A reliable road to a career in research
Continuing the trend of previous years, roughly 90% of graduates from the Faculty of Science were admitted to the Graduate School of Science. Of those 90%, just about half will continue onto the doctoral program. The School of Science, as an organization, places an emphasis on education and research, and has upheld “creating and inheriting new knowledge and creativity” as its vital mission. A high percentage of our students go on to graduate school, possibly because of the structure of the undergraduate program and that when students begin their studies at our university, many of them already have their sights set on becoming researchers.
However, not all students pursue a career in research from the start. Many of them gain research experience during their junior and senior years of their undergraduate studies and become fascinated by it. This combined with the opportunity to engage with lab professors or their seniors influences students to eventually pursue a career in research.
The School of Science has leading researchers who have enjoyed success in Japan as well as overseas. It is also equipped with a wide range of facilities for conducting cutting-edge research and offers an environment that allows students aspiring to become researchers to devote themselves freely to their work.
Over half of our students who complete the doctoral program become researchers. Most of them find jobs at universities and research institutes in Japan as well as overseas. In addition, each year a certain number of students are awarded Research Fellowships for Young Scientists (PD) by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). These research fellowships are awarded to only a few select applicants.
The diversity of graduate careers
On the other hand, nearly half of those who complete the master’s or doctoral program find careers in fields outside of research. Such individuals gain an interest in other fields as students and begin pursuing a different path or apply what they learned in science to non-research fields. The careers of our graduates who studied in the School of Science have rapidly become more diverse in recent years, ranging from work at private companies, to government ministries/offices and even starting their own companies.
Studying science opens a wide range of career paths. What students learn and their experiences in the School of Science serve as universal skills down the road. The spirit of inquiry for exploring the essence of things and the capacity to think logically, which students hone through their daily research, are in great demand in a variety of settings in our rapidly changing modern society. This is why our graduates can have such diverse career paths.
※Graduate Pathways data for 2023
Text: Masatsugu Kayahara