The Global MBA curriculum at Doshisha Business School is designed to give you a solid foundation in the core business subjects, and to allow you to shape your program to match your interests by choosing from a broad menu of electives.

To earn the Doshisha MBA degree, you will be required to complete courses totaling 46 credits. Most courses in the program are worth 2 credits.

The curriculum is made up of three parts:

The Global MBA curriculum at Doshisha Business School is designed to give you a solid foundation in the core business subjects, and to allow you to shape your program to match your interests by choosing from a broad menu of electives.

To earn the Doshisha MBA degree, you will be required to complete courses totaling 46 credits. Most courses in the program are worth 2 credits.

The curriculum is made up of three parts:

There are five categories of Global MBA Electives:

A. Global Intensive
B. Open Electives
C. Courses taken at Overseas Partner Universities
D. Courses offered by the Japanese MBA Program
E. Japanese Language and Culture courses offered by the Doshisha University Center for Japanese Language and Culture

*Note: Japanese language and culture courses are for-credit, but they do not count toward the credit requirements for the MBA. A certain number of these courses are open to international students enrolled in the Global MBA Program free of charge.

These courses cover a broad range of business subjects, including those in our three focus areas of Green Business, Business in Asia, and Culture and Creativity. All open elective courses are open to all GMBA students.

If you choose to spend a term studying at one of our overseas partner universities, up to 10 credits of courses taken at the partner university can be counted toward your Doshisha MBA degree. (Approval of the Global MBA program required.)

GMBA students with sufficient Japanese language ability – equivalent to “Ikkyu” or N1 on the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test – may take up to 5 courses (10 credits) in our sister Japanese MBA program. (Approval of course professor required.)

Doshisha’s Center for Language and Culture (“Bekka”) offers a wide range of Japanese language and culture courses for international students studying in undergraduate and graduate programs at Doshisha. A certain number of these courses are open to international students enrolled in the Global MBA Program free of charge. Please note, however, that these courses cannot be included in the 46 credits required for the Doshisha MBA degree.

The project and solution report, undertaken in the final year of your program, is a chance to apply your skills and what you have learned to a real-world business issue or challenge.

Most GMBA projects fall into one of these categories:

• Consulting report: in-depth analysis of a business issue faced by a company, government unit, or NPO/NGO (the client), including data-gathering, recommendations, and action plan for implementation
• Business plan for a new business
• Industry study: prepared for investors or companies considering entry into an industry
• Business for social or environmental concerns: application of business or business practices to address social or environmental or issues

Students generally begin thinking about their project topic ideas during their first year in the program. The formal process begins at the end of semester 2 of year 1 with an orientation session and individual conversations with the project and solution report coordinator (a faculty member) about project ideas and supervisor selection.

The projects are jointly supervised. Each student has a “main” supervisor, with whom he/she works most closely. A “second” supervisor and the project and solution report coordinator also provide input and support during the project process. The process is guided by a set of designated steps, and culminates in submission and oral defense of a written report (the “solution report”) in the summer of year two.