Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation
for Professional Graduate Public Policy School

Graduate School of Public Policy, Tohoku University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: National

Location: Miyagi, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2022
Accreditation Status: accredited（Accreditation Period: April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2028）

Graduate School of Public Policy, Tohoku University

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results
for the Graduate School of Public Policy, Tohoku University

The unique purpose of the Graduate School of Public Policy of Tohoku University isto train public policy professionals with the skills to identify critical policy challenges
and formulate, evaluate, and communicate the public policies to address them. Witha strong focus on a field-centered approach, the Graduate School offers as its flagshipcourse the Public Policy Workshop, which provides practical experience in achieving
concrete objectives through close interactions with parties involved in policy
development or those directly affected by the policy. Launched at the start of theGraduate School’s opening, the workshop is a collective activity with four teams ofstudents conducting research and developing policy recommendations by working
closely with the communities in Sendai and other areas in Miyagi Prefecture andbeyond in the Tohoku region. The goal of the workshop is to develop the necessaryskills to identify specific challenges and devise feasible policy recommendations inlight of the situation in Japan and the wider world. The Graduate School plays aleadership role in the local community by leveraging its world-class research andeducation, engaging in various initiatives aligned with local needs, conditions, andopportunities, such as exchanging opinions with local stakeholders through theCurriculum Coordination Council�forging a partnership agreement with the city ofYokote, Akita Prefecture�and participating in local community activities and policy
development through the Public Policy Workshop. These activities reflect theGraduate School’s firm commitment to building the foundations for sustainable
development in the Tohoku region.
The Graduate School places the Public Policy Workshop at the core of its
education. To achieve the objective of equipping students with the practical skills toformulate pragmatic public policies, the Graduate School pursues a consistent policyin all activities from curriculum development and teaching methods to student
selection and faculty organization, including the hiring of practitioner instructors. A
notable strength of the Public Policy Workshop is the smooth integration of theory
and practice, with Level I of the course being team-taught by practitioner andacademic instructors, and Level II being instructed by a research paper instructor
with a focus on close communication with students. In addition, the Workshop
Steering Committee has been established to systematically track and monitor theactivity and progress of each student, and to ensure effective information-sharing1Graduate School of Public Policy, Tohoku University

among the teaching staff. These notable features demonstrate that an institution-wide
structure is in place to implement experience-oriented public policy education.
Also of note is the substantial financial support programs backing up theeducational concept of the Public Policy Workshop. Such support includes generous
financial assistance for students to cover their policy research expenses and thedistribution of funds to the workshop Level I project team teachers for bulkpurchasing books and related course materials, providing incoming students with thenecessary resources upon entering the Graduate School.
For the Public Policy Workshop to be successful, the quality of its teaching
and management methods needs to be assured on a consistent basis. Maintaining thequality of practitioner instructors especially is a key challenge, as many are loaned
from government offices, making on-going support for academic teachers andguidance to practitioner teachers imperative. The workshop is already cumbersome
to operate, but in addition to teacher quality assurance, allocating adequate researchtime and balancing the burdens among teachers are also challenges that need to beaddressed on a continual basis.
The curriculum structure is a distinctive feature of the graduate program.
The Public Policy Workshop is at the heart of the curriculum, and the workshop iscomplemented by core and applied courses that cover theoretical and practicalcontents required of public policy professionals. More specifically, there aremandatory courses designed to complement the workshop’s experience-oriented
public policy education, and core courses like Basic Theory of Public Policy andAdvanced Public Policy that cover fundamental academic theories and basics on thevarious areas of real-life public policy challenges. Increasing the course offerings asdescribed above would allow the Graduate School to enhance its students’ practicalskills by building their theoretical foundation, which in turn would amplify its
strengths. Going forward, the institution is advised to develop and improve its
educational programs by continually innovating its curriculum.

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