Graduate School of Science and Faculty of Science Tohoku University

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Prospective Students

Degree Programs

Non-degree Programs

Curriculum

[ Undergraduate ]

In order to graduate from this Faculty, students must be enrolled for more than 4 years, complete the courses as specified by their department, complete the general studies and specialized courses and obtain a total of more than 124 credits.

The curriculum of the Faculty of Science is divided into 2 semesters in each year and is made up of 8 semesters up to the 4th year.
Up to the 3rd semester, the curriculum is made up mainly of liberal education subjects which aim is to confer the fundamental basic knowledge but also includes specialized subjects from each department. Classes mostly take place in the North Kawauchi campus up to the 3rd semester.
From the 4th semester onwards, Classes are conducted in the individual departments in the North Aobayama campus in order to conduct specialized education.


(1) Division of subjects
Subjects are divided into the following divisions according to the field and type of subject:

1. Liberal Education subject (omission)
2. Specialized subject
The subject aims to develop high-level and specialized knowledge in relation to each division and each department in order to develop specialists of each field. It will also become a basis for research activities in Graduate School and in the future.
3. Affiliated subject
The subject which are from other departments and have been included in the specialized subject list as affiliated subject in each department or other subjects which have been recognized as affiliated subject by student's application.
In each case, these subjects will be treated as corespond to specialized subjects.
4. Open subject
Credits obtained from the designated specialized subjects offered by other faculties will be recognized as liberal education subjects. This applies only to students up to the second year.
5. Teacher training subject
Subjects which are compulsory in order to obtain junior high school and high school teacher's licenses and which are required for obtaining expertise to be teachers (subjects are offered in the liberal education and in each Faculty).

(2) Subjects and credits
Credits are awarded upon completion of subjects and after passing an examination. Teaching methods are divided into lectures, seminars, experiments, laboratory works and practical training. And the credits awarded for each method of teaching are as follows:

Lectures and seminars 1 credit awarded for 15-30 hours of learning (1-2 credits for 15 lectures of 2 hours)
Experiments, Laboratory works, practical training 1 credit for 30-45 hours of learning (1-1.5 credits for 15 lectures of 3 hours)

Lectures will take place once a week (2 hours) with one semester consisting of 15 weeks. However some lectures may be conducted over a longer period of time or over a shorter period of time. In addition, there are also intensive subjects which allows students to obtain credits at one time by conducting lectures over a short period of time.

(3) Compulsory and elective subjects
Subjects are specified below for graduate requirements according to the necessity and importance of each subject:

Compulsory subjects Subjects which credits must be obtained
Elective compulsory subjects Subjects which designated credits must be obtained from designated subjects
Elective subjects Subjects which more than designated credits must be obtained though not included in the compulsory or elective compulsory subjects
Subjects not related to graduation Subjects which are not required for graduation but which may be freely registered according to the students necessity or interests
Recommended subjects Subjects recommended to register as they are related to topics studied in a student's division or department or as they may be useful additional knowledge for higher grades

Students should be warned when organizing their registration plan that in addition to the subjects above, each division or department may designated subjects which must be completed and credits which must be obtained in order to be accepted into selected departments, register specific subjects or in order to be admitted into laboratories for graduation research.

(4) Registration plan
The subjects of each division and each department are distributed efficiently into 8 semesters. The distribution of subjects is shown in the subject list later. Students should organize their registration plan according to this list and explanation accompanied by this list while also referring to the timetable issued separately.
When setting up their registration plan, students should give themselves enough time to go over their work and ensure they are fully competent in their subjects. The Faculty of Science aims to develop students with a broad scientific vision and with a great understanding of their specialized field, and offers a curriculum over 4 years and 8 semesters. Therefore the Faculty of Science does not offer an option for early graduation.


[ Graduate ]

Terms of the Graduate School of Science consist of 2 semesters, Spring and Fall for each academic year.

(1) Master student
In order to complete the program, students must be enrolled for two or more years, and obtain 30 or more credits. (22 or more of these credits must come from specialized courses.) All students must receive the required research guidance, submit and successfully defend their master's thesis and pass a final examination. Those who have completed the program will be awarded a master's degree.
(2) Doctoral student
In order to complete the program, students must be enrolled for three or more years, and obtain 20 or more credits. (Of these credits, 16 or more must be from specialized courses, except for students who are physics majors. Physics majors need 18 or more credits from specialized courses.) They must receive the required research guidance, submit and successfully defend their doctoral thesis, and pass a final examination. Those who have completed the program will be awarded a doctoral degree.

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