Curriculum Overview
In the University of Tokyo curriculum, the academic year is composed of two semesters (spring (S) and autumn (A)) each divided into 2 terms (1 and 2). Below you can find an overview of the PEAK JEA Junior Division timetable along with a list of course descriptions.
The table below can be used to obtain course descriptions from the University of Tokyo online course catalog, which can be accessed using the following link (https://catalog.he.u-tokyo.ac.jp/index).
(Please note that the information is subject to change.)
| Courses | Course Content | ||
| Foundation Courses | Foreign Languages | English (Optional Courses) | The course aims to help students improve their overall English language skills, to enable them to express their thoughts freely and appropriately in a diverse range of situations, both orally and in writing. |
| Japanese | Mandatory Japanese courses provide a solid foundation of language proficiency and further enhance the four academic skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Students are assigned to designated courses based on their placement test. | ||
| Information | This course provides a crosscutting and integrated overview of information systems, as well as the role of information and information systems in society. Students learn about the representation, transmission, and communication of information, problem solving methods, and the role of information in society through lectures and exercises. | ||
| Physical Education and Health Sciences | Students learn the scientific basics of physical movement and health through practical work and lectures, and at the same time seek to improve their own athletic skills, physical conditioning, strength and health. | ||
| First-Year Seminar | This course introduces PEAK students to academic life at the University of Tokyo and covers a variety of relevant skills and methods including library usage, research skills, critical thinking, writing, debating and fundamental principles of science and social science. | ||
| Social Sciences | Law and Political Science | Covers the basic principles of modern laws including the underlying modes of legal reasoning and the overall framework of today’s legal system, and includes lectures on the major concepts and theories of political science that are necessary for understanding contemporary political phenomena. | |
| Economics and | Covers the basic economic concepts and approaches necessary for understanding the system and function of today’s economy, and provides fundamental knowledge of statistics and statistical techniques that are indispensable for academic analysis in the social sciences. | ||
| Sociology and Social Thought | Covers the basic concepts and approaches of sociology that are necessary for an analytical understanding of current and modern societies, and includes lectures on how the structure of, and changes in, society may be understood from philosophical viewpoints. | ||
| International Relations | Covers the basic concepts and approaches necessary for understanding today’s international relations, and provides specific studies of important issues in the field of international relations. | ||
| Humanities | Philosophy and Ethics | Students learn about the central problems in philosophy and ethics, including what exists and how that can be known, what value is and how we ought to act, from a historical and contemporary perspectives. | |
| History | Students will learn an overview of world history from ancient times to the present, with a particular emphasis on Japan's role. | ||
| Language and Literature | A general survey of Japanese Language and Japanese literature as a fundamental feature of Japanese culture ―from ancient to modern times. | ||
| Psychology | We review mechanisms, functions, and the development, and evolution of mind and behavior. Topics include perception and cognition, learning and memory, motivation and emotion, personality and society. The aim of the lectures is to promote a scientific understanding of human behavior. | ||
| Course Group | Courses | Course Content | |
| Integrated Course Outlines | L. Languages and Communication | Applied Japanese | Applied Japanese courses help students improve their four language skills (speaking, reading, writing, and listening) and deepen their knowledge of the Japanese language, especially Kanji, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. The courses also broaden the focus to other domains, such as everyday life, social issues or culture. These furnish students with critical and creative thinking skills and develop their powers of expression. |
| A. Ideas and Arts | Ideas and Arts I | Students learn various approaches to ideas and arts, and their applications to specific topics. | |
| Ideas and Arts II | Students learn various approaches to ideas and arts, and their applications to specific topics. | ||
| Ideas and Arts III | Students learn various approaches to ideas and arts, and their applications to specific topics. | ||
| Ideas and Arts IV | Students learn various approaches to ideas and arts, and their applications to specific topics. | ||
| B. International and Area Studies | International and Area Studies I | Students learn various approaches to International and Area Studies, and their applications to specific topics. | |
| International and Area Studies I | Students learn various approaches to International and Area Studies, and their applications to specific topics. | ||
| C. Society and Institutions | Society and Institution I | Students learn various approaches to society and institutions, and their applications to specific topics. | |
| Society and Institutions II | Students learn various approaches to society and institutions, and their applications to specific topics. | ||
| D. Human Beings and the Environment | Sports and Fitness Exercise I | Through a variety of sports and training the scientific basics of bodily movement and coordination are studied, and an attempt to improve physical health is made. (One class period per week for one credit) | |
| Sports and Fitness Exercise II | Through a variety of sports and training the scientific basics of bodily movement and coordination are studied, and an attempt to improve physical health is made. (For 2nd year students. One class period per week for one credit) | ||
| Science and Technology Studies | The lecture on the history of science and technology. It covers the historical evolution of ideas of science and/or technology from the pre-modern times to the present. | ||
| Science of Human Movement and Fitness | The adaptive mechanisms relating to the human body’s functions and movements are studied from a broad perspective, including life sciences, cognitive behavioral science and sports science. | ||
| Basic Energy Engineering | Students learn the basics of energy engineering as seen from the view point of human beings and environment. | ||
| E. Material and Life Sciences | Basic Electromagnetics | Basic phenomena and principles of electricity and magnetism are explained based on the notion of electro-magnetic fields, leading to the fundamental theory of Maxwell. (For 2nd year students) | |
| Analytical Chemistry | Students learn the basics of spectroscopy, electrochemistry, mass spectrometry, chromatography, volumetric and gravimetric methods. (For 2nd year students) | ||
| Introduction to Ecology | Basic principles in ecology and evolutionary biology that are necessary for understanding how the natural ecosystems and biodiversity have been formed and are functioning on the earth will be explained. Lectures and discussion sessions would be combined depending on the progress. | ||
| F. Mathematical and Information Sciences | Information Science | Students learn the foundations of computer science through lectures and computer programming. (For 2nd year students) | |
| Basic Statistics | Introduction to probability theories (normal distribution, t-distribution, law of large numbers, central limit theorem), Concept of statistical test: null and alternative hypotheses, Concept of significance (α-level), t-test, 95% confidential limit, ANOVA, Regression (linear model), Correlation, Generalized linear model (GLM), and Non-parametric tests(χ2-independent test). | ||
| Decision Sciences | Students learn quantitative methods for decision making. Topics include mathematical programming and optimization, decision analysis, and managerial economics. | ||
| Courses | Course Content | |
| Thematic Courses | Academic Frontier Lecture Series | Various instructors will conduct a course and provide easy-to-understand explanations on cutting-edge research trends in an academic field and on cross-disciplinary topics (themes). |
| Specialized Seminar | Seminar-style classes held in small groups (up to about 40 students) with themes set according to the interests of various faculty members from throughout the university. | |
| Fieldwork | Classes where faculty members from throughout the university provide hands-on learning opportunities in various fields. | |
| Global Praxis | This course provides a venue for studies with a primary focus on international exchange and fostering global perspective. Various types of classes will be held; joint programs with overseas universities, short-term overseas training courses (including joint field visits/practical courses with local students, etc.), language study abroad programs, and domestic training courses with international students, etc. | |