6 Nutrition Masters Degree Programs in Japan

This faculty was opened as the first coeducational faculty of nutrition in Japan. It takes pride in being a traditional faculty of nutrition and has produced many registered dietitians and nutrition teachers, medical technologists, and food sanitation inspectors (administrators) who are involved in the maintenance and advancement of human health. The course of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics for producing national registered dietitians, and Course of Medical Technologies for producing medical technologists, were established to provide human resources with a rich education and high degree of professionalism.

This program addresses the growing number of social issues related to food, such as low nutrition, lifestyle-related illness, and development disorders in children. It is the first of its type in Japan. Distinct from traditional studies in nutrition, the research focus is on the nutritional elements derived from food and their relation to the body, mind, and social interaction. Students are trained to become researchers or specialists such as Food Technologists or Senior Registered Dietitians. The program produces knowledgeable professionals able to offer scientifically sound solutions to maintain or improve health, and to address a wide range of nutritional issues in all aspects of society, including families, schools, and hospitals.

Health and food are important topics and are of the greatest concern for humans to live a healthy life, but these topics change with the times. The diet of Japanese people has become richer and Japan now has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. However, meals have become more convenient, and this has brought with it an unmistakable increase in various problems related to diet, such as the imbalance in the intake of nutrients, excessive consumption of certain nutrients, and food safety. To solve these problems, it is necessary to have people with a broad range of specialist knowledge and ability. In the Food Science & Nutrition Program, we aim to nurture talented students who acquire the latest, high level of specialist knowledge in the fields of nutrition and food science, and deepen their knowledge by carrying out their own research, so that they can make a contribution to society by working as specialists and advising people how to maintain their health through eating healthily. Food and health are subjects that we should study for the whole of our life. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of people who have already been active in society, and have come back to university to deepen their knowledge and skills. After completing their graduate studies, they are playing an active part in society as researchers, specialists, or teachers. How about becoming a part of this circle of your seniors?

The Graduate School of Contemporary Life Studies aims to create a graduate school that is open to society, and strives to develop human resources and disseminate information to solve problems in response to requests from the local community. The issue of "health, nutrition, and food" has become a major international concern, and there are great expectations for the promotion of research in the field of nutrition and the development of highly specialized professionals.

The Course of Food Science and Nutrition is an integrative discipline, in which the principles of biological and physical science are used to study the nature of foods and the consumption and utilization aspects of food and its constituents. Students enrolled in this program are encouraged to study subjects from the molecular level to health and environmental issues relating to food. Through the programs offered in the Food Science and Nutrition course, students are expected to understand the roles of nutrients in supporting vital functions or life functions, the principles underlying the processing and preparing of food, and toxicology. They are also to gain the laboratory disciplines and application skills in biotechnology, toxicology, microbiology, biochemistry, and nutritional sciences. Such knowledge and skills prepare them to work in the food industry in research and development of food products and processes, to serve in government regulatory agencies as food specialists and health advisors, and to find positions in academic institutions as teachers and researchers. Graduates find employment in food and health-related industries and in governmental agencies and laboratories. Those who are certified as junior and senior high school teachers find positions in schools as a teacher of home economics. Some graduates enter the Ph.D. course of food science, nutritional science, and biological sciences.

Food Science and Nutrition Course Nurturing researchers with advanced knowledge who share the viewpoint of consumers We cultivate researchers with advanced expertise in food and diet, and the ability to think from the standpoint of actual consumers of food. Students choose their research theme from one of three areas—food science, nutrition, and cookery science—and undertake research centering on experiments. The research experience and the sense of professionalism gained in this course will open up the possibility of working in a teaching position at a university or college or as a researcher at a business enterprise.