2026 (Current Year) Special graduate degree programs Specially Offered Degree Programs for Graduate Students Academy for Leadership

Graduate Seminar in Liberal Arts

Academic unit or major: Academy for Leadership
Instructor(s): Lorinda Robertson Kiyama / Aiko Sasaki / Masaki Takahashi / Isami Sawai / Toma Kawanishi / Yuri Matsuzaki / Mayu Watanabe
Class Format: Exercise (HyFlex)
Media-enhanced courses: -
Day of week/Period (Classrooms): 7-8 Thu (S6-305, J3-309B)
Class: -
Course Code: TAL.L442
Number of credits: 010
Course offered: 2026
Offered quarter: 3Q
Syllabus updated: Oct 6, 2026
Language: English

Syllabus

Course overview and goals

This course is designed and delivered to cultivate the following abilities, attributes, and perspectives which are appropriate and required for ToTAL students. Through collaborative inquiries and dialogues between instructors and participating students, the nature of liberal arts education and its role for citizenship and leadership is critically examined, and each student will gain the intellectual foundation to continuously pursue his/her liberal studies and develop his/her own guiding philosophy for professional career and personal life.
This course is designed, developed, and offered jointly by ToTAL and the Institute for Liberal Arts.

Course description and aims

By the successful completion of this course, the students will have:
1) the attitude to continuously develop interests in a wide range of academic and intellectual areas other than one’s own discipline;
2) the ability to broaden their intellectual foundations in liberal arts;
3) the attitude to seek broad and transdisciplinary perspectives on science and engineering;
4) the ability to develop an attitude to examine one's own field of study from a multi-dimensional framework.

Keywords

Liberal Arts, Broad Perspectives, Transdisciplinary attitude

Competencies

Specialist skills
Intercultural skills
Communication skills
Critical thinking skills
Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

This course is mainly taught by faculty members who hold joint appointments with the Institute for Liberal Arts (ILA), each covering topics in their respective fields of expertise. Each week, an instructor will give a lecture on a topic in their field of expertise, followed by a discussion. Attendance at every class is required, and students must submit a report after each session. If you are unable to attend a class, please be sure to notify the instructor in advance. Please note that the instructors for each session are subject to change.

Course schedule/Objectives

	Course schedule	Objectives
Class 1	Introduction to the concept of "Liberal Arts" through history and across cultures: Lorinda Kiyama（Associate Director of Tokyo Tech Academy for Leadership, Psychology）	Assignments to be announced in class
Class 2	Liberal Arts Lecture 1: Aiko Sasaki; Lecture followed by Group Discussion	Assignments to be announced in class
Class 3	Liberal Arts Lecture 2: Toma Kawanishi; Lecture followed by Group Discussion	Assignments to be announced in class
Class 4	Liberal Arts Lecture 3: Masaki Takahashi; Lecture followed by Group Discussion	Assignments to be announced in class
Class 5	Liberal Arts Lecture 4:Isami Sawai; Lecture followed by Group Discussion	Assignments to be announced in class
Class 6	Liberal Arts Lecture 5: Inquiry Activities Throughout the Course	Assignments to be announced in class
Class 7	Liberal Arts Lecture 6: Inquiry Activities Throughout the Course	Reflection of the whole class Preparation for the final essay

Study advice (preparation and review)

Textbook(s)

No textbook. Necessary materials are distributed in class

Reference books, course materials, etc.

To be announced in class

Evaluation methods and criteria

1) Active class participation (including group discussion, assignments, responses, and others) 70%
2) Final essay 30%

Related courses

TAL.L443 ： Mindfulness for Leadership
TAL.C603 ： The Psychology of Leadership
TAL.W401 ： Introduction to Leadership

Prerequisites

There are no specific prerequisites.