This program is currently under application to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for establishment in April 2027, and the plan is subject to change.
This program is an interdisciplinary five-year integrated doctoral education program designed to cultivate highly skilled professionals with bi-disciplinary expertise spanning medicine and human biology, and the physical sciences, engineering, information science, and materials science. It is a newly established program developed through the advanced integration of the Doctoral Program in Human Biology of Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences and the Ph.D. Program in Humanics of the School of Integrative and Global Majors.
Through bi-disciplinary education under a double-mentor system, in which students are guided by two mentors from two distinct fields— medicine and human biology, and the physical sciences, engineering, information science, and materials science —as well as through entrepreneurship education and overseas laboratory rotations, the program promotes interaction across disciplines. It aims to foster leaders who possess rich creativity capable of generating integrated knowledge across fields, together with cutting-edge skills that enable them to contribute broadly to industry and the international community, and to address both societal and academic challenges.
We seek individuals who are committed to contributing to the future of humanity by identifying and addressing challenges that can drive paradigm shifts in the field of Humanics, which integrates medicine and human biology, and the physical sciences, engineering, information science, and materials science. Such individuals are expected to possess foundational knowledge in one of the following areas and a strong interest in interdisciplinary research across these fields:
Students who complete this program will become outstanding leaders with the bi-disciplinary expertise to incorporate the latest knowledge and technologies in medicine and human biology, and the physical sciences, engineering, information science, and materials science, communicate using the languages of both fields, conceive new paradigms through a deep understanding of these disciplines, and integrate them in order to realize such paradigms by utilizing cutting-edge technologies.
These Humanics leaders will possess rich creativity to generate integrated knowledge across disciplines through interactions between different fields, as well as advanced skills that enable them to play active roles in industry and the international community, thereby responding to societal and academic challenges.
Doctor of Philosophy
The curriculum is designed to cultivate the following competencies: a firm commitment to probing the essence of unknown problems; bi-disciplinary expertise spanning medicine and human biology, and the physical sciences, engineering, information science, and materials science; fundamental research skills in Humanics and an understanding of global trends in this field; the ability to independently formulate paradigm-shifting research questions; and the capacity to address these challenges with integrity and sincerity.
Humanics Research: Doctoral research based on collaborative studies that integrate two fields—medicine and human biology, and the physical sciences, engineering, information science, and materials science.
Examples include:
Sleep Medical Science
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Next-Generation Mobility Technology
= Development of driver alertness and cognitive function monitoring technologies using automotive IoT systems
Spine and Spinal Cord Surgery
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Cybernics
= Application of the wearable cyborg HAL to central nervous system spinal disorders and gait analysis by disease type
Sleep Neuroscience
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MMRI Medical Physics
= Elucidation of functional networks during sleep in mice through the development of novel fMRI measurement methods
Email hxp-sigma@un.tsukuba.ac.jp
Interdisciplinary Education, Convergent Research, Medicine, Sleep Medicine, Human Biology, Neuroscience, Engineering, Information Science and Engineering, Materials Science, Cybernics, MDA, and Artificial Intelligence
