Educational Courses of the Graduate School of Environmental Studies

The Graduate School of Environmental Studies offers 2 schools: "The Department of Environmental Studies for Advanced Society" and "The Department of Frontier Sciences for Advanced Environment". The latter school consists of three educational courses: 1) Eco-materials and Processing,　2) Applied Environmental Chemistry,　3) Cultural Environmental Studies.

The Graduate School of Environmental Studies is intended to create a social system that can become bases of a cultural and recycle-based society which supports sustainable development by integrating the "knowledge" of Tohoku University as a comprehensive university. The purpose of our education is to train people to acquire high-level knowledge and skills and to become individuals who can tackle myriad challenges on a global scale.

Requirements for Admission

Master's Program (2 years)

Those who wish to be admitted as graduate students to the Master's Program are required to have completed undergraduate level education in a college or university either in Japan or abroad, or to be judged as equivalent to those who have completed undergraduate level education. Applicants are required to pass written and oral examinations on academic subjects of a specified department, in addition to a foreign language test. A Master’s degree (“Master of Environmental Studies” or “Master of Interdisciplinary Studies”) is conferred upon those enrolled graduate students who have earned 30 credits of required course work, submitted a thesis and passed the final examination on the thesis.

Doctoral Program (3 years)

Those who wish to be admitted as graduate students to the Doctoral Program are required to have received a Master's degree at a college or university in Japan or abroad, a degree equivalent to those who have received a Master's degree, or to be judged as equivalent to those who have received a Master's degree. They are then required to pass written and oral examinations on their Master's thesis. A Doctoral degree (“Doctor of Philosophy(Environmental Studies)” or “Doctor of Philosophy”) is conferred upon those enrolled graduate students who have earned 16 credits of required course work, submitted a thesis and passed the final examination on the thesis.

Academic Calendar

The Graduate School of Environmental Studies has an academic year that is comprised of two semesters, including spring and summer vacation periods. Consequently, application and admission are possible twice a year. Closing dates for applications depend on the course commencement date, which are usually in the middle of June (for October enrollment) and the beginning of January (for April enrollment).