28 Best Arts Master's Degree Programs in Japan for 2024

The objectives of the course are to provide students the opportunity to learn and do research on musical art while placing a high priority on developing each student’s personality and creativity. It aims to train excellent musicians and researchers with the ability to play active roles in society by taking full advantage of their professional knowledge.

Exploring the theoretical and practical methodologies for creating products in everyday use, taking into account the whole lifecycle of them right from the planning and development and to the final disposal.

From a broad perspective, the graduate school of this university will acquire in-depth academics and skills related to music, cultivate the abilities required for research abilities and highly specialized professions in the field of music majors, and will deepen its depth. The purpose is to contribute to the development of culture.

Regarding expressive results as artworks, students work to further improve their skills and techniques and carry out research. They think about what artistic expression means in contemporary society and pursue their own themes and methods as expressive mediums. They strive to explore their own artistic visions and potential and establish personal themes while thinking about connections with society.

Focuses on the management of non-profit or public arts organizations such as orchestras, theaters, and art museums. As a full member of the AAAE (Association of Arts Administration Educators), we provide a comprehensive art management program according to international standards.

With the progression of researches in fine arts, design, and multiple media, independent specialized programs at the Graduate School of Fine Arts (Japanese Painting; Oil Painting and Woodcut Printing; Sculpture; Design; Ceramics; and Art History, Theory, and Conservation) were combined into the single Fine Arts program in 2007. This is not only to establish a system suited to the needs of the times; when education and research are sophisticated, and interdisciplinary studies are developed, but also to enhance each conventional specialization. Also, in order to apply the university's researches to practical endeavors, the Graduate School has established projects to reinforce interdisciplinary studies, and those to serve the development of the local community and society.

This program aims to create a fresh vision and expression in the diversity of cultural life and change in the social environment. To achieve this, both students and instructors make a continuous effort with self-study. Based on the motivation of each research office, each graduate student makes an annual curriculum plan under discussion with the supervisor. Mid-term, students have an opportunity to present their research and have instructions for further development. Students and their supervisors have opportunities for discussion to deepen the contents of the study.

In the Graduate School of Design, we educate students and research on the various issues that are indwelling in the regional society. Through education and research, we aim to foster a professional who has advanced knowledge and is an expert in design. Our graduate students will be high-leveled specialists, researchers and educators who will contribute to the welfare of regional society by promoting industry, developing art and culture, restructuring and activating the community.

The Music and Arts Graduate School of the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts aims to accomplish the objectives of developing students’ outstanding professional competence in various areas of the musical arts. Based on the above, and following the founding principles of the school, outstanding practical education shall be provided to students, with particular attention paid to the technical characteristics of Okinawa’s traditional performing arts, which have been inspired by the particular history, culture, and natural environment of this archipelago.

Established with the aim of fostering human resources with advanced knowledge and skills in the fields of art and design, the Master's Degree Program was the first to be officially approved at a private art university in Japan in 1964. The Master's Degree Program encompasses five majors. In addition to Painting, Sculpture, and Design, the Art Studies major was installed in 1998, followed by Ceramic, Glass, and Metal Works in 2002. The distinct class system with one-on-one tutelage by subject teachers continuing from the undergraduate course aims to improve expertise in the respective fields. For the fostering of internationally-minded human resources, our school accepts a large number of foreign exchange students. Furthermore, in conformity with requests for postgraduate adult re-education, a system divided into daytime and nighttime classes were introduced in 1995.

The Department of Sculpture was launched in 1887 with the establishment of a sculpture course as a specialist program. This was later expanded into a plastic arts department in 1899. With the school’s transformation into Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku in the 1949 educational reforms, the department once again became the Department of Sculpture. The current sculpture building on the Ueno Campus was built in 1971, and the doctoral program was established in 1977. Each year, a certain number of graduate students do their creative work at the Toride Campus. Educational philosophy: The Department of Sculpture stresses the importance of developing highly sensitive graduates capable of developing a vision for the future of art from a broad-ranging, global perspective, based on the history of art to date and the traditions of Japanese art. It attempts to instill this perspective by focusing on a broad-ranging study of the plastic arts and seeks to cultivate graduates capable of working as creative artists, as well as providing instruction in various arts-related areas. In the master’s degree program, students are supported by and work within a unique educational structure based on studios tailored to each student’s research goals. In addition, community involvement programs encourage each student to draw fully on his or her talents, unconstrained by preconceived domains of practice and materials, thereby providing opportunities to examine the possibilities of art in connection with society.

In this course, students find their own subjects and create their art through observation and subjectivity, while adding depth to their creative visions. In supplementary classes, students hone in on their themes and learn to see their work more broadly. Students who complete this course go on to play important roles in the fields of art and education.

Exploring the essential qualities of visual communication in human society, while studying the techniques of visual transmission in a variety of information media.

In the field of composition research at the graduate school, we will strive to develop knowledge and abilities that can fully demonstrate individuality and creativity in the world music scene. It is also a place to deepen research on a comprehensive art genre with faculty members, focusing on the utilization of multimedia and enabling various collaborations. The environment that supports vibrant efforts in research and creative practice is becoming more fulfilling, and today, composers who are attracting attention both inside and outside the country are leaving every year.

Students research, experiment with, and create in various expressive methods and mediums, while considering and researching issues without being limited to traditional art and design frameworks. Rather than producing tangible “things,” they come up with concepts, make plans, and carry them out, resulting in expression. In other words, they study the creative process itself and perform research while focusing on the importance of concepts. The overall research method combines investigation, collection, planning, study, and production (including a thesis).

Focuses on public policy for creative cultural industries, which includes policy support for non-profit groups and for-profit organizations.

The Graduate School of Music reorganized its master's degree programs in 2007. The former classification of specialties, that is three programs consisting of six different areas of study: Composition (Composition, Musicology), Voice, and Instrumental Music (Piano, Strings, Winds, and Percussion), were incorporated into one unified Music program. This single program aims to establish a flexible system for interdisciplinary study and education beyond the boundaries of specialization while it offers opportunities for solid specialized researches. As a result, students can pursue their interests with more flexibility. Specifically, the master's degree program at the Graduate School of Music covers seven areas of study: Composition, Musicology, Voice, Keyboard Instruments, Strings, Winds, and Percussion. Each of the areas is establishing classes in cooperation with other areas, even with the liberal arts classes and the Graduate School of Fine Arts. Such classes planned and established by more than two different areas of study are called "Project". Projects currently in operation are Composite Arts Project (Opera Project and Art Management Project, implemented in cooperation with the School of Art) and Music Project (Chamber Music Project, Orchestra Project, and Wind Orchestra Project). There are considerable latent social needs for music. In other words, they are ample opportunities to make a contribution to communities through music. The master's degree program at the Graduate School of Music intends to develop individuals who can discover and at the same time, create social needs for music through their musicianship while refining their abilities as genuine professionals. The program provides the necessary support for this purpose. As it has established the Art Management course recently, its flexible education effectively cultivates the talents and interests of individual students.

Classes consist of Specialized Theories and Specialized Training, which concern the area of each student's supervisor. They are either small seminars or one-to-one lessons using practical skills, considering each student's ability, treating his/her motivation as an essential element. The curriculum is organized in such a way as to allow students to both further their understanding of their specialized subjects and acquire a broad knowledge of music in general. For their specialized area, they start their research under the supervisor from the beginning of the course. For their graduation theses, students are to participate in an orientation in November of the first year, followed by their Graduation Thesis Progress Report Presentation, for which supervision from all of our teaching staff is available. Furthermore, as the most important event of the course, we have the Shuonkai Music Festival, which is organized and run in cooperation with the undergraduates, postgraduates, and alumni union. It has been held over thirty times and is a highly unique event even on a national scale. Every year, it is held in mid-February and early March. In February, a variety of presentations are delivered by the undergraduates, postgraduates, and alumni in the Music Building and Auditorium of MUE, concerning achievements of classes and individual research themes, while in the following month, presentations and musical performances on their graduation theses (both under/postgraduates) are delivered in an auditorium in Sendai. The Shuonkai Music Festival is an enormously important event for the course, constituting the culmination of the years' work in the Department of Music Education.

The MA in ceramics consists of specialized training in porcelain (overglaze enameling technique, the study of its basic material, etc.), and stoneware and earthenware (glazed, unglazed, etc.). In each of these specializations, students acquire technical expertise as well as theoretical knowledge. In terms of educational content, first-year students undergo practical training in the adjustment of basic materials including clay and glaze, also in shaping techniques and comparative firing (including black-burnished and pit-fire ware). Second-year students conduct research on advanced shaping and firing techniques as well as decorative methods while working on their study projects.

The Japanese word for "sculpture", chokoku, contains the spatial concept of "cho" (or "horu": to carve) and the temporal idea of "koku" (or "kizamu": to chop). Just as old as mankind, the art of the sculpture is still being succeeded by artists around the world who keep exploring its possibilities day by day. In other words, a sculpture is a monument of space and time that continues endlessly from the past to the present and further into the future. Returning time and again to the fundamental question, "What is sculpture?", we need to keep searching for the meaning of art unconstrained by trends and customs, based on the history of all kinds of arts and techniques. The Department of Sculpture aims to foster individuals who challenge new and timeless artistic possibilities through theoretical and practical work in an ample production environment.