About graduate school
Message from the Dean, Graduate School of Health Sciences
Jun Kobayash Dean
Jun Kobayash
Dean, Graduate School of Health Sciences, University of the Ryukyus
Since 2015, the Graduate School of Health Sciences, the University of the Ryukyus, has offered an Okinawa Global Health Sciences Course in English for entering students. The following details some of the characteristics of our Graduate School as compare with the many other universities in Japan that offer global health courses.
Students can study practical matters of public health because Okinawa is a prefecture in Japan with public health challenges similar to those in low- and middle-income countries. Okinawa has challenges of adolescent health, such as early pregnancy and violence, as well as the double burden of lifestyle diseases and infectious diseases because of the poverty caused by the current disparity in society. Okinawa was formed by many remote islands and has a history of overcoming the challenges of rural health. Furthermore, our island is located in the subtropical zone, and has a unique history of eradicating tropical diseases, such as malaria, which was recorded in the era of the U.S. occupation after World War II. Our graduate school offers a field in which we can learn about these experiences to solve challenges. In collaboration with the JICA Okinawa Center, we run short training courses for practitioners in low- and middle-income countries on these health issues. Graduate students can also take these courses. An opportunity to discuss public health challenges in low- and middle-income countries is provided as a basis of learning about Okinawa’s experiences.
The Graduate School of Health Sciences is comprised of both social science and a bioscience laboratories. Students can learn about the innovations needed in health sciences from these two approaches. Each class on this website is introduced, so you can find a class that matches your interests. You can also consult with our school before taking the entrance examination to determine which laboratory is best suited for you needs.
More than ten international students have already graduated from this course, and are active in their respective countries working in fields that contribute to public health administration and research. The quality of education is highly regarded by the institutions that hire our graduates for its applicability to practical public health tasks. Graduates have also commented on the warm atmosphere between instructors and students.
Okinawa is a world-famous tourist destination and is open to foreign students. During your student life, you will also have the opportunity to enjoy our rich tourist resources.
Three policies of the Graduate School of Health Sciences
Admission policies
We are seeking students who want to be researchers, leaders, or advanced professionals, and who have outstanding research ability, which enables them to contribute to people’s health, well-being and longevity.
After graduation, students are expected to be widely active both inside and outside of Japan, and are encouraged to explore ways to improve the current methods of disease prevention and health promotion. Admission policies are detailed below for Master and Doctoral programs.
■ Admission policies of the Master program
This program specifically seeks students who want to:
- become educators, researchers or leaders in the field of health sciences and who have strong research abilities with a wide perspective.
- study in-depth professional knowledge and skills in the field of health sciences.
- contribute to not only the local community but also the global community.
- become advanced professionals, e.g., certified nurse specialist, Yogo teacher with specialized certificate, or medical technologists who have research and development capacity.
■ Admission policies of Doctoral program
The program specifically seeks students who want to:
- conduct outstanding health research based on the islands, ocean, natural, and social environments of Okinawa.
- conduct outstanding research on the promotion of health and longevity, regenerative medicine, or the development of health resources.
- conduct outstanding research on island global health through international academic exchanges with Asia-Pacific countries.
Diploma policies
Diploma policies are detailed below for Master and Doctoral programs.
By educating students from a broad perspective, our graduate school aims to foster researchers and leaders in the field of health sciences who have advanced ability to conduct research that contributes to people’s health, well-being, and longevity.
■ Diploma policies of Master program
At the completion of the program, students will have acquired the following competences:
- Internationally recognized knowledge and skills
- The ability to scientifically evaluate/study health development and pathological analysis
- Knowledge and skills necessary for promoting island nursing and home care nursing
■ Diploma policies of Doctoral program
At the completion of the program, students will have acquired the following competences:
- The ability to promote healthy longevity
- The ability to promote research to explore health resources
- The ability to conduct research to address unique health problems in islands in the Asia-Pacific region.
Curriculum policies
Our graduate school has established an education system that covers a wide range of areas, including nursing and medical technology. We cultivate students’ research ability as well as a high sense of ethics through dissertation guidance. We run the Okinawa Global Health Science Course to train human resources in global health and medicine.
Curriculum policies are detailed below for Master and Doctoral programs.
■ Curriculum policies of the Master program
- We provide common course subjects that help students to study a wide range of areas.
- Using the special features of Okinawa, we provide subjects necessary for students to acquire practical ability and research skills for island community health and communicable disease control in a sub-tropical region.
- We offer courses to train highly specialized nurses who have a high standard of practical ability and research skills.
■ Curriculum policies of Doctoral program
- In order to foster advanced health professionals who can be active in the global community as leaders, we operate the cross-cutting graduate school program. We also strengthen students’ English ability to conduct research and to practice and promote students’ cross-cultural understanding.
- We provide the latest knowledge of life science and social science.
Laboratory Introduction
Human Health Promotion
| Division | Professor | Keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Health Promotion & Development, School Health |
Minoru Takakura | Epidemiology, Health Promotion & Education, School Health, Social Determinants of Health |
| Adult Health Nursing, Palliative Care Nursing |
Noriko Teruya |
Cancer Nursing, Palliative Care, Adult Health Nursing |
| Gerontological Nursing | Midori Kuniyoshi |
Gerontological nursing, Elder abuse, Elder care |
| Mental Health Nursing, Mental Health |
Takao Yokota |
Mental health, Health science, Health promotion |
| Biometabolic chemistry, Medical biochemistry |
Nanae Harashima |
Cancer cell death, Tumor immunology, Natural anticancer compounds, Oxidative stress, Anticancer drug resistance |
| Moleculer Biology, Analysis of Molecular Biology |
Hiroshi Nakao |
Multi-drug resistant bacteria, Molecular epidemiology, Development of growth inhibitors of pathogenic bacteria |
| Biological Information Analysis, Analysis of Physiology |
Hisataka Awata |
Medical examination information analysis, Renal Function |
| Home Care Nursing | ||
| Maternal and Child Nursing | Maternal and child nursing/Maternal and child health, Genetic nursing/Rare hereditary disease, Nursing for children with disabilities/Developmental disorder, Nutritional management during pregnancy, Qualitative research/Modified Grounded Theory Approach |
International and Islands Health Sciences
| Division | Professor | Keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamental Nursing, Global Nursing |
Takehiko Toyosato |
Fundamental Nursing, Nursing Management, Nursing System |
| Global Health | Jun Kobayashi |
Global Health, Community Health, School Health, Maternal and Child Health, Health Policy, Malaria, Infectious Disease Control |
| Biostatistics | Koji Yonemoto |
Clinical research and health research using biostatistics, Research on biostatistical methods |
| Hematoimmunology, Hematoimmunological Analysis |
Takuya Fukushima |
Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Type-I, Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma, Molecular Epidemiology, Search for Biomarker of ATL, Development of Immunotherapy for ATL |
| Morphological Pathology | Takao Kinjo |
Association between tumors in Okinawa and viral infection, Experimental pathology, Clinical cytology, Molecular biological analysis, Histopathological analysis |
| Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences |
Itaru Hirai |
Pathogenic bacteria, antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, molecular microbiology, Next-generation sequencing, Molecular epidemiology |
| Women's Health Nursing, Global Women's Health |
Life-cycle and women's health, Menstrual cycle, Indefinite complaints in women's life-cycle |
|
| Community Health Nursing, Island Community Health Nursing |
Public health nursing, Maternal and child health, Global health, Station system of public health nurse in Okinawa, Prevention of child abuse |