103 Medicine and Health Sciences Degree Programs in Japan

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Our Psychology program breaks conventional boundaries by adopting an interdisciplinary approach. It seamlessly integrates insights from diverse fields such as neuroscience, data science, humanities, and social sciences. This structure not only enriches the study of human behavior but also fosters versatile thinkers, adept at bridging disciplines and innovating in their respective fields. We believe that education in this field is crucial in fostering a compassionate, empathetic society that can better understand and address mental health concerns.

Students delve deeply into the intricacies of physical and mental health, studying from a broad range of disciplines that includes basic medical sciences, clinical medicine, mental health, nutritional science, physical education, and sports science based on their own interests and goals for the future. With a rich education in medical care and an advanced level of practical skills, students are molded into generalists in the sports and health sciences field, capable of exhibiting their skills in a wide range of areas in society.

The Graduate School of Health Sciences (master's and doctoral programs) aims to train leaders and researchers with a high degree of research capacity in the field of health sciences. The Graduate School of Health Sciences consists of two educational research fields, Human Health Development and International Island Health, which conduct unique educational research regarding health and longevity on Okinawa, physical, psychosocial, and cultural factors that influence health, the development of health resources, and advanced healthcare technology, and island health in the Asia-Pacific region. We also promote the globalization of graduate education by encouraging graduate students to present their research at academic conferences such as the Asia Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health. Those who complete the doctoral course potentially work as researchers and leaders in universities, hospitals, laboratories, and international organizations.

The Major of Vision Sciences provides a level of education not found elsewhere in Japan, having students study the principles of clinical medicine pertaining to visual functions and their disorders, and placing a focus on basic research in the visual sciences field. Graduates that have acquired nationally-recognized orthoptist qualifications can expect to work at healthcare institutions nationwide.

Public health nursing is an independent nursing occupation in Japan. All public health nurses (PHNs) are educated as nurses and public health nurses and have licensure as a registered nurse and separate licensure as a PHN. The minimum length of education and training required to receive licensure in Japan is three years for nurses and one year for PHNs. There are various PHN educational programs in Japan, such as graduate school Master’s courses; undergraduate courses; junior college non-degree courses; four-year special training college courses for nurses and PHNs; and one-year PHN schools. Our faculty believes that PHNs should be educated and trained at the graduate level to improve the quality of their practice, so OUNHS was the first school in Japan to establish a Master’s degree PHN course in 2011.

OUNHS established a Health Sciences Master’s major and a Health Sciences PhD course in our Graduate School in 2009 to promote advanced research in non-nurse medical and healthcare professionals. These courses are very unique in universities and colleges of nursing in Japan. They were established for medical doctors, registered dietitians, radiation technologists, pharmacists, medical technologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and health and exercise trainers. The six specialty areas of the Master’s major are Health Physiology; Environmental Health Science; Physical Fitness and Sports Science; Radiological Health Science; Health Informatics and Biostatistics; and Mental Health. Education in the Master’s course is characterized by both day and night instruction, small class sizes, and mentor-group instruction. Two mentors with expertise in the course specialty area supervise student research from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students also receive statistical support and use statistical software such as SPSS, SAS, MATLAB and S-PLUS to process and interpret experimental and survey data.

The philosophy of the School of Medicine is that “we would nurture female physicians who can be independent through the development of their abilities and achieving medical knowledge/skills and can implement “Sincerity and Compassion”. For this purpose, we have always implemented educational reforms to meet the needs of the times and introduced new educational systems as a pioneer in Japan. School education is characterized by “Team-based learning”, “integrated curriculum” and “Implementation and learning of "Sincerity and Compassion” as the main pillar for vertically integrated education. In addition, at the new Yayoi Memorial Building for Medical and Nursing Education, full-fledged collaborative education for the School of Medicine and School of Nursing has started in 2020. The objective of vertically cross-grade education is to acquire fundamental knowledge, skills, and attitudes as a physician, and to promote continuous lifelong learning abilities. Collaborative education aims at developing abilities to create new knowledge and intelligence in collaboration with other people. The School of Medicine aims at nurturing female physicians who can contribute to medicine throughout their lives by continuously improving themselves in various career development and life cycles.

The Graduate School of Occupational Health invites doctors, dentists, pharmacists, sanitary technicians, and health nurses who have studied medicine, dentistry, pharmacology, medical engineering, physical therapy, nursing, and health and hygiene in university and who aim to be an expert in occupational health. It provides students with knowledge and skills for the prevention of harmful influences on the health of people at work, for helping people with chronic diseases to continue working, and for the improvement of workers’ health and working conditions. It also educates specialists in occupational health and those engaged in education.

The goal of the program is to train outstanding medical researchers and educators, capable of both conducting and supervising original research that grows out of continual dialogue and clinical medicine. We also focus on developing researchers with a good knowledge of the humanities and a strong sense of ethics. The Master of Medical Sciences program at Keio University is designed to provide advanced education and training in medical research, offering students a robust foundation in both clinical and laboratory sciences. This program is ideal for those looking to deepen their understanding of medical science and contribute to cutting-edge research in fields such as epidemiology, molecular medicine, and health policy. Students benefit from Keio University’s renowned medical faculty and research facilities, which support a collaborative and innovative research environment.

The goal of our master's program is to train future pioneers in the health, healthcare, and welfare fields, professionals who are broad-visioned, ethical-minded, and are ready to promote the kinds of research and education that emphasize the value of human dignity while working hand-in-hand with various health-related institutions.

The Graduate School of Nutritional Sciences, only with a Master's Course opened in 1990 based on the long tradition and history of food-related achievements at Nakamura Gakuen University. In 2004, the first-ever Doctor's course established as an education and research facility related to nutrition in western Japan.

Wakayama Medical University School of Medicine has changed its curriculum from the traditional curriculum that relied heavily on knowledge to the one that provides opportunities for a well-balanced acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitude (ethics). One of the most recent changes in the curriculum took place in 2006, in which each field is more horizontally integrated according to the structures, functions, and types of organs involved as opposed to being vertically integrated according to the areas of specialty, such as internal medicine and surgical medicine. This change has enabled the University to produce more highly skilled doctors in both clinical and research fields.

The basic principle of the Faculty of Medicine lies in substantive contributions as a highly-advanced regional medical center to the development of medical science and nursing and the progress of regional health services. We are dedicated to carrying out a tripartite mission of providing good medical education, conducting quality research, and rendering first-rate services in comprehensive medical diagnosis and treatment, and training professionals capable of satisfactorily meeting the often-changing needs of modern society.

We provide education aimed at "the best medical care in Japan" . Completed normal medical examination in 2 years while studying basic medicine in "early clinical training" in the lower grades, and after reviewing from abnormal to normal in 4 years "PreCC OSCE pre-training" , in 5 or 6 years We will review it by using simulation and bedside teaching. By repeatedly studying medical examination techniques over a period of 6 years, you will be able to develop a high level of "ability to examine patients" .