Overview

Principle

The cities in which we live are environments made up of not only communities of people, but also “hardware” in the form of buildings and civil infrastructure. Moreover, urban areas cannot exist independently of the natural environment. Accordingly, environmental protection and environment formation need to be understood in terms of the interrelationships between such diverse elements. In order to accomplish this task, the Department of Socio-Cultural Environmental Studies applies, at the departmental level, the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences’ guiding philosophy of maintaining a transdisciplinary approach to science.

Our department comprises three core programs—Society and Humanity, Spatial Planning and Design, Water and Material Cycle—as well as the cooperative course Spatial Information Science. We engage in education and research on analysis, evaluation, prediction, creation, and management of physical and socio-cultural environments at the architectural, urban, regional, and global levels. By introducing a multi-faceted approach that covers the natural and socio-cultural sciences, we provide students with the ability to accurately deal with a variety of challenges in environmental studies.

We also play the central role in the Integrated Environmental Design Program, which develops practical skills in comprehensive environmental design, and help to run the Environmental Management Program. In addition, we play the leading role in social outreach and educational activities conducted with the Urban Design Center Kashiwa-no-ha (UDCK).

History

• 1998 April: GSFS established
• 1999 April: Course of SCES established in Department of Environmental Studies
• 2006 March: Environmental Studies Building completed, moved from Hongo Campus to Kashiwa Campus
• 2006 April: Reorganized to Department of SCES