Educational Research Purposes

Educational Research Goals

The field of informatics consists of three core areas: the interface between humans/society and information, mathematical modeling, and information systems. We aim to serve as an international research center in the field of information science by opening up new fields of study in information science and promoting pioneering and original academic research from a broad perspective.By nurturing high-level research capabilities and rich scholarship, our goals are to cultivate researchers who will push information science forward as well as top-quality specialized professionals and to train outstanding individuals who will take the lead in solving the various issues of today's knowledge society. In addition, a primary mission of the School of Informatics is to contribute to the development of a healthy and harmonious knowledge society and to play a part in fulfilling Kyoto University's mission of "pursuing a harmonious coexistence within the human and ecological community on this planet" through activities such as establishing industry-government-academia partnerships as well as regional partnerships and by fostering the transmission of information in society.

Established on October 10, 2008 at Faculty Meeting of School of Informatics

Admissions Policy

The field of study referred to as Informatics at the Graduate School of Informatics at Kyoto University consists of areas related to information in natural, artificial, social and life-related systems. It can be characterized by three pillars: the interface between humans/society and information, mathematical modeling, and information systems. The aim of the Graduate School of Informatics is not confined to the creation of new fields of study related to the three pillars. More broadly, we explore an understanding of the essence of ‘information’ and the immense impact of information technology on society, and we pursue advancement of information-related science and technology in the appropriate directions. According to the goal of Kyoto University, we will contribute, from the perspective of Informatics, to establishing harmonious coexistence within the global community.

We welcome a wide range of talented students who will understand the concepts of Informatics and will study science and technologies of Informatics with passion, and will aspire to develop this new academic area for the future. As long as they are proficient in their field of study or research, we hope to accept students from diverse backgrounds related to Informatics-unfettered by the conventional framework of sciences versus humanities-from Japan and from other countries. We also welcome working professionals who have a passion for studying Informatics.

Specifically, we welcome students having outstanding skills in diverse backgrounds, strong desire to study, strong interest in particular fields that comprise Informatics, and having excellent communication skills. We also hope to attract post-graduate fellows who have cutting-edge knowledge of Informatics and conduct research on science and technologies of Informatics, to advance to our Doctoral program.

Curriculum Policy

The Graduate School of Informatics at Kyoto University educates promising students with advanced academic expertise and a wealth of scholarly insights, in order to become researchers who can develop Informatics and highly qualified and specialized professionals. They are expected to have a broad outlook and take leadership roles in addressing a diverse range of issues confronting the current knowledge-based society. Therefore, we provide an education considering not only the acquisition of advanced knowledge for each research field, but also a general academic overview related to Informatics. Moreover, we strive to educate students with the knowledge to be active in the globalized international society.

Specifically, we provide an education to equip students with knowledge and expertise in their own areas of research as well as in broader, interdisciplinary fields. We have created a closely-woven educational system appropriately combining the vertical threads of department-centered, advanced, specialist education and research with the horizontal threads of courses that transcend the department, and research supervision that transcends the laboratory. Moreover, a number of the classes are provided in English in order to improve the communication skills necessary to be active in international society. Furthermore, we have developed international program designed to enable students to complete their degrees in English.
We also collaborate with the Leading Graduate Schools and provide educational support for students who have broad interests.

In the Master’s program, in addition to the hierarchical advanced courses structured within the departments, there are also mandatory inter-departmental courses providing “Perspectives in Informatics.” Some advanced and inter-departmental courses in informatics are provided in English. Furthermore, to accept students who have diverse backgrounds, we also provide courses to complement the basic academic skills related to Informatics.
In the Doctoral program, seminar courses are provided by each department in addition to individual research guidance by a supervisor. The courses are designed to offer students wide academic overview, with focus on research advances by faculties in different fields of research.

Diploma Policy

The Graduate School of Informatics at Kyoto University educates promising students to become researchers who can develop Informatics and highly qualified and specialized professionals. They are expected to have a broad outlook and take leadership roles in addressing a diverse range of issues confronting the current knowledge-based society. In order to achieve these aims, we award academic degrees to individuals who have obtained the designated number of course credits according to the following criteria.

Master’s Degree: The submitted Master’s thesis is judged based on its inclusion of new findings in informatics and related fields; OR scholarly content with a broad outlook in informatics and related fields.
In addition, the thesis is judged on whether it is written in a clear and coherent manner with an adequate level of expertise in the fields.
Doctoral Degree: The submitted Doctoral thesis is judged based on its inclusion of new findings and their comprehensive review of informatics and related fields; OR high-level academic content which will contribute greatly to fostering the development of informatics and related fields; OR scholarly content which demonstrates that the applicant is capable of autonomous research activity in informatics and related fields.
In addition, the thesis is judged on whether it is written in a clear and coherent manner with a high level of expertise in the fields.

The Program for Leading Graduate Schools will also issue a certificate of completion of programs based on their respective rules.