ISEP

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International Social Entrepreneurship Program (ISEP)

The purpose of the program is to provide opportunities with young people who wish to work as social entrepreneurs and contribute to solving sustainable social issues through business and NPOs, or who wish to work for social development in partnership with the private sector at international organizations and other aid organizations, to gain the knowledge, ideas, and connections necessary to take real action.

In addition to on-campus lectures, this practical program incorporates in its curriculum a trial business plan that simulates actual activities as a social entrepreneur through field study in developing countries or rural areas of Japan.

Social entrepreneurship, running one’s businesses, is a common career aspiration. Many students also aim for roles in international development/cooperation projects with organizations like the United Nations and JICA. This is why ISEP allows students to earn an International Organization Professional Focus certificate alongside their MSE degree.

* The application procedures for ISEP are different from other programs. Please review the detailed information here.

Interdisciplinary curriculum

Curriculum setting that allows students to study both business administration and international relations

Practical experiences

Practice-oriented program that incorporates preparation for starting a social business

Local connection

Connection with local communities to accelerate the realization of ideas

Local ideas for global social issues !

Gaku Funabashi

Associate Professor and Program Director of ISEP

Program Director’s Message

The International Social Entrepreneurship Program (ISEP) is designed to provide students with opportunities for real-world experience in the field while completing coursework toward a Master’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship. For this reason, we assign a minimum of four months of field study. By communicating with relevant people in the field and examining solutions to social issues faced by people, students can start preparing for their future social business while still in school. Nowadays, solving social issues with the mechanism of private enterprises has been getting more and more important. ISEP’s unique structure is designed for those who are willing to enhance their abilities in both management and international relations and be a part of the evolution of society.

ISEP students study business administration as future social entrepreneurs. At the same time, they can take nearly half of the courses from the Graduate School of International Relations, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of different fields of specialization and different regions in the world, enabling them to view social issues from a different perspective. How students balance courses in Business Administration and International Relations depends on their individual interests.

Core

Core courses provide essential fundamental knowledge of business administration including latest trend of social businesses to analyze and structure own future business for solving social issues systematically.

Elective

Elective courses provide a wide range of choices from the perspectives of both business administration and international relations to widen knowledge of starting businesses as well as understanding factors causing social issues.

Field Study

Field study provide the opportunity to build a local network to actually realize the social business plan, and to verify and clarify areas for improvement by prototyping products and services as a means to provide solutions for social issues.

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How to Apply

The following two groups of applicants are eligible to apply:

  1. Japanese nationals who are JOCV (Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers) ex-participants or candidates for overseas deployment
    Please contact the GSIM Admissions Office ( admgsim@iuj.ac.jp ) at IUJ.
  2. International JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Scholars
    Please contact the JICA Office in your country.

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