About Tohoku University
Tohoku University was established as Japan’s third national university in 1907.

Located on the ancient site of Aoba Castle in Sendai City, Tohoku University is proud to be ranked among Japan’s leading universities.

In 1911, Vice Minister of Education Masataro Sawayanagi, moved to Sendai to become Tohoku University’s first president. Sawayanagi firmly believed that academic research should be integrated with education. He also believed that a university should not discriminate based on class or gender.

Following this principle, Tohoku University accepted graduates from technical and higher normal schools, and despite opposition from the government at that time, became Japan’s first university to admit female students in 1913.

Facts at a Glance

Founded 1907

Students (As of May 2018)

Enrollment: 17,824

Undergraduates: 10,881

Graduates: 6,943

International students: 1,646

(including non-degree students)

Campus

Principal five campuses in Sendai City

Research

Research Institutes: 6

Inter-Department Institutes for Education and Research: 12

University Collaborating Institutions: 11

International Exchanges/Affairs

Academic Exchange Agreements with Foreign Institutions 227 in 36 countries

Departmental exchanges 497 in 60 countries

Faculty

Faculty members: 3,152

Nobel laureates: 5

Library Collection

4,142,543 volumes

Our mission
The Faculty of Agriculture was established in 1947 as the fifth Faculty of Tohoku University, just after the end of the World War II, under the growing social need to increase food production in the Tohoku Region in Japan.

Since then, our Faculty and Graduate School have promoted academic education and basic research concerning “food, health and the environment”, and have developed applied research to establish new industries in the fields of agriculture, bio-science and biotechnology.

Faculty
We provide students with academic opportunities for leaning across a broad range of knowledge and technology concerning food, health, and the environment. We offer programs for students who wish to become leaders with a heightened awareness of agricultural issues, to contribute to production and utilization of biological resources, production of food, promotion of health, protection of genetic resources and nurturing of the environment.

Graduate school
We design programs for students who wish to acquire a high level of knowledge and expertise concerning food, health and the environment. We offer students the opportunity to become talented leaders who can initiate and accomplish agricultural research projects independently and logically.

We guide researchers in using appropriate advanced technologies in bioscience and biotechnology and in acquiring the ability to contribute to the creation of future bio-industries from a global perspective.

Research
Based on knowledge of agricultural sciences, we perform basic research involving food, health and environmental issues, and develop applied research to promote industries which make use of various organisms.

We also promote an advanced research approach that combines bioscience and economics. Using this approach, we aim to create a biological production system that takes advantage of naturally available resources with the capability of maximizing the value of multi-faceted agricultural and food resources.

Aims and Objectives of the International Post-Graduate Program in Human Security

Tohoku University began the International Post-Graduate Program in Human Security in April 2005. It is a joint educational project undertaken by four of the University’s graduate schools, by integrating their rich academic research and experience with international cooperation vis-à-vis Asia.

Fears about food shortages, lack of nutrition, deterioration of public health and the environment, social conflicts, lack of education, etc. prevent people from living their lives safely and with dignity. With the goal of contributing to true “human security,” this program is designed to educate the current and future generations of leaders and professionals who have the potential to alleviate human insecurity at the international and domestic level.

The main purpose of this project is to intellectually contribute to the construction of an international society where people are blessed with a secure and stable life, free from danger.
Japanese as well as international candidates who are post-graduate students and full-fledged members of society (from Asian countries in particular) are considered for admission. Applicants are requested to demonstrate competence in the social sciences, medical sciences, and humanities and their potential for leadership in the field of Human Security.
Our program covers various educational curricula, because it is jointly offered by four different graduate schools. It is an interdisciplinary program, linking the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences.

Food and Agriculture for Human Security, International Post-Graduate Program in Human Security

Tohoku University started the International Joint Educational Program of Human Security from April 2005, on the basis of mutual collaboration among four graduate schools comprising the Graduate School of Agricultural Science, of Medicine, of International Cultural Studies and of Environmental Studies. Please refer Tohoku University International Post-Graduate Program in Human Security.

The Graduate School of Agricultural Science intends to contribute this program in the sector of food and agrarian issues.

The human race has exploited the nature and has promoted the social and economic development so far. This effort has been extremely accelerated after the World War Two. However, various human activities recently have altered the vulnerability of human security and producing new type of problems which would be hardly solved by the existing political, social, economic, and cultural system, particularly amid the post-Cold War advancement of globalization. Poverty and socio-political unrest have deteriorated dignity of the human person in developing countries.

Aiming to contribute to redeeming human dignity, Food & Agriculture for Human Security Program will educate students and conduct researches especially on food security, rural development for poverty alleviation, sustainable agricultural development and resource management.

Curriculum and Degree
Food & Agriculture for Human Security Program comprises Compulsory Subjects, Elective Subjects, and Seminar (including extra lectures) and Dissertation.

Course Requirements
Master’s Course (two-year course): more than 30 credits on (1) Compulsory Subjects, (2) Elective Subjects, (3) Seminars and Master thesis.

Thesis and Final Examination Requirements
Master degree candidates must complete an acceptable thesis under the guidance of their supervisor. Candidates also must pass a final oral examination conducted with respect to their thesis.

Master’s Course Curriculum in 2019

(1) Compulsory Subjects of the Program (10 credits)

1) International Development Studies
2) Food Economics
3) Environmental Resilience and Energy Security
4) Food & Agricultural Immunology Joint Lecture
5) Human Security and Global Health

(2) Elective Subjects (10 credits or more)

1) Basics of Disaster and Safety Sciences
2) Health and Social Resilience for Large-Scale Disasters
3) Energy and Resource Resilience Strategies
4) Environmental Resilience and Sustainability
5) Global Governance and Safety
6) Hydrology
7) Practical on Global Leader Development
8) Other related subjects

(3) Seminar and Master’s Thesis (10 credits)

Students have to take two regular seminars; one is held by supervisor and the other one is held by the Department of Resource and Environmental Economics. They must complete the Master’s thesis under the instruction of supervisors by the end of the 2nd year. In addition to the subjects written above, students may take related subjects including the Special Lectures provided by researchers or experts invited from overseas. The subjects, however, cannot substitute for the compulsory subjects or elective subjects.

Applicants can inform to which laboratory they wish to belong when they apply for the program, using the designated form. The successful applicant will be notified who is supervising, at the same time as the result of examination reaches him/her.

For those who are enrolled in October (*Reference from 2018)

Admission: October 1
Fall Semester: October 1 - March 31
Human Security Program New Student Guidance: October 3
Winter Vacation: December 27 - January 3
Spring Semester: April – September
Annual Conference of the Japan Association of Human Security Studies: September
Human Security Joint Seminar: September
Conferment Ceremony: September
Entrance Ceremony April 4

Tohoku University offers housing support for international students at the Student Exchange Division. In addition, there are university dormitories called “International House Sanjo”, “University House Aobayama” and “University House Katahira” for international students where they can experience multi-cultural experience from various countries.

From University:

Today, we are facing various social issues in agriculture and related fields, such as the safety and stability of food production, conservation of the global environment and development of new forms of bioenergy. Among these issues, as a global community we must develop the capacity to sustainably feed the ten billion human inhabitants who will be living on our planet in the middle of this century. Safe and sustainable food production world-wide is essential for a healthy future. Thus, it is necessary to establish a balanced food supply compatible with maintaining the Earth's natural ecosystems.

To achieve these aims, we promote an advanced research approach that combines bioscience and agricultural economics. We also aim to create a biological production system that takes advantage of naturally available resources, and to develop such a system in harmony with nature. Our Faculty and Graduate School cover a wide range of academic subjects, from molecular biology to agro-ecology, and from pure chemistry to social sciences. The Faculty has six Departments (Plant Science, Animal Science, Marine Biology, Resource Environmental Economics, Biological Chemistry and Life Chemistry); and the Graduate School has three Divisions (Biological Resource Sciences, Life Sciences and Bioscience and Biotechnology for Future Bioindustries). We also have a Field Science Center, consisting of an Integrated Terrestrial Field Station and Integrated Marine Station. The Field Science Center includes the largest experimental farm in Japan, whose area (2215 ha) accounts for 85% of the total land area occupied by Tohoku University.

Year 2017, is the 70th anniversary of the founding of our Faculty. We have just relocated to the beautiful Aobayama New Campus from the aging Amamiya Campus, which was the headquarters of this Faculty for the last 65 years. When you alight from the Sendai Tozai Subway at Aobayama station, leave from the south exit and head out into the natural beauty of the new campus, down the Campus Mall to the Agricultural Research and Administration Facility and Aobayama Commons (a building housing the lecture theatres, library facilities and restaurant). As one of the major research and teaching faculties of Tohoku University, our new start at this new campus brings us alongside the Faculties of Science, Pharmacy and Technology.

We welcome you to join us in our flexible approach to, and high ambitions for, both education and research in the agricultural sciences.