Introduction

A broad range of substances and materials are used in the world, from general-purpose substances to state-of-the-art materials that are required to exhibit advanced functionality and bio-related materials. In contemporary society, which demands an ever-higher level of creativity, these substances and materials are becoming even more diverse as the boundaries between them are lowered. Nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and environmental technology are the four most important technologies that will underpin the society of the future. These technologies make appearances in our everyday lives, for example in the form of electronic materials, aerospace materials, optical and information functional materials, environmental functional materials, and advanced textile materials.
The Applied Chemistry program presents opportunities for study and research across a wide range of fields, including inorganic materials, ceramics, organic materials, rubber, polymeric materials, plastics, textile materials, bio-related materials, and pharmaceuticals.

Human Resources Development Objective

The Applied Chemistry program is dedicated to endowing students with the skills they will need in order to develop and explore next-generation substances and materials, including a bird’s-eye perspective that extends from the origin to the application of various substances, materials, and bio-related materials that play a role in life along with broad knowledge (general skills) ranging from the basics to applied concepts and specialized expertise, all based on the diversity and other characteristics of substances and materials.

Educational Program

The Applied Chemistry educational program has been designed with the following considerations:

1. It facilitates a balanced study of the natural sciences that form the foundation of associated fields so that students can deal precisely with rapid technological innovation and change in the social environment.
2. It facilitates understanding of the characteristics of individual specialized courses and their relationship to the natural sciences that form that foundation of associated fields.
3. It focuses on cultivating international sensitivity that is grounded in a regional perspective, robust autonomy, and precise judgment, including in specialized study.

Educational Program Mechanisms

During the initial stage of undergraduate study (from students’ first year to the first semester of their second year), the program is designed to endow all students with a broad, fundamental set of general skills (in subjects such as physical chemistry, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and chemical engineering) based on courses such as chemistry, physics, and math. Then starting during the second semester of their second year, they engage in a comprehensive program of study that extends from the origin to the practical use (in terms of social needs) of various substances and materials (polymeric materials, inorganic materials, organic materials, and bio-related materials) through studies that offer specialized knowledge after they choose one of the program’s four courses of study (Polymeric Materials Design, Materials Chemistry Design, Molecular Chemistry Design, and Functional Materials Design). At the end of their third year, all students take an achievement test. During their fourth year, they conduct graduate research in a lab.
The Institute’s educational program is built around a curriculum based on a unique “3 × 3” structure and an emphasis on student autonomy, with the goal that students as of the end of their third year will be able to pursue their studies independently as first-year master’s students during their fourth year of undergraduate study. (This “3 × 3” structure treats the fourth year of undergraduate study as “year 0” of students’ preparation for their master’s degree, during which they study under a graduate-level curriculum, thus allotting in effect three years each to undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral study.) To take advantage of the “3 × 3” structure, students must qualify for recommendation under the graduate “3 × 3” recommendation admission special examination based on a comprehensive evaluation of factors such as the results of their achievement test, their TOEIC score, and their GPA.

Characteristics of the Ideal Graduate

The ideal graduate is one who possesses the skills he or she will need to develop and explore next-generation substances and materials, including a bird’s-eye perspective that extends from the origin to the application of various substances, materials, and bio-related materials that play a role in life along with broad knowledge (general skills) ranging from the basics to applied concepts and specialized expertise, all based on the diversity and other characteristics of substances and materials.