Four-year Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Program

Japanese pharmacy has made significant contributions to drug discovery, a good example of an industry that concentrates advanced knowledge and technology.

Carrying on this tradition, the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences aims to cultivate professionals for involvement in the creation, development and production of effective and safe pharmaceuticals as well as education and research in pharmaceutical-related areas such as food, cosmetics, and environment and hygiene-related areas. While studying natural sciences is a given, the curriculum also allows students to take courses specific to pharmacy.

From the latter half of the third year, students are assigned to laboratories. Under the guidance of their academic advisors, they gain the foundational practical and problem-solving skills essential for scientists, preparing them for graduate school-level research projects.

Entrepreneurship is not merely about having an “entrepreneurial spirit”; it can also be described as a mindset that constantly seeks out societal challenges and strives to solve them. The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences cultivates entrepreneurship by equipping students with problem identification skills through early experiential learning, while preparing them for diverse future career paths.

Nearly 90% of students graduating from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences each year go on to graduate school. While it is possible to start working immediately after undergraduate graduation, for students aiming to pursue careers involving medicine or life sciences, going on to graduate school will be an important step toward their future. Regarding career paths, the proportion of graduate school graduates taking up research positions is higher than that for Department of Pharmacy graduates.

There is close collaboration between the Faculty of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences course and the Major in Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The six-year program, including the graduate school master’s course, is structured such that the first half focuses on acquiring broad knowledge and skills in pharmacy and related sciences, including drug discovery science and life sciences. The latter half involves practical training to gain research literacy and capabilities in identifying and solving problems. In addition, students learn the regulations and rules they need to be aware of as researchers from their early years, and a sense of responsibility regarding the public good and ethical values are cultivated throughout the entire study period.

The Major in Pharmaceutical Sciences in the graduate school that graduates of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences go on to allows students to complete both the master’s and doctoral programs, which usually takes five years, in a total of four years.

This program is specifically designed for outstanding students. It enables them to obtain a Ph.D. - the global standard for researchers - at an early stage. To enter this course students must meet the academic standards and have taken graduate school courses from the fourth year in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, making it possible to obtain a doctoral degree in eight years from undergraduate enrollment.