The mission of the Center for Professional Communication (CPC) is to support GRIPS’ students, faculty, and staff in developing effective professional communication skills and competencies needed to communicate and interact productively in an environment of multiple stakeholders. To this end, we offer a range of instruction, services, and support in fundamental areas of professional communication in English and Japanese.
The Center’s main strength is its outstanding faculty. Our faculty are experts in professional communication, disciplinary writing, and language learning and teaching, with advanced academic training and years of professional experience; many hold doctorates and have a strong record of academic and research accomplishments. Our faculty’s expertise encompasses a wide range of areas in economics, political science, public policy, education, psychology, and applied linguistics.
Drawing on extensive scholarship in educational theory and practice, the Center promotes evidence-based curriculum development and instruction, establishes best practices in teaching and learning, and strives to become a recognized center of excellence.
Below are some of the programs and support structures that we offer.
Comprehensive Academic Writing Program in English and Japanese
The Academic Writing Program constitutes an introduction to writing a graduate research paper and becoming a fledgling practitioner of academic values and practices. The program has three goals: (a) to articulate the minimum standard of acceptable academic production across all GRIPS programs, (b) to socialize students into the target discourse community, and (c) to support the production of policy papers, theses, and dissertations at GRIPS. The program includes the following integrated components.
- Comprehensive assessment of students’ academic writing ability at the start of the academic year.
- Year-long academic writing support in English and Japanese.
- Seminars, workshops, and special events on a wide range of writing- and research-related topics.
- Individual advising on research proposals, theses, and final papers in English and Japanese.
- Handbooks, guidebooks, and other materials on academic and professional writing and language learning developed by CPC faculty and customized for students’ self-study, guided learning, and research.
Program in Professional Communication Skills
We emphasize the development of strong professional communication skills in GRIPS students, promote cross-cultural communication, and provide opportunities for interaction between Japanese and international students. Our current offerings include:
- Certificate programs, seminars, and workshops in a wide range of areas of professional communication in English and Japanese including presentation, negotiation, professional and business writing, grant proposal writing, public speaking, kanji, Japanese composition, culture and society, cross-cultural communication, and business Japanese.
- Special events conducted in English and Japanese on a range of topics in professional communication, professional development, language learning, and Japanese culture including traditional Japanese culture.
Editorial Support
We support GRIPS faculty and PhD students in the preparation of their work for publication or use in professional fields. To that end, we offer editing, proofreading, and language support services as well as specialized training in conference presentations.Please contact the CPC for details.
Contact
Email us at cpc
grips.ac.jp or kpetchkogrips.ac.jp
