Why Geoscience in Japan?
Disaster-Prone Country in Need of Geoscience
Japan is well known for its unique culture that combines tradition, nature and technology. This mountainous island country is located on an active margin with limited area suitable for agricultural, indstrial or residential use and possess limited natural resources. The forces of nature have attacked the human society of Japan throughout its history as natural disasters, for example, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, typhoons/heavy rainstroms and associated floods, landslides, and other disaster types. Natural processes have also triggered human-related disasters such as the tsunami-induced nuclear plant accident in 2011 or coastal erosion. Such a natural and social background has required and promoted the development of various aspects of geoscience in Japan to solve pressing issues in densely populated area.
For general information on study in Japan, visit the following websites:
Why Geoscience at University of Tsukuba?
Offering an Undergrad Geoscience Program in English
The University of Tsukuba is the only university in Japan offering an undergrad degree in geoscience in English. The 4-year program in English started in 2011 and is now well established.The program is aimed at students who hold a non-Japanese passport. Knowledge in Japanese is not expected.
Outstanding Research at International Level
The College of Geoscience of the University of Tsukuba is top-ranked in Japan and is known for its outstanding research at international level. Pioneering research of our College includes earthquake physics, weather forecasting, forest hydrology, permafrost creep, GIS Science (Geographical Information System Science), environmental survey after the nuclear plant accident, and many more.
Covering the Whole Range of Geoscience
The College has 2 fields, 12 labs, and 43 academic staff, and covers a whole range of geoscience from paleontology, petrology, atmosphere science to human/regional geographies. See details at Research Fields/Labs
Interested in Disasters?
We have experts who study natural/human-related disasters from a scientific point of view. We also offer a lecture on natural hazards in the English program.
Low Student-to-Staff Ratio
The staff number of 43 is high by international standards. According to governmental regulations the College of Geoscience is allowed to accept only 50 students per year in total for both the Japanese and English undergraduate programs. This equates to a low student-to-staff ratio of ~1.2 for the 1st-year intake. The low ratio helps students to cultivate closer relationships with their academic staff, have quicker access to feedback, and get involved in more interactive courses and disussion.
Large Variety of Field Work Courses
The foundation of geoscience is to analyzse actual phenomena on the Earth. We offer many field work courses in and outside of Japan every year to make observations and measurements, to explore Earth`s material and its structure, and to collect samples for further processed and analyzed in labroartories.
Wide Variety of Skills and Knowledge
From basics to applications, there are many opportunities to acquire a wide variety of experiences, skills, and knowledge through various lectures, laboratory experiments, field work, and seminars.
Take the First Step to Become a Geoscience Expert
Graduation research, the first step for a geoscience expert, helps you to improve your scientific approaches and to develop writing and presentation skills. The research topics offered in the College of Geoscience are diverse, and so are the methods, from fieldwork to laboratory experiment, numerical simulation and literature survey.
General aspects of studing in Tsukuba are found in the web pages below.