Opened "Faculty of Comprehensive Psychology" where you can learn from five specialized fields Demonstrating the power of psychology in fields such as business, education, and welfare-University Journal Online

In April 2023, Kyoto Tachibana University will open a new Faculty of Comprehensive Psychology.We asked Professor Toshio Shibata, who is scheduled to become the dean of the department, about the purpose of the establishment and the characteristics of learning.

Cultivate a broad perspective by learning psychology and different fields
Acquire practical skills through PBL and social collaboration

　“The current Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences was a department that focused on physical and mental health and emphasized collaboration with medical fields. Aiming to deepen cooperation, the Faculty of Comprehensive Psychology was established as an independent department.It is characterized by the fact that it deals with a wide range of psychological fields, and when it is connected to each field, it can be used in concrete situations of social life and economic activities. Therefore, we aim to develop a curriculum that can demonstrate the usefulness of psychological knowledge.

　He specializes in five fields: clinical psychology, social/industrial psychology, developmental/educational psychology, behavior/brain science, and health/welfare psychology. In the 5st and 1nd years, students acquire a solid foundation in logical thinking and data science, which is the foundation of psychological research and social practice, and comprehensively learn basic psychological knowledge and basic skills such as psychological assessment. .After solidifying the foundation, students are divided into five specialized areas to deepen their expertise.

　What makes it unique is that students can take specialized courses from other faculties that are closely related to psychology, such as media, education, marketing, programming, economics, etc., and can be used in practice as crossover courses.This is probably a manifestation of his aim to broaden his horizons and apply psychology in practice.

　In addition, throughout the four years, many practical subjects such as seminars, counseling, marketing research exercises, and internships are arranged.You can also take on PBL (Project Based Learning) subjects in which you can work together with students from the Faculty of Economics, Management, and Engineering to bring together their knowledge and skills to tackle issues from companies and governments.

　For example, in the "Marketing Research Exercise" in the field of social and industrial psychology, learning is conducted in collaboration with Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture.After learning the design and management of marketing surveys in lectures, we actually conduct questionnaire surveys of visitors to the town, and tabulate and report.It is said that it is being utilized in urban development and station area development.

　Professor Shibata says, "In the future, I would like to focus on social and industrial psychology."In this area, students learn about marketing and consumer behavior, so it is directly linked to the strengths of students who are thinking of working for a general company.The idea is to strengthen this along with data science education.

　“Psychological research begins with collecting and interpreting scientific and objective data.In an information society, such power is necessary to accurately select, analyze and decide course of action. It's a useful skill in life, and studying psychology will help you in whatever path you choose in the future."