PhD Programmes in Japan 2025

Upon successful completion of the study program students receive an international private Doctorate in Global Studies degree awarded by the school's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, based on the recommendation of the faculty of the local campuses where credits were earned.

Upon successful completion of the study program students receive an international private Doctorate of Philosophy in Management (DPhil) degree awarded by the school's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, based on the recommendation of the faculty of the local campuses where credits were earned.

The Graduate School of Science and Technology (Doctoral Course) consists of two courses of Advanced Materials Science and Technology and Safety Science and Technology. The former covers the development of useful materials and their application technology and the latter does crisis-controlling technology for natural and human-originating disasters in the highly developed society.

ABS offers two doctoral courses of study. The Ph.D. program is a unified 5-year full-time doctoral program targeting individuals who hold undergraduate degrees. It aims to cultivate superior academic researchers rich in creativity. In contrast, the DBA program is offered to individuals who have already acquired a master’s degree (e.g., MBA) and follows a curriculum that allows students to acquire a doctoral degree while working. It aims to cultivate researchers who handle practical research issues for corporations, etc.

The Ph.D. Programme on Innovation, Economics, and Governance for Development (IEGD) is a multidisciplinary course offered by UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance. The programme focuses on research skills and methods, training fellows to become both scholars and practitioners in the fields of governance and the economics of technology. The programme provides advanced training in the knowledge and skills most relevant to the economics of technology and innovation, and to governance, social protection, and migration. Built around a core of courses on innovation and development, the programme also features modules on the economics of technological change, complex social systems, governance and policy evaluation, social protection, and migration. During their first year, fellows complete an intensive programme of required and elective courses, taught by leading scholars of UNU-MERIT and our partner universities. These courses are taught in English, in Maastricht, and spread across two semesters, starting in September each year. The course work is followed by three years of dissertation research and writing, ending with a completed Ph.D. thesis. At the end of the programme, the doctoral degree is awarded by Maastricht University upon successful defense of the thesis. Our students pursue a wide variety of dissertation topics, fitting into any of the institute’s eight research themes: 1. Economics of Knowledge and Innovation 2. Structural Change and Economic Development 3. Economic Complexity and Innovation 4. Governance and institutions 5. Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Sustainability Transitions 6. Migration and Development 7. Social Protection 8. Population, Development and Labour Economics

The Graduate School of Fine Arts has a single doctoral degree program, the Fine Art program that enables interdisciplinary and multimedia researches in five areas of study. The program revolves around creating works and writing theses to receive a doctorate. During the three-year program, students will be instructed for their studies by the Doctoral Program Committee, an organization consisting of faculty members in charge of the program. The Graduate School of Fine Arts will make a continuous effort to strengthen its system to cope with advanced and interdisciplinary researches and actively contribute to the local community and society.

This department offers four Doctor's programs. Solid-State Electronics gives special courses on the fundamentals of electronic devices/materials and optical devices/materials. Applied Advanced Materials Engineering gives special courses on applications of magnetic materials and bio-materials to electrical and chemical engineering. Energy System Engineering gives special courses on generation, conversion, storage, and transportation of electric and heat energy. System Design and Production Engineering gives special studies on the fundamentals and application of machine design and ultra-precise machining technology.

The Graduate School of Humanities aims to help students explore traditional Japanese culture in a comprehensive and systematic way. By investigating the tangible and intangible aspects of the national culture, students can become highly qualified experts in their chosen field and effective interdisciplinary researchers.

We will train nurses who can take on the education that gives them the research ability of nursing practice. Specifically, first of all, as faculty members at universities and graduate schools, we will develop people who can carry out educational and research activities based on the characteristics of nursing practice. Next is the training of practical research instructors who can systematically guide the reform of nursing practice involving complex factors as human resources required in the field of nursing practice.

This program aims to foster graduates capable of functioning in an international setting by equipping them with comprehensive knowledge and skills for resolving conflicts and managing global environmental issues. Internship study (domestic or overseas) and the preparation of a doctoral thesis help students develop the skills required for environment-related work after graduation. Graduates of the doctoral program are expected to find employment in government or municipal institutions, environment-related international NGOs and universities, environment-related industries, environmental positions in various industries, and government and private-sector research organizations with an environmental focus.

The doctoral candidates will be engaged in advanced creative theological research with integrated methods in theology. This program aims to train theological researchers and educators who are able to contribute to an increasingly complex church and society concerning theological issues at TCU and other universities and theological institutions inside and outside of Japan and to train leaders who possess high levels of theological expertise and research abilities who can serve in churches, mission organizations, and Christian NPO/NGOs.

The Management Program admits five students annually in preparation for research and teaching careers in the management sciences and related fields of business administration. The program equips future leaders with the conceptual framework and specific skills needed to be successful in business administration. Students take the required courses of Accounting, Finance, Operations Research, Marketing Science, Management Information, Risk Management, Corporate Investment, Financial Engineering, and Statistics.

This major was established in April 2005 to form a hub for gender research education. It was the first major in a Doctoral Program offered in Japan that established and emphasized gender research from an interdisciplinary perspective.

As standard, at least three extra years. Foreign language proficiency tests. Research presentation. Publication of peer-reviewed papers. Doctoral thesis.

Students are expected to acquire either advanced composition or advanced conducting techniques by composing works or by conducting, and studying theory. In order to achieve this, students have to do practical and theoretical research in both areas, because these areas are closely related to each other.