Master’s Program in Environmental Management

In order to foster outstanding environmental management professionals, students are required to participate in lengthy internship studies. Based on practical experience gained outside of the university, the student presents an innovative master’s thesis and gains professional skills. After completing the master’s degree, the student may continue on to the doctoral program in order to obtain advanced professional skills or may choose to work for national or local government organizations, international organizations, at environment-linked departments of industries, environment-related industries, environment-related NGOs, among others.

The curriculum also fosters outstanding researchers. Students are engaged in academic research in the specific field of his/her major, as well as in interdisciplinary course work, in order to gain the ability to open academic frontiers related to global and/or local environmental issues. After completing the master’s degree, the student may continue on to the Doctoral Program in Global Environmental Studies to obtain advanced academic research skills at the international level, or may choose to work for environment-related research institutions or other organizations.

The Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES) was established in April 2002 to address the urgent environmental problems of the 21st century. Our primary objective is to help establish global environmental sustainability as a new field of academic study, bringing together ethics, science and technology, and humanities and social sciences. Through our educational and research programs, we seek to foster a new generation of professional practitioners.

Helping us realize this goal is a multidisciplinary and international faculty from fields that include science and engineering, agriculture, law, economics, and humanities. The graduate school seeks to 1) achieve in-depth discussion and collaboration among faculty members, 2) train high-level researchers and practitioners who can find comprehensive solutions to environmental problems, and 3) support education and research through a variety of innovative frameworks and programs.

Our ground-breaking research initiatives include multidisciplinary projects working with various local governments in Japan as well as extended international academic collaboration with universities and researchers in such countries as Vietnam, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Fiji, and France.

Our educational program trains outstanding professionals and leaders in environmental management. Core lectures are conducted in English and all students in the master’s program have opportunities to participate in the fieldwork as well as a three-month internship program. Two new projects -the “Environmental Innovator Program (EIP) -Cultivating Environmental Leaders across the ASEAN Region-” and “Japan Gateway: Kyoto University Top Global Program (JGP) Environmental Studies” were launched in 2015, for realizing the internationalization of education and research and establishing international double/joint degree programs.

The 607 master’s program graduates and 196 doctoral program graduates who are actively working in society today represent the results of our efforts to date. We are proud to have educated a large number of talented students who are now playing an active role in universities, research institutions, government offices, private enterprises, and NPOs throughout Japan and overseas.