The College of Disability Sciences offers several course curriculum models for reference purposes. Students need not take all the classes stipulated in the models. Rather, the models serve as guidance for the benefit of student planning, and those related to qualifications include a number of credits required for these qualifications. Students develop their own study plans based on their personal aims and inclinations, by referring to the models. 

Course curriculum model for the disability sciences

This is the basic course curriculum model for the College of Disability Sciences. Based on a fundamental understanding of the essential principles and concepts of disability science in general, students can acquire basic expertise and skills regarding various forms of disability, throughout the compass of the disability sciences, including disability-related education, psychology, physiology and welfare, etc. Students are expected to further enhance their expertise and skills at the graduate school, after studying at the College of Disability Sciences. To this end, students must acquire not merely expertise but also mastery of research study methods, in order to open new frontiers in the field of disability sciences. It is important for students to learn the basics of the various techniques used in clinical research and experimentation, as well as research and documentation skills.

Course curriculum model for special needs education

This course curriculum model is aimed at developing experts who can play leading roles in research and education regarding special needs education in Japan. Special needs education is based on a new conception of school education, founded on the special education expertise gained thus far and anticipated for the future, and aimed at providing instruction in and support for the educational needs of children with mild developmental disorders in local communities, as well as infants, children and students with disabilities. The course curriculum model for special needs education incorporates a variety of subjects that support the special needs school teacher’s primary qualification, by fully exploiting the abundant human resources of the College of Disability Sciences. This model is designed to enable students to acquire a broad understanding of and in-depth expertise in special needs education. Students at the College of Disability Sciences can obtain a special support school teacher’s license covering all of the five special needs education areas (schools for the blind, for the deaf, for the intellectually disabled, for the physically disabled, and for the health impaired). Very few four-year universities, beyond the University of Tsukuba, enable their students to acquire a teacher’s license covering all of the five areas.

Course curriculum model for social welfare

　Students can acquire a comprehensive and scientific grasp of the measures and support methods necessary to achieve the welfare principle referred to as ‘normalization’, for the elderly, adults and children with disabilities, and children facing difficulties such as an unhealthy family living environment or developmental problems, all of whom are considered deserving of the support of the modern social welfare state. In addition, beyond the conventional boundaries of social welfare science, students at the College of Disability Sciences can study, in an integrated manner, education for ‘disability’, in concert with medical practices and various rehabilitation methods, including on-site training at social welfare sites. This course curriculum model supports the acquisition of qualification for the national examination for certified social welfare workers. And, by combining this with a teacher-training course, students can also acquire a high-school teacher’s license for human welfare education.