Graduate School of Health and Welfare Department of Health and Welfare

In the Health and Welfare Science Major, training of the following educators and researchers is sought. In the Master’s Program, professionals who can practice co-active health and welfare in an integrated health, medicine and welfare field, with extensive knowledge related to health, medicine and welfare, and educators/researchers who can relate to health and welfare issues viewed from various angles, including biological, psychological, and social viewpoints, are trained. In the Doctoral Program, in addition to carrying out advanced research in health, medicine, welfare and independent research of information technology development, educators and researchers who can take charge of training professional human resources in their field, and professionals with the ability to plan and propose health and welfare projects by accurately understanding the needs of the local community, and take the lead as experts in government and private agencies, are trained.

Professor Toru Uehara (Chairperson of the department)

Chief Instructor in charge and educational research fields

Education Policy

Diploma Policy (DP)

Master’s Program

1. Students have extensive knowledge about the basic theories of public health and social welfare, as well as about health science and social welfare policy.
2. Students have expertise in solving the various problems concerning public health and social welfare such as mental health and welfare of the elderly.
3. Students have social work skills and the ability to use them for public health and social welfare assistance.
4. Students have the ability to research unresolved issues in public health and social welfare, and to properly summarize and present the results.
5. Students have the sense of responsibility and ethics as a professional in the public health and social welfare field.

Doctoral Program

1. Students have a wealth of insights and expertise as well as skills to independently conduct cutting-edge research and IT R&D related to health, medical care, and social welfare.
2. Students have the skills to obtain research results by creating and implementing their own research plans.
3. Students have the skills to compile the results of their research in the appropriate manner and present them at a special academic conference, as well as the skills to write their own research papers and publish them in a special academic journal.
4. Students have the practical skills to apply the research results to improving the public health and social welfare of the local communities.
5. As professionals in the public health and social welfare, students have the skills to carry out their own research activities with advanced ethics and a strong sense of responsibility.

　[ Master’s Dissertation Review Criteria]

1. Master’s Dissertation must be student’s own written work that includes the original research findings and discussions in the domain of healthcare informatics, health and welfare or food and nutrition. The dissertation must be a proof of an excellent ability to perform a duty that requires research skills and advanced expertise in the above-mentioned research fields.
2. Master’s dissertation will be evaluated on the following:
3. （１）Novelty:
4. 　　　The dissertation includes a new insight that existing studies have not shown.
5. （２）Appropriateness of the theme setting:
6. 　　　The background, position, and purpose of the research are appropriately stated, based on the current issues and the previous researches in the field of study concerned.
7. （３）The appropriateness of the research method:
8. 　　　The methods of research, investigation and experiment are adequate, and the details are concretely described.
9. （４）Adequacy of content:
10. 　　　Text, figures, tables, citations and the list of references of which the dissertation consists are well-organized in an appropriate manner.
11. （５）Consistency of the argument:
12. 　　　Descriptions are clear and logically consistent from a problem statement to a conclusion.
13. （６）Ethics
14. 　　　The norms that academic research must comply with are followed.

[ Doctoral Dissertation Review Criteria]

1. The doctoral dissertation must be student’s own work for the domain of health and welfare or food and nutrition that includes a new academic insight. The dissertation must be a proof of the ability to conduct a research as an independent researcher, and its substantial part must be either published (or accepted by the time of the completion decision, for a future publication) as an original paper in the peer-reviewed academic journals, or as an academic book, with the student who submitted the dissertation as a single author or first author.
2. The doctoral dissertation will be evaluated on the following:
3. （１）Originality and Academic value:
4. 　　　The dissertation demonstrates a sufficient level of novelty and originality and contributes to the progress of the research in the field of study concerned.
5. （２）Appropriateness of the theme setting:
6. 　　　The background, position, and purpose of the research are appropriately stated, based on the current issues and the previous researches in the field of study concerned.
7. （３）The appropriateness of the research method:
8. 　　　The methods of research, investigation and experiment are adequate, and the details are concretely described.
9. （４）Adequacy of content:
10. 　　　Text, figures, tables, citations and the list of references of which the dissertation consists are well-organized in an appropriate manner.
11. （５）Consistency of the argument:
12. 　　　Descriptions are clear and logically consistent from a problem statement to a conclusion.
13. （６）Ethics
14. 　　　The norms that academic research must comply with are followed.

Curriculum Policy (CP)

Master’s Program

1. The course “Research Techniques” is being offered in order for the students to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for situation surveys as well as support and intervention effect research in the field of public health and social welfare.
2. The course “Public Health and Social Welfare Assistance” is being offered in order for the students to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for public health and social welfare professionals, who must have advanced knowledge and skills.
3. The course “Advanced Field of Expertise” is being offered in order for the students to acquire knowledge and support skills in contemporary and cutting edge issues in the field of public health and social welfare.
4. n order to develop their ability to seek solutions to problems by integrating health and welfare, allow the students to choose as optional subjects the subjects that are originally covered under other majors ,for which up to 4 credits are to be approved.
5. The research guidance received from the instructors is treated as “Special Research”, and students are tasked with writing a master’s thesis.

Doctoral Program

1. At least 2 subjects (8 credits) related to the doctoral dissertation are required.
2. The research guidance received from the instructor is treated as “Advanced Research”, and students are tasked with writing a doctoral dissertation.
3. In the process of writing a doctoral dissertation, students will present at a predetermined interim report meeting.
4. Students are encouraged to present the core of their dissertation at an academic conference and submit it to academic journals such that the doctoral dissertation meets the [Dissertation Review Criteria].

Entrance examination outline

Name	Years to master	Enrollment capacity	Degree
Department of Public Health and Social Welfare	2 years	3	MA (Health and Welfare Science)
	3 years	3	Ph.D. (Health and Welfare Science)

Admission Policy

Department of Public Health and Social Welfare Master’s Program

This program is intended at producing advanced professionals in the field of public health and social welfare who will have the expertise and skills as well as administrative planning and management skills necessary to practice public health and social welfare assistance in cooperation with health and medical professionals. It also produces educators and researchers who are responsible for human resource development and research on public health and social welfare. Therefore, this program should attract students and working adults who are willing and able to use their basic knowledge and skills related to public health or social welfare to acquire advanced social work skills and conduct research on public health and social welfare assistance measures.

Department of Public Health and Social Welfare Doctoral Program

This program produces educators and researchers that independently conduct cutting-edge research on health, medicine, and social welfare as well as IT R&D, as well as developing human resources having the practical skills to apply research results to improving the public health and social welfare of the local communities. It is specifically geared towards producing advanced professionals who can track community needs related to public health and social welfare as well as propose necessary measures, professionals who are responsible for the various types of information management and building new information systems based on the theory and practice of public health and social welfare, as well as educators and researchers who develop new human services. Therefore, this program should attract students and working adults who are willing and capable of becoming professional leaders, educators, and researchers in the fields of health, medicine, and social welfare.

For the list of entrance requirements, click here (PDF)