MBA Program

In 1989, the School established the program for practicing managers and professionals, bearing upon the needs of the industrial community. It was the first such school in Japan among government-owned universities. Prior to its establishment, we organized a series of meetings comprised of Human Resource Managers in diverse companies, together with our selected faculty members, to come up with a brand new concept of building the business school of our own. We have been keenly aware that MBA students from the real business world tend to have diverse work experiences and even a different awareness. We wove our conception of the business school of Kobe Style into the "Project System" of our MBA program. In the project system, students who share the same interests covering various aspects of business subjects form a group and find a resolution of a problem through joint study. Core faculty members assume the role of both offering coursework and facilitating process of group efforts. As the name of the program, e.g., Management Theory in Practice (MTP), as well as the founding mission of Kobe University, e.g., "the fusion of academic insight and reality in practice," clearly denote, it is our deeply seated belief that linking the ties between theories and practices is most crucial in our program.

PhD Program

To be a scholar one needs an advanced and special training. Kobe University has one of the most respected Graduate Schools of Business Administration in Japan. PhD is awarded to those who complete five years of courses with excellent records and pass examinations and with a doctor thesis of a high standard. In their first two years at the graduate school, students study nine core courses and three methodological sciences in order to develop research skills. In the last three years, students concentrate on writing papers and keeping in close discussion with a dissertation committee.