, graphic, space, and information, based on the idea of social design. The leading faculty for the field of product design is Chiaki Murata, manager of Hers Experimental Design Laboratory Inc. Students experience the process of bringing design into society by participating in actual product development from planning to distribution. In the field of spatial design, students collaborate with “studio-L” organized by community designer Ryo Yamazaki. They participate in several projects and improve their communication ability and skills on site.

Architecture and Landscape Design Field

We arrange internships at architecture offices where students can work on actual projects appropriate to the experience necessary to qualify for the first-class architectural license. We aim to nurture architects with both skills applicable to on-site work and artistic sensibilities. Also, students collaborate with world-famous architect, Shigeru Ban, and, using a studio built on campus as their base, they will work on aid projects for stricken disaster areas from the field of architecture. In the field of landscape design, our goal is to combine “architecture of traditional gardens in Kyoto” and “leading landscape design,” and to promote the research and production of both.

Film Production Field

We have a fully equipped on-campus film studio, editing and MA room, and preview rooms. Students can explore various expressions in film under the direction of leading Japanese film professionals. Students can study all film-related genres from drama, experimental film, and documentary to the study of script writing and criticism.

Performing Arts Field

The stage for study comprises theater spaces where various programs are mounted throughout the year: Shunjuza, where everything from Noh, Kyogen, and Kabuki to opera can be staged, and studio21, which can be used for a variety of theatrical styles. Students can study a range of fields from theatrical theory to theater criticism. They also study existing theatrical productions and closely cooperate with undergraduate students to plan and stage programs.

Art Education Field

In the Art Education Field, students study methodology and education through practice to nurture the love for art and cultivating a rich sensibility in children. The aim is to train communication skills, and develop a power for living through art expression. The Children’s Academy of Art and Education, a facility for nursing children, is on the premises of the university, and students are able to actually feel the reality and the potentiality of the children changing everyday. This is something they can’t learn from texts and numbers. In the field of social welfare, students make an approach from art expression, so the elderly and people with disabilities can live a lifestyle true to themselves. Both fields of education and social welfare produce environments for practice through planning and organizing workshops, and develop their research while directly experiencing the effect that art brings.

Art Major

Students can perform higher specialized research and creative activities than in the master course. After obtaining determined credits, receiving necessary research guidance, and passing the evaluation of the “Doctoral Thesis” or “Doctoral Thesis and Artworks,” as well as passing the final examination, students get the doctoral degree.

Media Art Field

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Creative Writing Field

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