We expect that students will be able to comprehend “a broad range of issues for the improvement of healthcare, that is indispensable for maintaining the physical and mental health of citizens in an aging society with a declining birthrate” from a multidimensional perspective, centered on the knowledge and techniques that they have learned during undergraduate education and in a master’s program, while simultaneously adopting the ways of thinking of other scientific fields. In addition, we encourage students to ponder in a scientific manner “how to create and make the most use of new ideas, and how human society could accept such ideas”, and as a result, we expect them to become human resources which are capable of devising and creating new methods, devices, materials and services to solve existing issues by applying scientific and technological skills and expertise.

For this purpose, this graduate school has only a single major.

You might wonder what types of students, and in what fields of specialization, will be accepted, and what you can learn in this graduate school.
What accomplishments can you attain? And what career options can you pursue after graduation?

To answer those questions, let us explain relevant aspects according to the individual student’s field of specialization or major in undergraduate education, as below.

For students with a background in engineering:

・What you will be able to learn:

You will comprehend what approaches are appropriate for reducing the burden of healthcare personnel and improving quality of life (QOL) of patients, and also acquire a viewpoint and methods from humanities and social sciences. Furthermore, you will be able to deepen specialized knowledge and techniques and solve issues using a multifaceted approach. In addition, you will acquire a capacity to create electronic information devices and/or systems for medical use that can help improve QOL for patients and ease the burdens of healthcare professionals.

・Examples of accomplishments:

Creation of a device that does not damage QOL of patients or can improve patient QOL / creation of a material that manages the focus of disease effectively and imposes less burden on the body / creation of hardware and/or software that can lessen the burden of patient families / creation of a device that can decrease the burden of medical professionals / creation of a device that helps prevent the occurrence of medical errors

・Examples of careers to pursue after graduation:

Graduates will be able to play an active role in a wide range of business areas and occupations as follows: Companies that develop electronic medical information systems and applications software for healthcare institutions / consumer electronics companies and electric appliance manufacturers that make use of biological information / automobile-related companies, etc.

For students with a background in healthcare:

・What you will be able to learn:

You will acquire a fundamental perspective on healthcare from the standpoint of engineering and humanities and social sciences. Additionally, you will obtain interdisciplinary and expert knowledge in fields that are different from the major(s) you selected in undergraduate education. By doing so, you will be able to learn to develop innovative and unprecedented solutions to issues existing in actual healthcare settings, and propose improvements for society.

・Examples of accomplishments:

A broad range of joint development projects is conceivable, as follows: Joint development of nursing and medical techniques that can contribute to the improvement of QOL of patients / joint development of drugs and therapeutic techniques that have a significant effect for the management of the focus of disease and impose a minimal burden on the body / joint development of technologies that can lessen the burden of healthcare professionals / joint development of medical hardware and software that prevent the occurrence of medical errors / joint development of a system that enables people to achieve an appropriate work-life balance.

・Examples of careers to pursue after graduation:

Graduates will be able to play an active role in a wide range of business areas and occupations as follows: Development departments at hospitals, development sections in healthcare companies, etc.

For students with a background in humanities and social sciences:

・What you will be able to learn:

You will be able to understand people and structures that constitute actual healthcare settings (health systems) and relevant issues (e.g. how people could live with a disease or disability, or in the face of death). In addition, you will deepen your own field of specialization while acquiring medical- and engineering-related interdisciplinary findings that are necessary for comprehending health systems. Additionally, you will be able to come up with ideas to support and improve the lives of people who are living with disease and/or disability or in the face of death.

・Examples of accomplishments:

Analysis of requirements for the improvement of QOL of patients who are about to die / creation of a structure to lessen the burden of patient families who are participating in care at home / devising a concept of values or a framework to support the way of life in a super-aging society with a declining birth rate / creation of a system to increase care facilities for patients / clarification of requirements for easing the burden of healthcare professionals / establishment of an appropriate risk management structure in healthcare / creation of ideas on decision-making in the end-of-life.

・Examples of careers to pursue after graduation:

Graduates will be able to play an active role in a wide range of business areas and occupations as follows: Civil service, teaching, public-interest corporations, social welfare corporations, incorporated non-profit organizations, private companies that are conducting welfare-related business, companies that manufacture and distribute welfare-related products, etc.