Biotechnology Global Human Resource Development Program

Important Program Features

• English will be used in all lectures, instructions, and research related activities. In the Basic Courses, students will acquire a solid background in advanced biotechnology. In the Project-based Training Course, students will acquire the ability to design and execute research in a critical manner. In the Frontier Research Proposal Course, students will acquire the ability to propose original research plans independently as a scientist. Through immersion in Special Research, students will have ample time during the remaining four years to attain their Master's and Doctor's Degrees in Engineering.
• The Basic Courses, which will be held in the first semester of master's program, will deal with a wide range of subjects: advanced biotechnology, and basics and application s in the files of "Biotechnology," "Life Science," and "Biochemistry."
• In the first semester of the master's program, students will take the Project-based Training Course. This course is designed to prepare students as research engineers with the ability to conceive innovative ideas, by synthesizing knowledge from different disciplines and the techniques for devising research plans towards realizing the ideas. In this course, each student will choose one laboratory different from their own, and will produce a short term research work under the supervision of the professor of that lab.
• All students will conduct their Special Research in the second, third, and fourth semester of the master's program, under the supervision and instruction of his/her professor.
• In the first semester of the doctor's program, students will take the Frontier Research Proposal Course. This course is designed to prepare students as a research scientist with the ability to propose original research plans independently, so that they can complete their doctoral theses. In this course, each student will propose a research plan in a field different from their own, make a presentation, and have discussions with professors, associated professors, assistant professors, and doctor's program students of the related field with diversified/multiple perspectives. During the period of the doctor program, student will devote themselves to Special Research while expanding their knowledge by taking the Frontier Biotechnology Exercise and Frontier Biotechnology Seminar courses.
• For Special Research in the master's and doctor's programs, each student will choose one laboratory among Bioenvironmental Science (Watanabe Lab.), Cell Technology (Muranaka Lab.), BioProcess Systems Engineering (Kino-oka Lab.), Bioresource Engineering (Fukusaki Lab.), Biomolecular Science and Engineering (Nagai Lab.), and Applied Microbiology (Fujiyama Lab.). Students can change their laboratory after completion of the master's program, if they wish to do so.
• Improving Japanese skill is required during the course. N4 level Japanese Language Proficiency Test is required for obtaining a master degree and N3 level is required for obtaining a doctoral degree.

Requirements for completion of the program: completion of the two compulsory courses, the Project-based Training Course,and Safety of Engineering for a total of less than 30 units of credit; completion of Special Research: N4 level certificate of Japanese Language Proficiency Test; Acceptance of the master’s thesis by the faculty; and successful passing of the final examination of the course.
Degree: Master of Engineering

• Bachelor’s degree 
• Applicants should have sufficient proficiency in the English language including reading, writing, listening and speaking. A score of 700 or higher on the TOEIC test, 480 on the TOEFL-PBT test, 50 on the TOEFL-iBT test, or 4.5 on the IELTS test is required. 
• Official Transcripts
• Certificate of Graduation (or Certification of Expected Completion)
• Statement of Purpose
• Letter of Conditional Acceptance 
• At Least Two Evaluation Letters* 
• Payment of application fees is not required
• Enrollment fee: 282,000 JPY

Scholarships

• Japanese government scholarship