International Graduate Program in Chemistry and Biotechnology

Programme overview

A two-year, English-taught master's course run by the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology of the Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo, based in Building 5 of the School of Engineering on the Hongo Campus. The department describes itself as "a new discipline established from the fusion of chemistry and life science in the School of Engineering", with "molecule" as its common theme. IGPCB is the department's admission route for applicants who hold foreign citizenship, hold or expect an overseas bachelor's degree, and neither have Japanese nationality nor reside in Japan during the application period. It is one of the Graduate School of Engineering's International Admission Programs but is the only one that does not use the T-cens online system: applicants first contact a potential supervisor in the department, send the completed forms to that supervisor by email, are interviewed, and then post the original documents to the departmental office by express mail. Selection is by interview plus screening of the application documents — there is no written entrance examination. The master's stage is delivered inside the department's Integrated Master/PhD Program, in which students sit a Qualifying Examination one year after admission that determines progression to the doctoral stage; the doctoral stage is out of scope for this record. Three application schedules are published for the 2027 cycle: Schedule 1 for April 2027 entry, and Schedules 2 and 3 for October 2027 entry.

The programme sits inside the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology of the Graduate School of Engineering. Applicants are admitted to a named laboratory under a potential supervisor agreed before application, and combine taught coursework with laboratory research leading to a master's thesis. The department's postgraduate curriculum "consists of four general subject groupings – Group A: Fundamental Subjects; Group B: Standard Subjects; Group C: Special Topics; and Advanced and Specialized Subjects", and is "aimed to enhance the postgraduate research skills and output of each individual, regardless of their undergraduate background". Students "also have the opportunity to enroll in subjects offered in other departments". The Graduate School of Engineering sets the frame: "The Graduate School of Engineering offers a two-year master's program and a three-year doctoral program as the standard duration of study", and "students are required to complete at least 30 credits in the master's program", with coursework decreasing over time as "research—conducted in laboratories for their master's or doctoral theses—becomes the main focus". Because IGPCB students enter the Integrated Master/PhD Program, they additionally sit a Qualifying Examination one year after admission that governs progression to the doctoral stage.

Important facts