||| Mission | Aoyama Business School |||

To meet the needs of society, ABS carries out its Social Responsibility and contributes to developing a prosperous future by training Creative Leaders who work as Global Citizens, and through path breaking research activity.

In order to achieve this mission, the MBA program develops education programs cultivating management professionals who come to conclusions based on independent thinking and analysis, and implements never-ending efforts to improve these programs. The doctorate program does not merely teach business research techniques, but also implements curriculum that cultivates contributors to the workforce who are aware of the social significance of their research, possess a well defined sense of purpose, and can be active on the international stage.

The following three features illustrate the nature of ABS.

ABS offers a systematic, integrated and practical curriculum combining in its coursework such elements as the acquisition of specialized expertise, synthesis of cross functional knowledge, learning and practice of methodology, individual learning and group activities. Students first learn the fundamentals of the four fields necessary for corporate management: Strategy & Organization, Marketing, Finance & Accounting, and Operation & Information Systems. Then they focus on one field from within those four. This allows students to build high-level specialization while also facilitating comprehensive study of all fields of management to be properly qualified as managers.

Global Action Learning, an MBA capstone course, offers a practical arena for testing integrated knowledge, coordination skills within groups, and methods for handling different cultures.

ABS courses are taught by cutting-edge researchers and teachers with bountiful professional business experience. We feel that incorporating research pertaining to the latest business theories and issues facing corporations into the classroom enables education that is rich in theoretical features as well as in practical business content.

Also, instead of merely following a pattern of uninterrupted teacher lectures, our courses incorporate elements such as debate, case-method teaching and project-oriented study.

In order to succeed at our mission to cultivate management professionals who can be leaders in the ever more global economic arena and society, ABS strives to be a holistic business school which conforms to global standards.

Aoyama Business School is affiliated with both the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), an institution for the evaluation of business school certification in the USA, and the European Foundation of Management Development (EFMD), an institution for the evaluation of business school certification in Europe. Aoyama Business School is also affiliated with the Alliance on Business Education and Scholarship for Tomorrow, a 21st. century organization (ABEST21), a business school federation centered in Asia and the USA.

In order to reflect the viewpoints of corporate managers and business experts, we undergo evaluation from an outside advisory board every year. As a result, the ABS curriculum encompasses the kind of strategic thinking methods taught at top business schools around the world.

The cornerstone of Aoyama Business School is the Master's Course in International Business, which was established in April 1990. This master's course was the first graduate level program offered by a private university in Japan made up of night courses teaching business designed for individuals already in the workplace. In April 2001 it was reorganized into the "Graduate School of International Management," the first technical graduate program offered by a private university in Japan. Then, in April 2003 it became a professional school with the same name, and has continued as such to the present.

Furthermore, with the goal of better cultivating practical researchers, we established the 5 - year unified International Management Science doctoral program in April 2006.

April 1990:

International Business Major, Graduate level night school

－	ABS launched the first graduate program offered by a Japanese private university in a night school format.

April 2001:

International Management Major, Technical Graduate School

－	Conforming to the "Technical Graduate School Establishment Standards" established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, we launched the Graduate School of International Management, an independent graduate program.

April 2003:

International Management Major, Professional school

－	ABS converted from a technical graduate school to a professional school and launched the international management master's program (MBA) and international management doctoral programs (Ph.D. and DBA).

April 2006:

International Management Science Major

－	ABS reconfigured the doctoral program into a five year unified International Management Science Major.

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