Interdisciplinary Perspectives (IP) provides students who have gained a broad understanding of contemporary academic fields through Interdisciplinary Foundations (IF) with the opportunity to encounter specialized and diverse academic perspectives. Students will deepen their learning through exploration and experimentation by choosing from approximately 100 courses. These topics will serve as the foundation for the social design they envision. A key aspect of the UTokyo Design’s educational approach is encouraging students to shape their own unique worldviews throughout this process. The courses are organized into five domains: “Environment & Sustainability,” “Technology Frontiers & AI,” “Governance & Markets,” “Healthcare & Well-being,” and “Culture & Society.” These domains reflect the perspectives UTokyo Design believes are essential for designing the society of the future. While some connections between domains are suggested, students are empowered to discover new interrelationships on their own through project-based learning experiences like Change Maker Design Projects, enabling them to create their own worldview.
In the Environment & Sustainability domain, students will examine the structure and nature of sustainability challenges, such as environmental issues and poverty, review the achievements and limitations of existing technologies and policies, identify unresolved issues, and explore potential solutions. This domain aims to achieve a sustainable future through an interdisciplinary approach that integrates observational data science, engineering, ecology, law, economics, politics, and behavioral science.
In the Technology Frontiers & AI domain, students will explore emerging scientific and technological fields that are expected to shape the next-generation society, with particular emphasis on AI, which has advanced rapidly in recent years. They will gain a comprehensive understanding of natural sciences, engineering, and information sciences. This domain aims to help students learn from fundamentals to advanced applications, while critically examining the nature, challenges, and limitations of science and technology, and cultivating the ability to view these fields from a broader perspective.
In the Governance & Markets domain, students will examine how to design an ideal society in which, despite limited global resources, everyone can freely choose and pursue the best possible life. This domain will help students understand governance as a system for establishing rules that support efficient and fair transactions while respecting the autonomy of markets. They will also learn about the roles, challenges, and interactions of various institutional arrangements from the perspectives of economics, law, political science, and international relations.
In the Healthcare & Well-being domain, students will explore increasingly complex and global health challenges by integrating knowledge from diverse fields, such as behavioral science, sociology, and urban design, alongside the foundations of life sciences, medicine, and public health. They will study topics ranging from the microscopic level of cells and the human body to the macroscopic level of healthcare systems, societies, and cities, navigating between scientific understanding and practical application to advance the creation of a healthy and sustainable society.
In the Culture & Society domain, students will deepen their intellectual inquiry through diverse themes in the humanities and social sciences and develop an understanding of the dynamics of culture and society. They will navigate between theory and practice, dialogue and collaboration, to cultivate a broad perspective. This domain emphasizes transforming abstract knowledge into practical competence based on social responsibility and ethical awareness, with a particular focus on Japanese and Asian societies and cultures.
The curriculum will consist of a different mix of classes to help students to build broad interdisciplinary knowledge and extend the creative power of design. Key elements of the program are Interdisciplinary Foundations (IF), Interdisciplinary Perspectives (IP), 8 Track Design Series, Change Maker Design Projects, Off-campus experiences (internships), Viewpoint Series, Capstone Projects (Group/Solo), and more.
For an overview of the curriculum and a list of courses, refer to the Program section.