The Graduate School of International Relations (GSIR), Ritsumeikan University, was one of the first graduate schools in Japan to be established for international relations. Every year, approximately sixty students enroll in the GSIR master program and about ten in the doctoral program.

The GSIR aims at fostering not only academicians with specialized knowledge of research in various fields of international relations, but also professionals with expertise and ability to play an active role in international enterprises and institutions. Thus it incorporates a unique system of education that offers programs covering diverse areas of research designed to prepare students for these purposes.