Policies for Master's Program

Admission policy

Kochi University of Technology's objective is 'Making KUT a world class university through the pursuit of unique excellence'. We are inviting those who understand this objective, who have a desire to study, and who have strong will and aspire to become advanced engineers or researchers so as to take an active role in society in the future.
We are hoping to accept students who 1) understand the educational policy and objectives of each course, 2) have strong interest, motivation and sense of purpose in the technical field and 3) have the basic academic skill necessary for study at KUT Graduate School of Engineering.

Curriculum policy

In research in KUT's master's program, each student proactively undertakes a research theme under the instruction of his/her main and sub supervisors, so as to develop logical thinking, objective perception, technical expertise and research capability.

In addition, students acquire advanced expertise and skills by extending the education they obtained in their undergraduate years, and develop flexibility, tolerance for adversity, and a broader view by studying in different research fields from a cross-sectional perspective. Students also develop an understanding of research ethics in KUT's research ethics training program.

Intelligent Mechanical Systems Engineering Course

*Prior to 2018 enrollment

This course provides education for students who have mastered the basics of mechanical engineering in undergraduate school, to support their further development of expertise in fields such as mechatronics and aeronautics. The intention is that the students will acquire the ability to resolve practical engineering issues. To that end, the course emphasizes classroom learning to the minimum level necessary so that the students can focus on research activities and acquire the ability to apply their expertise broadly beyond the boundaries of disciplines.

Intelligent Mechanical Engineering Course

*Effective from 2019 enrollment

This course provides education for students who have mastered the basics of mechanical engineering in undergraduate school, to support their further development of expertise in fields such as mechatronics and robotics. The intention is that the students will acquire the ability to resolve practical engineering issues. To that end, the course emphasizes education in carefully selected topics, in the context of research activities, so that the students will be able to apply their expertise broadly across discipline boundaries.

Electronic and Photonic Systems Engineering Course

*Prior to 2018 enrollment

Electronic engineering and photonic engineering are elements of the essential foundation for the establishment of a safe and trusted global society in the near future. Aiming at the realization of world caliber cutting edge electronic photonic devices and of new systems using such devices, this course pursues research on materials and the design and creation of devices, and the application of the results of that research. This discipline is also intended to foster human resources with advanced knowledge and understanding of their fields who will provide leadership in design, development and research towards futuristic products.

Electronic and Photonic Engineering Course

*Effective from 2019 enrollment

In this course the students perform applied research on 1) the processes of design and creation of electronic and photonic devices and 2) the application of such devices to measurement and information communication systems. This approach fosters human resources with advanced knowledge and understanding of their fields who will provide leadership in design, development and research towards futuristic products. Through our curriculum of major subjects, we offer a highly specialized program in the fields of electronic and photonic devices and information communication to equip the students with more advanced and integrated capabilities. Furthermore, by engaging in specialized research, the students acquire enhanced expertise and the ability to solve technical problems. They are also given guidance towards solidifying their understanding of technical matters and expressing it intelligibly, to enable them to play active roles in development and research scenarios.

Aerospace Engineering Course

*Effective from 2019 enrollment

To give the students more sophisticated and deeper expertise, this course builds upon the basic engineering knowledge that the students acquired in their undergraduate studies, in areas such as aerospace engineering, intelligent mechanical engineering and electronic and photonic engineering. By conducting research on advanced technological issues, the students develop into engineers who can play active roles in the aerospace industry.

Energy Engineering Course

*Effective from 2019 enrollment

In this course, the students study cutting edge next generation energy research outcomes and technological issues in their core subjects. Also, to capitalize on the energy acquired in course subjects of the field, each student selects a minor subject related to technology so as to obtain a fundamental understanding of energy issues and the applied research and development skills required by various fields. In their designated research labs, by doing specialized research, the students engage in deep study of the energy technology of a certain field. Joint seminars with other research labs and collaborative inter-disciplinary projects enhance their communication and management skills and broaden their understanding of various fields.

Infrastructure Systems Engineering Course

In this course, students will study advanced elementary technology and design for the planning, improvement, management and maintenance of social infrastructure and a living environment. They will acquire the ability to develop technology and design environments through a cross-disciplinary approach. The major objective of the course is to realize a safe, affluent and peaceful society with solid social infrastructure systems including transportation, water and sewage, information and communication, energy, disaster prevention and living climate. To that end, the course offers research training and education in technology and design for the coordination of infrastructure, so that the students can develop the skills necessary for the solution of systematic issues in real society and acquire the ability to enter into discourse across disparate fields.

Environmental and Mathematical Sciences Course

Since COP21 in 2015, where the historical Paris Agreement was adopted, the rules of global business have been moving towards significant change. Now corporations, governments and municipalities are facing the pressing need for plans for the mitigation of and adjustment to climate change. This course, based on a broad knowledge of natural science and environmentology, will use a data science approach (integrating data analytics and simulation) to extract and analyze the essential relations among various natural and societal phenomena. Those findings will enable the students to develop the design skills necessary for arriving at concrete conclusions and drafting proposals.

Chemistry Course

Knowledge of chemistry is necessary for every activity that deals with substances. In this course, students will learn to apply the knowledge that they have acquired in undergraduate school and will acquire skills that are useful in society. That is, through research guidance, students will develop expert skills in experimentation, research, logical thinking, and practical procedures. In addition, through daily discussions and formal presentations on occasions such as academic society meetings, they will acquire a variety of skills including presentation, communication and debate.

Life Science and Technology Course

Developments in pharmaceutical science and medicine, based on life sciences, are rapidly producing new innovations such as biomedical products and custom-made medical treatment based on genome information. As well, there have been extensive efforts to enhance agricultural productivity and improve the quality of microorganisms and crops by means of genetic modifications and genetic selection based on genome information. It is expected that the demand for advanced engineers and research developers who can engage in such technology will continue to increase in the future. To meet demand from industry, this course fosters human resources who have strong ethics as engineers and the will to make contributions to society through engineering work.

Materials Science and Engineering Course

In this course, students master disciplines such as thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, solid-state physics and crystal chemistry, applying the basic knowledge they acquired in undergraduate school. They also learn about functional expression mechanisms and functional restriction technology using various materials in the broad spectrum from nano to macro. The course also aims at the development of advanced environmentally sensitive materials in order to establish a material cycle that harmonizes with nature. In addition, substantial guidance is provided for surveying the academic literature, giving presentations and writing papers for domestic and international conferences. The course has a master's program internship system and short study abroad program, intended to foster researchers and engineers with deep expertise, broad vision and international sense.

Informatics Course

Applications of the field of informatics have been constantly expanding, so human resources (engineers) with expertise in this field are needed for the work to design a better information based society and to assist in its realization. Taking both theory and practice as its core, the course aims to: 1) provide the students with systematic basic knowledge of informatics; and 2) develop, in problem based learning (PBL) scenarios, the students' ability to apply their acquired knowledge through an understanding of the essence of the latest technology. Furthermore, through specialized subjects, the course gives students not only a broad background in informatics but also knowledge about humans and society, the recipients of the benefits of informatics. In this way the course cultivates generalists with high levels of expertise who can contribute to the information based society in various information related aspects.

Entrepreneur Engineering Management Course

In our knowledge-based society, next generation core human resources are required who can create new knowledge, values and problem solving methodology on the basis of rich learning and comprehensive management capability, and thus can play active roles at various levels of society with its ever more complicated management environment. This course, connecting technology and knowledge from various fields to management studies, is aimed at the cultivation of human resources capable of accurate perception and appropriate response. The course is provided for mid-career people such as 1) engineers and core human resources who are playing leadership roles in companies; 2) mid-level employees who are aiming at company management roles; 3) entrepreneurs who are considering new businesses, second time start-ups, or business succession; 4) new generation managers who aim to start businesses; and 5) human resources from government and the private sector who can contribute to regional revitalization, regional management and public administration. In this course, the students study ways of identifying actual societal problems and methodologies for solving them. This instructional approach uses living teaching materials such as practical business startups, business creation, organizational management, and administrative management. The courses, taught by various faculty members, range from the basics of management to applied management work. The courses and instructors are carefully selected on the basis of experience and achievement. The program aims to foster problem solving ability by offering global-point-of-view management related knowledge for practical use in society, and by utilizing knowledge in various kinds of expertise based on new cross-sectional ideas.

Advanced Educational Practice Course

At present, school education issues have become more diversified and more complex. In that regard, one of the most important issues in this country is how to improve the skills of teachers. Society demands that teacher education be advanced to foster teachers with broad academic knowledge and deep understanding of their disciplines and also practical leadership skills in master's programs. In order to foster such human resources, this KUT master's program offers an advanced curriculum related to science and engineering, aimed at examining instructional content but also at means of improving education methodology. The course promotes the development of comprehensive practical teaching skills that unfold during a long teaching practice, and gives the students systematic skills for improving curriculum using a scientific approach and appropriate knowledge.

Diploma policy

The requirements for the completion of a master's program are 1) study in the relevant program for two years or longer, 2) 30 credits or more, including 18 credits or more in specialized area courses which are as a rule given as lectures, and 3) successful completion (after receiving the necessary research guidance) of the master's thesis review and examination provided by KUT graduate school.

A master's degree will be granted to those who have creativity, originality, ethicality and objectivity; skills in logic, academic writing and international communication; and of course expertise and research capability in their specialized field.