Policy on Certification of Completion and degree conferral (Diploma Policy)
Educational Objectives
Based on the Keio University Policy on degree conferral (Diploma Policy), the program aims to cultivate the knowledge and abilities necessary for professions that require a high degree of legal expertise. To this end, the Juris Doctor degree will be awarded to students who have been enrolled in the Program for the Training of Legal Professionals for the prescribed number of years, have earned the prescribed number of credits for each subject under the curriculum established based on the educational philosophy and objectives, and whose GPA meets or exceeds the prescribed standard.
Qualities and Competencies Objectives
Qualities and Competencies Objective (1): To acquire the fundamental legal knowledge befitting a legal professional who will lead society in the 21st century.
Qualities and Competencies Objective (2): To acquire the legal thinking skills befitting a legal professional who will lead society in the 21st century.
Qualities and Competencies Objective (3): To develop a high sense of ethics befitting a legal professional who will lead society in the 21st century.
Qualities and Competencies Objective (4): To acquire diverse legal capabilities—including cutting-edge, international, and interdisciplinary perspectives—to respond to societal changes.
Policy on Curriculum Formulation and Implementation (Curriculum Policy)
Organization of the Curriculum
The Program for the Training of Legal Professionals at the Law School, in order to cultivate the qualities and competencies set forth in the “Policy on Certification of Graduation and degree conferral (Diploma Policy),” systematically organizes a curriculum composed of Basic Law Subjects, Basic Legal Practice Subjects, Basic and Adjacent Legal Fields, and Advanced/Applied Subjects. The policy for the formulation and implementation of this curriculum is as follows.
To ensure that students acquire the fundamental legal knowledge and legal reasoning skills essential for legal professionals, and to instill in them the high sense of ethics necessary for applying this knowledge and these skills.
To provide a diverse legal education from cutting-edge, international, and interdisciplinary perspectives, as required of legal professionals who can respond to the diversification, globalization, and advanced technological specialization of society.
To provide an education that serves as a place for faculty and students to gather, aiming to advance legal education through mutual discussion.
Implementation of the Curriculum
Under this curriculum structure, education is conducted by combining teaching methods such as the lecture format, the Socratic method, workshop programs, and forum programs.
Methods for Assessing Learning Outcomes
The assessment of learning outcomes for the qualities and abilities to be acquired through this program's curriculum is conducted using direct indicators based on the grading criteria established for each course. Specifically, a five-grade scale of S, A, B, C, and D (failing) is used, and the percentage of students receiving each grade shall be within a predetermined range. Additionally, for specially approved courses, assessment is conducted using grades of P (pass) and F (fail).
Furthermore, at the program level, assessment is conducted under the concept of the assessment plan for the entire Juku, using quantitative and qualitative, as well as direct and indirect indicators, including advice from the advisory board, bar examination pass rates, and career path surveys.
Relationship between Learning Objectives and Educational Content
Learning Objective (1): Fundamental Subjects in Law. To acquire the fundamental legal knowledge and legal reasoning skills befitting legal professionals who will lead society in the 21st century, by mastering legal knowledge in fundamental areas of law and cultivating proactive and creative abilities.
Learning Objective (2): Fundamental Subjects in Legal Practice. To acquire the fundamental skills of a legal practitioner and develop the high sense of ethics befitting legal professionals who will lead society in the 21st century, through means such as understanding the basic framework of the theory of essential facts (Yoken-jijitsu-ron), studying legal ethics, and learning the fundamentals of the theory of fact-finding.
Learning Objective (3): Fundamental and Related Fields of Law. To acquire diverse legal capabilities in terms of cutting-edge, international, and interdisciplinary aspects, enabling students to respond to social changes, by learning about legal philosophy and history and by deepening their knowledge and abilities, which are supported by an insight into humanity and society.
Learning Objective (4): Advanced and Cutting-Edge Subjects. To create opportunities for students to develop future areas of specialization and to acquire diverse legal capabilities in terms of cutting-edge, international, and interdisciplinary aspects that enable them to respond to social changes, by deepening their specialized knowledge in a wide variety of legal fields and mastering practical skills.
Admission Policy
Profile of Desired Students
Students who possess sufficient qualities, potential, and motivation to be active in society as legal professionals who will lead the 21st century, equipped with an international perspective, interdisciplinary knowledge, and cutting-edge expertise.
Basic Selection Policy
To widely accept applicants who match the Profile of Desired Students, selection is conducted through the Special Selection (5-year Integrated Program) for the 2-year Course, the Special Selection (Open Program) for the 2-year Course, the General Selection (6 Subjects) for the 2-year Course, and the 3-year Course.
Special Selection (5-year Integrated Program) for the 2-year Course
This selection is primarily for third-year students who are expected to complete the Legal Profession Course at an undergraduate faculty that has a partnership agreement for legal training with this major. The selection is conducted solely through a document review, using materials such as the applicant's personal statement, academic transcripts for courses in the Legal Profession Course, and comments from instructors of required courses in the Legal Profession Course during the spring semester of the third year.
Special Selection (Open Program) for the 2-year Course
This selection is for third-year students who are expected to complete the Legal Profession Course at an undergraduate faculty. Selection is based on the applicant's personal statement, academic records from the Legal Profession Course, and the results of a written examination in specialized legal subjects (Constitution, Civil Code, and Criminal Code). Additionally, for the subjects of Commercial Code, Code of Civil Procedure, and Code of Criminal Procedure, a certification examination will be held in March before enrollment to certify prior legal study. For any subjects in which a student fails to reach a certain standard on this examination, they will be required to take the corresponding first-year law school courses after enrollment.
General Selection (6 Subjects) for the 2-year Course
This selection is for applicants who wish to enroll in the 2-year Course and who have graduated from a university, are expected to graduate by March of the following year (including early graduation), or who possess or are expected to possess by March of the following year the entrance qualifications stipulated by law and this graduate school's regulations. Selection is based on the results of a written essay examination (Constitution, Civil Code, Criminal Code, Commercial Code, Code of Civil Procedure, and Code of Criminal Procedure), as well as the applicant's personal statement, academic transcripts, and other documents. In this process, any applicant whose score on any subject of the written examination fails to meet the minimum standard required for the 2-year Course will not be admitted.
3-year Course
This selection is for applicants who wish to enroll in the 3-year Course and who have graduated from a university, are expected to graduate by March of the following year (including early graduation), or who possess or are expected to possess by March of the following year the entrance qualifications stipulated by law and this graduate school's regulations. Selection is based on the results of a written short essay examination, as well as the applicant's personal statement, academic transcripts, and other documents.