Expanding Potential--New Worlds of Possibility
Since its founding, the educational goal of International Christian University has been to nurture trustworthy global citizens who can contribute in a practical way to the peace and co-existence of the human race on the global stage. To elevate that goal to even loftier heights, the university has put a number of initiatives in place. These initiatives have earned ICU's adoption into two Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) programs: the Go Global Japan project in 2012 and the Top Global University project in 2014.
At ICU, the essential qualities for becoming a global citizen have their basis in three areas. The first involves transcending the distinctions that ordinarily separate the disciplines of the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities to instead be able to study the humanities and sciences as an integrated whole. The second is the ability to place oneself in interactions with people of different backgrounds. The third is the ability to communicate effectively in English, especially in writing. The objective here is being able to write a paper expertly in English in the area of one's academic specialization.
As the name indicates, the liberal arts represent an area of freedom in the arts and sciences. After having learned about broad issues relating to humanity and the world, students deepen their knowledge in their selected field of specialization. This opens up tremendous future possibilities while also laying the foundation upon which the student can build a lifetime of learning.
In the bilingual Japanese-English environment of ICU, students learn among other students and faculty from a diversity of backgrounds, which allows them to more deeply reflect upon themselves and understand one another's differences. Moreover, participation in classes with small numbers of students facilitates the ability to communicate with others. Being able to express oneself accurately in writing in Japanese and English enables the presentation of one's own thoughts and ideas on the global stage. This opens up whole new worlds of possibility.
"Expanding Potential"
This amounts to following your inquisitive instincts, devoting yourself completely to something, making it your own, and then seeing it through to completion. At ICU, our students can meet people from all over the world as they acquire superior skills. In this way, I believe it is possible for students to expand their true potential.