Nodoka Yoshimizu (completed EU Studies Undergraduate Diploma Programme in Fall 2023
■Affiliation at the time of completion of the programme: School of Law, Kyushu University*completed EU-DP before graduation
I first heard about the EU Studies Diploma Programme (EU-DPs) when I was introduced to it in a lecture on ‘Fundamentals of the European Union’. As I had always been interested in foreign law and society, I was attracted to this programme, which allows me to systematically take EU- and Europe-related subjects, and decided to enrol.。
In the programme, I mainly took courses in my School of Law. Especially impressive was the ‘Special Lecture on European Union Law’. In this subject, I learnt an overview of EU law using a wealth of case law. I was able to gain a perspective on how to solve the unique legal problems that arise in the EU, which I would not have been able to gain from studying Japanese law alone. Looking back, I think it was also a very valuable experience to be able to participate in a lecture by a lecturer from the Delegation of the European Union to Japan in the ‘Fundamentals of the European Union’ course. I also became even more interested in the culture and society within the EU, which allowed me to broaden my learning outside the classroom by reading relevant literature and starting to learn the languages of the European region.
As seen from the list of courses, the EU-DPs has a diverse range of lectures registered in a wide variety of schools. The programme is not only for those who want to pursue EU studies in earnest, but also for those who, like me, started out with just a passing interest and can still complete the programme. If you are interested, please give it a try!