Established in partnership with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, SISP at GRIPS aims to equip scholars with academic and practical skills for understanding and solving security and foreign policy issues.
Located at the heart of Tokyo, the program offers advanced degree at the Ph.D. level. GRIPS combines a broad interdisciplinary curriculum with an applied research focus and a commitment to international, state, and regional policy issues. English is the primary medium of instruction.
The program conducts in-depth research on historical and contemporary security and foreign policy matters, and engage in theoretical as well as policy debates with students, faculty members and outside specialists. Field trips, seminars, academic conferences and collaborative events common at the school are another important means of enhancing the scholars' understanding of subject matters related to East Asia and Pacific Affairs, and International Politics in general.
The school operates on a four-term calendar with a 16-week Fall Term, 8-week Winter Term, 16-week Spring Term, and 8-week Summer Term. In the first year, students are required to undertake course work and earn a minimum of 14 credits from the courses and tutorials. The Security and International Studies PhD Program at GRIPS Tokyo is completed in three to five years. By the end of the first year, students are expected to pass three Written Qualifying Examinations (QE), submit a dissertation prospectus, and pass in one Oral Qualifying Examination which is doctoral dissertation prospectus defense. After completing all four Qualifying Examinations, students can start writing a dissertation to complete it by the end of the third year.
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The School of Security and International Studies at GRIPS has a very selective admission process. The school mainly produces highly qualified researchers in the field of international politics, strategic and security studies, and foreign policy analysis. The school also produces competent public administrators and practitioners with professional expertise in diplomacy and foreign policy. To deepen students' academic credentials, many research opportunities are offered, such as joint research with supervisors and colleagues, conference participation and presentations, as well as financial support through scholarships, TA/RA, tuition waiver, etc.
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Obtaining a scholarship allocated through GRIPS by various sponsoring organizations is a common way to finance a PhD in International Relations Degree at GRIPS Tokyo School of Security and International Studies. Applicants do not need to apply for a scholarship or funding separately. The specific scholarship will be determined by GRIPS based on eligibility requirements imposed by the scholarship providers. Scholarships are allocated on an extremely competitive basis and that only a limited number of scholarships is available.
GRIPS Fellowship
The Security and International Studies Program is housed in the Roppongi Campus of GRIPS. Designed by the Yamashita Sekkei and Richard Rogers Partnership, the campus opened its doors in the spring of 2005. The campus is located in Roppongi, close to the Japanese Diet and government ministries, as well as headquarters of major Japanese and foreign multinational corporations and multilateral institutions.