NEWS

In order for the APU 2030 Vision, “APU graduates possess the power to change our world,” to become a reality, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University established the "Challenge Design," a ten-year plan that began at the start of this academic year. We would like to announce the biggest initiatives for the first half of Challenge Design: the establishment of a new undergraduate college and the reform of the two existing colleges, scheduled to start in April 2023. The establishment of the new college, tentatively called the College of Sustainability and Tourism, as well as the reform of the College of Asia Pacific Studies and College of International Management, will expand learning opportunities amongst all undergraduate students and be an evolution for APU’s education overall.

The Three Pillars of the April 2023 Reform

1. Strengthen and Expand APU’s Education

We will combine the strengths of online education that have been developed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with the strengths of in-person instruction that have been rediscovered through this experience as well, and incorporate the off-campus network directly into the APU education experience. In addition, by strengthening initiatives for AP House, our international on-campus housing, as a place for global first-year education, enhancing ICT / data science education, and connecting the specialized learning of each college, the effectiveness of APU’s education as a whole will be elevated. We will also build a new classroom building and a fifth AP House to expand our places of learning.

2. Academic Reform of the College of Asia Pacific Studies and College of International Management

The New College of Asia Pacific Studies
The new College of Asia Pacific Studies will consist of three areas of study, adding a new field of Global Economics to the existing areas of International Relations and Culture, Society and Media. Using a social sciences approach toward economics, politics, and sociology, students will deepen their learning about world peace and mutual understanding starting from the Asia-Pacific region. In order to maximize the potential of each area of study, we will introduce four distinctive learning methods and expand learning from envisioning the future of the Asia-Pacific Region to the scope of the world.

The New College of International Management
The new College of International Management will consist of four areas of study, adding a new field of Entrepreneurship and Operations Management to the existing areas of Strategic Management and Organization, Marketing, and Accounting and Finance. Through immersive multicultural collaborative learning, we will work to strengthen Diversity & Inclusion as well as entrepreneurship education to develop leaders who can create new values and are endowed with a sense of social responsibility.

3. The Establishment of the New College, Tentatively Named the College of Sustainability and Tourism

The new College of Sustainability and Tourism will aim to bring APU's 2030 Vision of “APU Graduates possess the power to change our world” to reality through the concepts of "realizing a sustainable society" and "global, cutting-edge, sustainable tourism." Along with fundamental and specialized knowledge about the formation of sustainable societies and tourism, students will acquire critical thinking skills, analytical skills, problem-solving skills, communication skills, and collaborative skills within a multicultural context. As a result, students will become global citizens with a strong sense of responsibility who solve social issues and can take action. Through collaborative learning with various social activities, such as internships and fieldwork, students will acquire the ability to understand society and the local community in a cross-disciplinary manner. This college will fulfill the need to learn better regional development based on the SDGs not only in Japan but also on the world stage.

Overall Vision for APU Education: Utilize our Multicultural Environment for University-wide Learning and Specialized Education of Each College

* The College of Sustainability and Tourism is planned for April 2023. The plan is subject to change as it is under construction. The college name is a tentative name.
* Capacity for each college is tentative

Message from President Haruaki Deguchi

After lengthy preparations, we are very pleased to announce APU’s reform plans for April 2023.

Since its inception, APU’s undergraduate programs have consisted of two colleges: the College of Asia Pacific Studies and the College of International Management. Starting in April of 2023, however, we plan to make a new start for our undergraduate programs by adding a new college, tentatively called the College of Sustainability and Tourism, in an effort to strengthen and expand APU education and research. Accordingly, we plan to accept an additional 150 students per academic year and will construct a new academic building and APU House to accommodate this expansion.
The three colleges will aim to actualize the following core values: “peace and mutual understanding” through the College of Asia Pacific Studies’ social, cultural, political, economic, and exchange activities, “inclusive and innovative organizations and society” through College of International Management’s business studies, and “a sustainable society” through sustainable development and tourism studies of the new college. The combination of each college’s highly specialized education as well as the global perspective fostered at APU’s multicultural and multilingual environment will give students the advantage to succeed anywhere in the world.

No longer is APU content to be "the most international university in Japan," a reputation APU has been developing since its inception. By 2030 APU intends to be recognized as "the most international university in the world." APU also aims to realize our 2030 Vision, "APU graduates possess the power to change our world,” or to put it more concretely, “APU will produce graduates who across the globe will play vital roles in changing the world for the better.”

APU will continue to work closely with both Beppu and Oita, as it strives to become a world-class university in the second stage of its development. Please continue to follow and support APU in our upcoming endeavors.