Faculty of Human Development

The Faculty of Human Development has merged with the Faculty of Intercultural Studies to form the Faculty of Global Human Sciences. For more information about the Faculty of Global Human Sciences, visit http://www.fgh.kobe-u.ac.jp/

What does human development mean? It means discovering and extending the various abilities that a human or a group potentially possesses to achieve the well-being of each and every person. Established in 1992, the Faculty of Human Development has assumed the long tradition of the Faculty of Education. It was the first Faculty in Japan launched to conduct education and research on issues concerning human development.

To promote this research, the Graduate School of Human Sciences was reorganized in 2007 and the Graduate School of Human Development and Environment was established. With over one hundred faculty members, the Faculty and the Graduate School is a pioneering academic community pursuing the free exchange of various scholarly knowledge.

The Faculty consists of four departments and one special course: the Department of Human Development and Education for the comprehensive study of human development from the perspective of lifelong education; the Department of Human Behavior for researching human development from the aspect of body, health, action and behavior; the Department of Human Expression which hopes to unravel human behavior by studying expressions; the Department of Human Environmental Science for creating and sustaining a new environment to support human development; and the Division of Support for Human and Community Development for conducting action research where research and education takes place in the field.

There are approximately 1,200 students enrolled in the Faculty of Human Development. A bachelor’s degree will be awarded after four years of study and approval of the diploma thesis. The characteristics of the Faculty are: a) a curriculum that helps students acquire the ability to understand issues comprehensively, b) small-group education that encourages discussion, and c) an educational program that gives students the ability to solve practical issues.