English-taught degree programs

This four-year international course leads to a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Undergraduate School of Civil, Environmental and Resources Engineering.

The course aims to cultivate human resources capable of designing and managing civil infrastructures while considering global environmental issues around urban and regional areas, particularly in Asian and African countries.

In the first and second years, students are required to take courses in fundamental mathematics, physics and liberal arts. Scientific English and basic Japanese lectures are also available. From the second year, specialized civil engineering lectures are given, including those on environmental engineering and earth resources, and energy science. For the first three years, all lectures are given at Yoshida Campus. In the fourth (final) year, students with sufficient credits may join a research group and relocate to Katsura or Uji Campus. Each student will undertake research for their bachelor thesis at their designated laboratory. The thesis is presented and examined in February of the final year, in order to graduate in March. Related courses: master's courses in the Management of Civil Infrastructure, and Urban and Regional Development in addition to a doctoral course in Human Security Engineering.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

Together with the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies at Heidelberg University, Germany, the Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, created Japan's first international joint degree program in the humanities, the Joint Degree Master of Arts in Transcultural Studies (JDTS). Transcultural Studies constitute a new research field in the humanities and social sciences that seeks to address the challenges posed by global connectivity to existing disciplines and frames of knowledge. The JDTS is an English-language, research-oriented master's program that combines interdisciplinary education with a transregional focus predominantly on East, South, and South-East Asia as well as Europe. The program consists of two years of study, during which students spend one year in Kyoto and one in Heidelberg. Students enrolled in the program begin their studies at one of these two partners, their home institution. Supervised by international faculty, students write a single thesis in English to receive a Master of Arts degree jointly awarded by both universities.

The study program expands the regional and disciplinary competencies students have obtained in their Bachelor's degrees or another Master's degree. JD students acquire empirical knowledge on historical and contemporary moments of exchange and theories and methodologies to frame and analyze such processes. The JDTS is primarily designed to train its students for a successful career in international academia.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

There are a number of challenges that East Asia must address if it is to maintain its economic role as one of the leaders of the world. These include challenges relating to environmental stability, food and energy supplies, uneven development between agricultural and industrial sectors, widening income disparities and aging populations, and accountability of government and business sectors.

This programme is designed to provide international students with both advanced academic knowledge and practical skills. Our academic year begins in October. Students are from a variety of countries including China, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Viet Nam, Uzbekistan, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, UK, Belgium, Spain, USA, Mexico and Japan. The programme is offered in English, and Japanese language skills are not required at the time of admission. The Master's programme offers both basic and advanced courses through which students can enjoy a comprehensive curriculum.
The Doctoral programme offers Overseas Field Research and International Graduate Student Workshop subjects through which students further develop a deep understanding of the current issues in East Asia.

In addition to classes designed specifically for this programme, students will participate in selected courses at the Graduate School of Economics as well as other graduate schools. Students will develop academic knowledge and practical skills in international setting.

We offer many opportunities to conduct field research at diverse sites such as large manufacturing plants and small factories, cuttingedge businesses and rural farming communities throughout East Asia so that students can develop a multidisciplinary and critical sense of reality. These are all needed to contribute to sustainable development in East Asia as academic researchers, government officials, or social entrepreneurs.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

The Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University launched a new graduate program, "International Joint Master Degree Program in Global Markets, Local Creativities," in September 2021. This is a two-year master's degree program in which students study at the University of Glasgow (UK), the University of Barcelona (Spain), and Kyoto University (Japan). Upon completion of the jointly established degree program, graduates will receive a single joint degree conferred by the three universities. The joint degree program is one of several "study tracks" on an integrated international program called "GLOCAL" which is comprised of a seven-university consortium. The GLOCAL program aims to provide students with interdisciplinary and international academic training and practical skills through the complementary and interdisciplinary expertise, resources and networks of seven leading universities in seven innovative cities.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

This is a two-year program leading to a Master of Engineering degree. This course aims to cultivate human resources capable of managing civil infrastructures and addressing environmental issues. Several issues are in focus, such as; achieving a stable supply of natural resources and harmonize human activities with the global environment; the development of fundamental key technologies that support public infrastructure and energy development; the creation and development of new versatile technologies and design methods concerning the construction, improvement, operation, and maintenance of public infrastructure and disaster mitigation measures, as well as technologies related to the exploration, development, and utilization of the natural environment, natural resources and energy. Such issues are approached by the framework of applied mechanics and computational mechanics with the integration of theoretical and experimental works.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

This is a two-year program leading to a Master of Engineering degree. The department aims to make advances in social analysis technology utilizing urban engineering, traffic engineering, and environmental system engineering to analyze human activities in cities.

Research is conducted in urban planning and traffic planning to realize safe and sustainable urban systems. Advances in urban infrastructure relating to building foundations and rivers are examined. The department is working to establish methodologies and engineering techniques for the comprehensive management of urban systems, incorporating assessments of the sustainability of cities based on cutting-edge research and an interdisciplinary perspective that embraces the social sciences and humanities. Advanced information communication technology is integrated with social infrastructure technology in order to realize sustainable, safe, and internationally competitive urban systems that can ensure a high quality of life. Lectures and seminar-based subjects are designed for students to independently plan, implement, summarize and present research results from project surveys and company seminars.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

This is a master and doctoral program with a solid interdisciplinary education in the core fields and the four related fields: urban governance, urban infrastructure management, health risk management, and disaster risk management. Studies on these related topics will foster researchers and engineers who have the ability to integrate and apply their knowledge toward ensuring urban human security, while contributing to advances. We aim to instill the following qualities in our academics: creativity (to go beyond the boundaries of the existing specialized fields); internationality (the ability to present and debate research in English, perform education and research activities overseas, and build an international human network); and independence (the ability to plan research, lead education and research, secure research funds, and solve problems in the field). The availability of core content in English and overseas internships for training in the field help students achieve these program objectives. Students who proceed to the Integrated Course in Human Security Engineering must complete the completion requirements of that course, rather than those of the department in which they are enrolled. Upon completion of the course, they will be certified as a graduate of the Human Security Engineering Education Program and receive a program certificate in addition to their degree certificate.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

This course aims to develop the next generation of human resources with advanced research abilities, profound knowledge and an international perspective in the fields of life, food and the environment. Master's and doctoral students in this course can study a diverse range of agricultural, life and environmental sciences: Agronomy and Horticultural Science, Forest and Biomaterials Science, Applied Life Sciences, Applied Biosciences, Environmental Science and Technology, Natural Resource Economics, and Food Science and Biotechnology. We will examine the social effects of agriculture, such as the results of adopting various farming approaches. Each student will benefit by having several supervisors for their research guidance. The curriculum offers courses in the fields of natural and environmental sciences, geography, economics and information systems. Lectures are given by international teaching staff. Seminars and experimental courses are given by the course supervisors.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

The International Energy Science Course (IESC) Master's Program teaches students about energy systems from a broad, crossdisciplinary perspective, along with in-depth understanding of their own major. Teaching in each major takes place within the three departments of the Graduate School of Energy Science. All students must complete course work and research equating to 30 credits, and successfully defend their Master's thesis (15 thesis credits). The IESC doctoral program provides the international students and researchers who have a Master's degree (or equivalent) an opportunity to further their studies toward a doctoral degree at Kyoto University.

Major available within the course will fall broadly within one of four departments: Socio-Environmental Energy Science (SES), Fundamental Energy Science (FES), Energy Conversion Science (ECS), and Department of Energy Science and Technology (EST)^*3.

SES leads the research on the effective use of energy and resources and analysis of energy systems in order to build a sustainable social system within the global environment, while FES offers graduate students fundamental science education and conduct research to contribute to cleaner energy solutions. ECS conducts research and education in generation, conversion, control and utilization of various kinds of energy in focus on efficient and clean energy. EST conducts education and research on the development of more efficient utilization of direct and indirect energy supplies based on disciplines such as resources, metallurgical, mechanical and electrical engineering.

*³ IESC of EST is available only for DOCTORAL programs.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

This course focuses on clarifying the mechanisms of information processing and applying that expertise to the development of versatile highlevel applications. We study not only how computer systems achieve and transcend human cognitive ability in vision, auditory, language understanding, but also the psychology, brain science, and biological information. The curriculum offers a wide range of topics covering mathematics and information science, including discrete algorithm, intelligent algorithm, statistics, machine learning, pattern recognition, cognitive science, biological information, etc. These theories are explored as students investigate how technologies are applied to an application-oriented research project. In our department, we work with algorithmic principles; make use of state-of-the-art technologies; and inspire students to take their knowledge and imagination into new studies.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

This course assumes that the information is the most important concept in society and that its proper management helps to answer societal needs and problems, which, nowadays, are subject to rapid changes as technological advances are made. Our department provides opportunities to study ICT technologies and social information systems in the areas of information management, multi-agent systems and system dynamics. In the area of information management the following content will be explored: databases, information retrieval, web information management, distributed information systems, information organization and retrieval, information systems design for object-oriented design/analysis and programming, database design, user interface design, web information systems design, and information systems analysis including data mining. In the area of multi-agent systems, students delve into business processes and services computing. In the area of content, students learn system dynamics, environmental issues, GIS, field research and statistics.

Biosphere informatics and information system analysis will be also taught. In the area of social informatics, topics will include information security, information economy, digital rights, digital ethics and IT policy and agenda.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

The focus of this course lies in the theoretical aspects of modern information technologies, principally, the design and analysis of algorithms, computational complexity, and discrete mathematics related to computer science.

Two introductory graduate classes are provided, neither of which is designed solely for international students. Introduction to Algorithms and Informatics is an introductory class for non-specialists. Lectures cover various aspects of modern computer science, particularly the fundamentals of algorithm design and analysis, data structures, and important concepts such as linear programming, randomization, heuristics and approximation. Theory of Computational Complexity is an introduction to the field of computational complexity, which aims at classifying computational problems according to their difficulty by investigating the amount of resources needed to solve them.

The class covers both the foundations of computational complexity and more advanced topics such as hardness of approximation and communication complexity. For both classes no specific technical background is required. Other classes given in English are System Verification, System-Level Design Methodology for SoCs, and Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. Students can also take the general Perspectives in Informatics seminars, as well as classes in the other two international courses offered by the School of Informatics.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

As an advanced discipline that holds the key to the future of humankind, the life sciences today are undergoing a major evolutionary change. In response to this global trend, the Graduate School of Biostudies was founded in 1999 as Japan's first independent graduate school focused on the life sciences with the objective of building a world-class center for research and developing individuals who can lead the life sciences field into the next generation. Our school has engineered a true fusion of cutting-edge areas in several existing fields. By harnessing the common language of "cells, molecules, and genes" that together form the fundamental principles of life, we have developed an integrated understanding of diverse life forms and the environments they help shape, and have launched innovative efforts in research and education that will produce a new set of values for the future and dignity of life.

To meet the diverse expectations of society for advances in the life sciences, which are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex, our school seeks students from a broad spectrum of backgrounds who share these ideals of our school, who possess strong academic skills and research aptitudes in the life sciences, and who demonstrate a strong sense of ethics and responsibility in their academic research.

This program is open to both international and domestic students, and is conducted entirely in English, including the entrance examination, lectures, experiments and discussions.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

The Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES) has established the International Environmental Management Program to strengthen educational and research opportunities for international students. GSGES offers a Doctoral Program in Global Environmental Studies for students interested in pursuing environmental research and academic study, and Master's and Doctoral Programs in Environmental Management for students interested in applied environmental management from the local to global levels. Students who join in the International Program will be enrolled in one of these three degree programs.

GSGES features a multidisciplinary program, with faculty drawn from a variety of disciplines, including engineering, agriculture, economics, law and social sciences. It provides practical education on environmental issues through long-term internships, fieldwork and lecture, as well as discussion-based courses for thesis preparation.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

The Primate Research Institute (PRI) in Inuyama and the Wildlife Research Center (WRC) in Kyoto promote basic and applied research by synthesizing various approaches to enhance our understanding of all primates and other wildlife. A new international course for graduate students focusing on the study of non-human primates and other animals, with the aim of promoting their conservation, health and welfare, as well as advancing our understanding of human nature, started in April 2011. Students in this course will join either the PRI or WRC and receive courses conducted in English. The course will be managed by the Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology (CICASP), which was founded in April 2009. The PRI presently has ca.40 faculty members, 50 graduate students and 20 international scholars, with international students now comprising over ca.30% of the student body. the institute is also home to ca.1200 non-human primates of 13 species. CICASP is staffed by international and Japanese faculty members and administrators who are fluent in English to facilitate student integration. In 2014, CICASP partnered with the newly created Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science (PWS) of Kyoto University. Students who enroll in CICASP and Kyoto University can apply to PWS and if successful receive additional training in the area of conservation science, public outreach and curation (e.g. at zoos, aquaria and museums), as well as financial support to conduct their research. Please contact us at the email address above for assistance in finding a suitable supervisor for the graduate course.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

The International Project Management Program (i-PM) offers a comprehensive and thorough program that focuses on the projects of temporal cooperation between organizations (business teams) established in order to achieve a certain goal in projects. This program is to nurture international project management professionals who can combine the latest research in management and specialized business practices and who are ready to meet challenges and contribute to the diverse and harmonious development of society.

Students in the program shall obtain basic core competencies in economics, management and accounting and then, those will be combined with specialized and practical subjects such as policy evaluation, contract management, development management, project finance, risk management, disaster management, international mega project management, etc. as well as business writing and negotiation. Internship placements and workshops are available. Students of all nationalities are welcome. In the class taught in English, it is possible to stimulate each other by working together. This program will become a stronghold for internationalization in higher education and will help create leaders of the next generation in the world.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

The International Business Administration Program (i-BA) is a program of study that leads to a general management degree while helping you develop your vision and the skills to achieve it. Students get the business knowledge and specialized skills to expand career choices. This program provides wide area of expertise such as business leadership, service & hospitality management, finance and accounting.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)

The program offers a unique curriculum which is a combination of advanced management fundamentals and the core of service and hospitality specialized principle to nurture global professionals. Students will be awarded two Master's degrees in two years (Master of Business Administration and Master of Management in Hospitality) by attending the Kyoto University Graduate School of Management for two semesters and the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, School of Hotel Administration for the other two semesters. This program endeavors the premier educational system that draws upon the state-of-the-art research in management and business practices to propel the students not only as a future leader in the hospitality industry but a specialist in the service sector of any organizations.

(Reprinted from the Admissions Guide for International Applicants)