The Graduate School of Economics, founded in 1953, is one of the oldest graduate schools at Kobe University. It offers three programs: a five-year doctoral program to train future researchers, a master's program to train future business professionals with expertise in economics, and master's and doctoral programs for working professionals. The master's program consists of a two-year course to obtain a master's degree and the doctoral course consists of a three year program to obtain a doctoral degree. With lectures and research seminars given by first-rate teaching staff, the Graduate School of Economics offers an ideal educational environment for training future economists.

Doctoral Program

The doctoral program is a five-year course to obtain both master's and doctoral degrees. It aims to train future researchers who will work at universities and research institutes. In the first two years, students are required to take at least 30 credits by attending lectures and research seminars to obtain a master's degree. In the following three years, they receive advice from supervisors as doctoral candidates in order to complete their dissertations. Students are expected to contribute to research associations and professional journals in economics. The doctoral degree is conferred on those who are qualified to study as independent researchers with excellent research capability and extensive knowledge.

Master's Program

The master's program takes two years to complete. After taking the required 30 credits and submitting a master's thesis, students are awarded a master's degree in economics. This program aims to give an educational opportunity to those who wish to acquire specialized knowledge of economics and work with expertise in economics after graduation. Public officials, businesspersons with a bachelor's degree and international students are most welcome to join the program.
The master's program for working professionals was started in 1999. It is geared to train specialists in economics and is unique in only offering lectures and seminars on Saturdays. This allows students to attend courses without affecting their jobs and promote personal capabilities from a lifelong educational perspective. Those who successfully complete the master's program may progress to the doctoral program for working professionals.

"Skill-up" and "Recurrent-education" Programs

There are two special programs, /Skill-up/ and /Recurrent-education/, within the framework of the master's program. The Skill-up aims to train students with the advanced quantitative skills while the Recurrent-education intends to improve the ability of students to make and evaluate economic policies. The students who meet the academic requirements are awarded a certificate of completion as well as a master's degree.