What is a professional graduate school?

Standards of professional graduate school

Objective	Cultivation of highly sophisticated professionals
Study Duration	Two years in principle. However, this duration may be reduced to no less than one year, as determined by the involved universities.
Graduation Requirements	More than 30 credits (Master's thesis is not a requisite)
Faculty Requirement	At least 30% of the professors should possess some management experience in the business field.
Degree	Master's degree of xxx (professional)
School Accreditation	All professional graduate schools are subject to an accreditation evaluation at least once in every five years.

Course requirements of a professional graduate school

• Systematic curriculum (Article 6 of the Standards for Establishment of professional graduate school)
• Conduction of classes through the extensive use of case studies, field surveys, and group discussions (Article 8)
• Clarification of the grading policy toward securing objectivity and consistency (Article 10)
• Implementation of faculty measures (Article 11)
• Setting of an upper bound on the number of classes to be registered (Article 12)

Institutional comparison between the master's course offered by a graduate school and that offered by a professional graduate school

Item	Master's course offered by a graduate school	Master's course offered by a graduate professional school (from April 2003 onward)
Standard required duration of study	Two years	Two years or less than two years but more than one year, as determined by each individual university
Conditions governing course completion	Study for longer than the minimum study period required for graduation	Study for longer than the minimum study period required for graduation
	Acquisition of more than 30 credits	Acquisition of more than 30 credits and study of other curricula
	Research guidance	Research guidance not mandatory
	Review of master's thesis	Review of master's thesis not mandatory
Teacher organization	Staffed with teachers having the necessary qualifications for education and research	Staffed with teachers having the necessary qualifications for education
	Staffed with more than a certain number of research teachers and teaching assistants	Staffed with more than a certain number of full-time teachers competent enough to conduct advanced education
	Specifies the number of students to be enrolled for guidance under each research teacher (example: in the humanity and social science field, the enrollment number is set at less than 20)	Specifies that the number of students that are enrolled for guidance under each teacher should be three-quarters of the number specified for the master's course of the graduate school (example: In the humanity and social science field, the enrollment number is set at less than 15）
	No regulation on the required number of teachers with experience of practical matters in professional fields	More than 30% of the required full-time teachers should have experience of practical matters in professional fields.
	Teachers recruited in the undergraduate school and research laboratory are allowed to teach (they can be included in the number of teachers specified in the standards for establishment)	The teachers included in the standards for establishment of the professional graduate school cannot be included in the number of teachers specified for establishment of the undergraduate school. However, they can teach classes in the undergraduate school (transitional measures are available until 2013).
Teaching method	-	Case methods, field surveys, interactive and multidirectional discussions, and questions and answers
Facilities and equipment	Lecture rooms and research laboratories that are necessary for education; machinery; instruments; and materials, including books. Note that the school area and school building can be leased.	Lecture rooms and research laboratories that are necessary for education; machinery; instruments; and materials, including books. Note that the school area and school building can be leased on the condition that they are suitable for achieving the objectives of the professional graduate school.
Third party accreditation	-	Each field is obliged to renew accreditation (once in every five years)
Degree	Master in xxx	Master's degree of xxx (professional); a degree that differs from the master's and doctor's degrees.

Rationale for MOT education

• Current economic circumstances and corporate behavior that need to be addressed through the following measures:
  • Creation of a business environment that is conducive for entrepreneurs
  • Strategy formulation for invisible resources
  • Improvement of efficiency in the research and development activities undertaken by Japanese manufacturers
  • Fostering of awareness in management bodies regarding risk and security
• Required human resources:
  • Engineers capable of understanding the various aspects of management
  • Entrepreneurs capable of understanding the value of technology

Classification of MOT education (at graduate level)

Degree (professional)	Degree(typical)	Non Degree
Professional graduate school	One of the existing graduate courses	Universities and private institutes
Master's degree of technology management (professional) * the official degree name varying among the schools	Master's degree (management, engineering, science, etc.)
Required duration of study is two years (one year in some universities). Generally more than 40 credits and a project study are deemed compulsory	Required duration of study is two years (one year in some universities); more than 30 credits and a master's thesis is deemed compulsory	Short-term (typically between four months to one year) for the study of limited subjects
Selection examination is held	Selection examination is held	Some institutions require a documentary examination

List of MOT professional graduate schools

Foundation years	Graduate Schools
2003	Graduate School of Engineering Management, Shibaura Institute of Technology Technology Management (MOT) Program, Waseda Business School, Waseda University Department of Business and Technology Management, Graduate School of Economics, Kyushu University (Kyushu University Business School - QBS)
2004	Management of Technology, Tokyo University of Science Graduate School
2005	Graduate School of Innovation Management, Tokyo Institute of Technology Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) Graduate School for Management of Technology, Nippon Institute of Technology Graduate School of Innovation & Technology Management, Yamaguchi University Institute of Business and Accounting, Professional Graduate School, Kwansei Gakuin University
2006	Graduate School for Management of Technology, Niigata University Department of System Safety, Professional Graduate School, Nagaoka University of Technology

Characteristics of the professional graduate school

Items	Contents	Remarks
1. Required duration of study	Two years	Some universities offer one-year courses
2. Lecture schedule	Week nights and Saturdays	Some subjects are lectured on Fridays
3. Degree	Master of technology management
4. Conditions governing course completion	More than 30 credits (generally, more than 40 credits)	More credits are needed than in the engineering course
5. Required course	Project study (special research assignment, business plan project report, etc.)	This replaces the master's thesis in the engineering course
6. Teacher organization	More than 30% of the teachers possess experience of practical matters in professional fields The student-teacher ratio is about 1.5 times higher than the same in the engineering course	Concentrated education conducted by teachers with abundant experience of practical matters in professional fields and flotation
7. Enrollees	Mainly working people Some universities accept new graduates

Core Curriculum for MOT-Education

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