Three Policies

Faculty of Art and Design

Diploma Policy

The fundamental philosophy of Tama Art University is “Freedom and Will.”

Freedom is the independent imagination that creates original art without hindrance.

Will is the strong determination to build and sustain a unique world of artistic expression.

Freedom and autonomy of expression, persistence and realization of will, are two sides of one coin, and these above all are necessary for comprehensive understanding and practical application when studying art. Art is the foundation of various academic fields, gives affluence to life, creates new value in society, and generates genuine culture.

Based on its philosophy, Tama Art University is pursuing the mission of fostering human resources capable of actively creating the future, rooted in art, in an increasingly diverse and complex contemporary society.

To that end, we flexibly and organically organize creative curricula that progressively deepen specialized expertise in the theory and practice of art, and award bachelor’s degrees (BFAs) to students who have acquired “observational and thinking abilities,” “conception and implementation abilities,” and “imaginative and expressive abilities.”

Curriculum Policy

In the undergraduate program at Tama Art University, curricula are organized according to the following policies so that students can achieve the goals indicated in the Diploma Policy above.

All students must enroll in a specific department or course, and must take common elective subjects offered by the General Education Department, as well as specialized elective subjects for their department or course.

Common elective subjects are offered by the General Education Department. With an interdisciplinary curriculum based on the philosophy of a well-rounded liberal arts education for all students, students design their own study plans so they can achieve goals they set for themselves for the entire four-year undergraduate program.

Specialized elective subjects, offered by specific departments and majors are related to practical skills or specialized fields. To acquire and apply basic knowledge and skills, mandatory and required elective subjects are introduced from the first year onward, as well as optional elective subjects, under a progressive and systematically organized curriculum.

At Tama Art University, after students have acquired a firm basic foundation during the first two years, the third and fourth years are oriented toward application of these skills. Based on the above curriculum, students are evaluated as to whether they have practical command of the three abilities described in the Diploma Policy.

In evaluating the results of study, students are rigorously graded based on score evaluation criteria specified beforehand. We also use the results to improve our educational methods.

Admissions Policy

Human creativity is the power to shape the future. It is the power to express oneself and to shape lifestyles and society in various ways.

Tama Art University aims for active acceptance of a diverse student body from around the world for whom the university’s philosophy of “Freedom and Will” resonates, and who seek to realize their own unique artistic expression.

All who are interested in art and have the will to create it are welcome. This is because we believe creativity is a capacity that all human beings possess and are capable of expanding. We endeavor to work with such people to unlock their undiscovered powers.

What Tama Art University wants to develop above all is our students’ potential as artists. We classify the abilities we aim to foster as “observational and thinking abilities,” “conception and implementation abilities,” and “imaginative and expressive abilities.”

More specifically, these are the abilities to reflect critically on oneself, take initiative and positive action, be concerned with cooperation and the /var/www/html/ good, accomplish assigned tasks responsibly, communicate with people of different cultures and create the future.

Tama Art University pledges to consider our students’ potential as creators and to give our full cooperation and strong support for the realization of this potential.

Anyone who has completed a high school education or its equivalent can take the entrance examination for Tama Art University. The examination involves not only solving given tasks, but also evaluation of whether the candidate is able to discover and derive new subject matter from these tasks. What is being evaluated are fundamental communication skills and creative potential. We are looking not only at the abilities prospective students already possess, but also their as-yet-unknown and untapped future possibilities.

Faculty of Art and Design, Three Policies of Each Department

Graduate School of Art and Design

Diploma Policy

The fundamental philosophy of Tama Art University is “Freedom and Will.”

Graduate School of Art and Design, Master’s Degree Program

The Master’s Degree Program aims to offer opportunities to explore both the strong “Will” and sustainable power to build a unique creative world, and the “Freedom” to go and take on all manner of challenges without hindrance.

Students take time to review, deepen understanding and strengthen command of the theory and practice they cultivated in their undergraduate studies. At the same time, they are offered a creative environment that combines tradition and innovation in a mental and physical space optimal for creativity; they can actively absorb external creative stimuli and produce their own work. The mission is to foster artistic creators, researchers, and innovators.

To this end, in the Master’s Degree Program, degree candidates first of all gain independence by acquiring “observational and thinking abilities,” “conception and implementation abilities,” and “imaginative and expressive abilities” in their fields of specialization. Master’s degrees (MFA) are awarded to students capable of using these abilities to achieve results and sharing them widely with society.

Graduate School of Art and Design, Doctoral Degree Program

In the Doctoral Degree Program, the goal is for students to be able to express themselves, conduct research, and teach others in accordance with international standards. Meeting international standards means strengthening one’s own individual professional and/or artistic identity, and thereby opening doors to the world. The program aims to strengthen powers of thought, boldly crossing boundaries between disciplines, finding new value therein, and gaining the firm theoretical background necessary for social innovation and leadership. The mission is to cultivate multidisciplinary leaders and teachers in the field of art, in other words creators, researchers, critics, and entrepreneurs capable of succeeding on the international stage.

To achieve this, students in the Doctoral Degree Program not only acquire skills required for their area of specialization, but also intentionally traverse boundaries between, and creatively integrate, various art fields. Doctoral degrees (PhD) are conferred on students capable of creative expression, research, and teaching at an international level.

Curriculum Policy

Graduate School of Art and Design, Master’s Degree Program

The Tama Art University Master’s Degree Program is divided into several subjects. The curriculum is organized with the aim of heightening students’ professional capabilities, as artists and as researchers, through theoretical and practical instruction from highly qualified teachers.

Graduate students enrolled in the Master’s Degree Program study specialized subjects in their chosen fields, with one-to-one instruction, and are able to select subjects according to their interests from among a wide range of common elective subjects offered by the Graduate School. To graduate, they are required to submit master’s theses and works that meet global standards.

Graduate School of Art and Design, Doctoral Degree Program

In the Tama Art University Doctoral Degree Program, in addition to gaining autonomy as creators of art, researchers, and artistic innovators, students receive a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary education that enables them to create expression and value for a new era and become multidisciplinary leaders and teachers in the field of art on a global scale.

The Doctoral Degree Program accepts all students into one collective department of Art. The curriculum is formulated to harmonize the theory and hands-on application of art, cultivating creative practice and thought that brings together and consolidates specialized fields.

Graduate students in the Doctoral Degree Program study under academic advisers assigned to them by the graduate school, and learn practical skills from teachers specializing in various fields of study. They are required to submit a doctoral dissertation, works, and so forth that are contemporary and original and open up new possibilities in art at a level that meets international standards.

In evaluating the results of study, students are rigorously graded based on score evaluation criteria specified beforehand. We also use the results to improve our educational methods.

Admissions Policy

Human creativity is the power to shape the future. It is the power to express oneself and to shape lifestyles and society in various ways.

With respect and admiration for the creative power that has built the traditions of art, Tama Art University supports the transformative power of art to realize an unknown future. We aim to creatively synthesize artistic tradition and creative innovation.

In the future, art is expected to play important roles in intersections among an increasing number of fields: medicine, information technology, industry, business management, space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Art has the power to inject creativity into all manner of fields. Innovation in art occurs through bold traversal of boundaries between art and design, theory and practice, and synthesis of diverse fields in new dimensions through various modes of expression.

Graduate School of Art and Design, Master’s Degree Program

Students in the Tama Art University Graduate School take time to deepen understanding and strengthen command of the theory and practice they have acquired thus far while responding flexibly to various situations and actively incorporating sophisticated knowledge and techniques from external sources and creating new artistic value. The goal is to grow into a full-fledged creator who can share their work widely with the world.

The Master’s Degree Program is seeking degree candidates who can become autonomous creators and researchers of art capable of sharing their results widely with society.

We welcome people from various areas of the world and working in various fields to come together and to revitalize the arts and rethink the concepts of art.

For this reason, the entrance examinations for the Master’s Degree Program seek to determine whether the examinees, autonomous art creators and researchers of various genres, possess the powers of thought and observation, conception and execution, imagination and expression to further refine, widen, and deepen their art or their studies.

Anyone who has a university degree or its equivalent can take the entrance examination.

Graduate School of Art and Design, Doctoral Degree Program

The Tama Art University Doctoral Degree Program seeks candidates who are not only autonomous creators and researchers of art, but can also open up unknown possibilities in art, and who can create new value as leaders and instructors in the art world.

For this reason, the entrance examinations for the Doctoral Degree Program seek to determine not only whether the examinees can demonstrate various abilities as specialists in their fields of expertise, but also play a part in creating new fields, and create art, conduct research, and instruct others at a level that meets international standards. They are not only required to create value, but also to communicate this value to later generations, in other words, to have creative abilities applicable to education. The results of their education are to make contributions to society by being widely distributed to society in the form of influential and globally recognized works of art, books and so forth.

Anyone who has completed a master’s degree program or its equivalent can take the entrance examination.