"Waseda University aims to uphold the independence of learning, and to promote the practical utilization of knowledge and good citizenship. To uphold the independence of learning, Waseda University shall strive to emphasize freedom of research and investigation, and to encourage original and creative studies, thereby contributing to the advancement of knowledge." The Graduate School of Japanese Applied Linguistics (GSJAL) was founded in 2001 as an independent graduate school for fostering specialists in Japanese language education. Expanded to include a doctoral program in 2003, GSJAL has already produced more than 500 master’s graduates and more than 50 doctoral graduates, who have gone on to successful careers in various different fields and at a number of educational institutions, not only in Japan, but across the world