preliminary version

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Dear Students,
We have created this pamphlet to help you understandTokyo Tech’s approach to education.
Our unique approach to education has been crafted in
the hope that you develop as individuals through thesatisfaction of learning and the enjoyment of student
life you experience while at Tokyo Tech, and grow up
to become professionals with character who flourish on
the world stage.
We will do everything in our power to support yourgrowth and foster your strong will to achieve.
We hope you will think and keep thinking about how
you wish to grow during your time at Tokyo Tech.

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Contents
Educational objectives of Tokyo Institute of Technology

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Schools, undergraduate majors, and graduate majors

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Cultivating the spirit of learning and creating

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Countless possibilities for the future6

Flexible durations of study

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Durations of study

7Standard learning

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Learning aimed at early completion of degree programs

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Quarter system

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Flexible approach to studying

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Flexibility in the choice of fields to study
Learning that covers a single discipline in depth and learning that spans
multiple disciplines
Graduate minors and progressive graduate minors~ interdisciplinary learning for graduate students~

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Interdisciplinary graduate majors

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Seamless transition and wedge-shaped education

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Education with distinctive character

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Liberal arts and career development education

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Developing research skills

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Study abroad and other international experiences

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Classes in English

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Highly developed education system

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Achievement-based assessment

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The five competencies

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Course numbering system

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Limit on the number of credits that can be registered(maximum credit load)

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Course syllabi

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Active learning

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Support for learning

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Student support system

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Tokyo Tech Learning Portfolio

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Schools, departments, and majors

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Educational objectives of Tokyo Institute of Technology
Tokyo Tech aims to cultivate individuals who have a solid academic foundation, have the capacity
to practice and integrate what they have learned, have the will to take on challenges, and will strive
to develop the future of science and technology through their creativity.

Schools, undergraduate majors, and graduate majors
The previously separate undergraduate and graduate schools have been joined together to form
new Schools. The education system at these new Schools encourages students to pursue theirinterests and develop a broad perspective through comprehensive and systematic learning.

4Cultivating the spirit of learning and creating
At Tokyo Tech, we consider the first year of the bachelor's program to be an extremely importanttime to help students grow and become successful in society and the world. Therefore, our goal forfirst year education is to cultivate a spirit of learning and creating.
To this end, a wide range of basic science and technology courses in mathematics, physics,
chemistry, life science, and other areas are taught to give you the solid foundation necessary to
become competent scientists and engineers. In addition, liberal arts courses, including courses inEnglish and a second foreign language, are part of compulsory learning to ensure that you receivea well-rounded education as well as to build global awareness that is necessary to excel worldwide.
Furthermore, we offer the Frontiers of Science and Technology course, a unique, experience-based
course that aims to make you aware of the fun and challenges of science and technology and toignite strong motivation to gain knowledge.
The “spirit of learning and creating” that you develop during your undergraduate years is a crucial
asset that will enable you to fully realize your potential to pursue research at the graduate level.

5Countless possibilities for the future
You choose your own goals and work towards them at your own pace. This is our approach toeducation. As you can see from the example below, at Tokyo Tech, you have plenty of options whenit comes to designing a learning plan that fits your needs and leads you to the future you desire.

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Flexible durations of study■Durations of study
At Tokyo Tech, you set up your own learning plan. Based on your plans for your future, you decide howmuch time you ought to spend studying on campus and what experiences you ought to gain. Furthermore,
the amount of time you spend at university is flexible. If you are successful in completing the degree
programs in the minimum study durations, you can earn a doctoral degree in six years from the time youenroll in our undergraduate program. Similarly, bachelor’s and master’s degrees can be earned in shorter
durations of study. Those of you wishing to embark on a career early, for example, can therefore plan
to complete your degree programs early. Of course, you can also choose to thoroughly pursue yourstudies in the standard durations and incorporate study abroad, internships, and a variety of other activities
in your learning plan.
Standard duration of study

Minimum duration of study

Bachelor's degree program

4 years

3 years

Master's degree program andprofessional master’s degree
programs

2 years

1 year*Doctoral degree program

3 years

1 year**In total, a minimum of three years of enrollment is required to get both master’s and doctoral degrees.

Timeline for standard durations of study

Timeline for early completion of studies
The timeline below shows a case where a student completes the bachelor’s, master’s, anddoctoral programs in the course of seven years.

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■Standard learning
The standard durations of study are four years for the bachelor's, two years for the master's, andthree years for the doctoral program.

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■Learning aimed at early completion of degree programs
Tokyo Tech's curriculum is designed in a way that enables those of you who are highly motivatedand successful in meeting requirements to quickly advance to the next level of study. This allows
you to complete your studies earlier than you would by pursuing it in the standard durations ofstudy. You can, at the shortest, earn a bachelor’s, master’s, and a doctoral degree in six years.
Example: Completing the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in seven years.

9■Quarter system
Tokyo Tech divides its academic year into four quarters. This quarter system makes the learning
periods more flexible and enhances the effectiveness of learning. One quarter is slightly over twomonths long.

Participate in a variety of different activities
Tokyo Tech wants you to take part in a variety of different activities. The quarter system makes it
easier to accommodate this as it enables you to set up your learning plans more flexibly. For
example, if you decide to study abroad, go on an internship, or engage in some other activity awayfrom the university in a quarter and therefore take fewer or no courses, you can take more courses
in the next quarter to restore the balance. Furthermore, there are no required courses scheduled in
the second quarter of the third year of the bachelor's degree program. This leads to internship andstudy abroad experiences that are more constructive as you can use this quarter in conjunction withyour summer vacation to participate in these activities.

Effective learning
The quarter system enables intensive learning of course topics. For example, courses that carry
two credits have classes twice a week. The shortened interval between classes means the next classis held before you forget what you learned in the previous lesson, making it effective for the solid
acquisition of content. Courses whose topics require time to thoroughly study the content haveclasses spread out over longer periods. In this case, if the content of a course is worth two credits,for example, classes are held once a week for two quarters and content worth one credit ispresented in each quarter. This gives you time to establish a solid understanding of the material.
Furthermore, a basic course in a subject you take in the first quarter may help you understand acourse you take in the second quarter, or may allow you to take a course in an applied subject.
Thus, the quarter system is suited to learning in stages and eases early advancement to higher-levelcourses.

10Flexible approach to studying■Flexibility in the choice of fields to study
Since each undergraduate and graduate major at Tokyo Tech covers a wide range of fields, there
is no need to choose the area to specialize in at the time of admission. Within each discipline, you
can flexibly choose courses that meet your learning needs, which allows you to define the scope offields to study.
Even if your interests shift to different fields, the education system we have in place will allow you
to pursue learning that is in line with your interests and fascinations. Your motivation to learn will
always be sustained.
Example: School of Life Science and Technology■Learning that covers a single discipline in depth and learningthat spans multiple disciplines

There are two main paths to learning at Tokyo Tech, both of which provide an education that ischaracteristic of Tokyo Tech.

Focused path
If you are only interested in one specific discipline of science or engineering, this path is for you.
It allows you to immerse yourself in in-depth study of your chosen discipline.

Interdisciplinary path
If you are interested in more than one discipline of science or engineering, then this path is foryou. It allows you to complement your major with a systematic study of another discipline. Takecourses provided by other majors or minor in a discipline that interests you. Although thegraduate minor is part of the master's degree program, you can make a head start by taking courses
for a graduate minor while an undergraduate.

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■Graduate minors and progressive graduate minors~interdisciplinary learning for graduate students~
If you wish to complement your graduate major studies with a systematic study of anotherdiscipline, you can choose to take a graduate minor or progressive graduate minor. In addition tohaving a solid grasp of your own discipline, by studying another discipline, you can learn to become
a flexible individual who can diversify, which are characteristics that are essential in society.
If you complete a minor, you will receive a certificate of completion as proof of study. The
certificate will be presented to you together with your diploma at the end of your degree program.

Graduate minors
Graduate minors allow you to systematically learn, starting from the basics, the essence of a
specific discipline, different from the one in which you are studying for your degree, that you areinterested in or curious about.
All master's degree graduate major disciplines have a graduate minor. Some of these allow
students enrolled in the bachelor's degree program at Tokyo Tech to start taking graduate minor
courses while an undergraduate.
Example: If you are enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Major but want to acquirea certain level of knowledge in materials and their properties, you can choose to takea graduate minor in Materials Science and Engineering.

Progressive graduate minors
Progressive graduate minors offer education that encompass multiple disciplines.
Example: If you are enrolled in the Mathematics Graduate Major and are interested in a career infinance, by taking a progressive graduate minor in Mathematical Finance, you will
gain an understanding of mathematics from a financial perspective.

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■Interdisciplinary graduate majors
In the twenty-first century, many issues are dealt with on a global scale, and most of these
become topics for research at science and technology universities. Tokyo Tech aims to lead theworld by placing guideposts that point to solutions to these issues.
A novel selection of interdisciplinary graduate majors, each based on newly established fields ofstudy that span multiple disciplines, have been made available in the graduate degree programs.
These majors are administered across multiple departments, allowing undergraduate students to
go on to take an interdisciplinary major that is related to their undergraduate studies. Students
from a variety of different disciplines are brought together and they work with each other toward
a goal. This is what makes interdisciplinary graduate majors attractive.

Interdisciplinary graduate majors● Interdisciplinary graduate majors available in multiple schools
Energy Science and Engineering, Engineering Sciences and Design, Human Centered Scienceand Biomedical Engineering, and Nuclear Engineering● Interdisciplinary graduate major available in the School of Computing
Artificial Intelligence● Interdisciplinary graduate major available in the School of Environment and Society
Urban Design and Built Environment

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Seamless transition and wedge-shaped education
Seamless transition between degree programs
At Tokyo Tech, you can smoothly transition from the bachelor’s to the master’s program andfrom the master’s to the doctoral program.* As many of you choose to pursue a graduate degree,
our curriculum clearly shows how the undergraduate program and its content are linked with thehigher-level programs.
Our education system not only gives you an understanding of what you can learn as anundergraduate when you first join the bachelor's program, but it also helps you visualize yourstudies at the graduate level and your lives after graduation. It allows you to make academic choices
based on your interests and enables you to better plan what you wish to accomplish during yourtime at Tokyo Tech.
*A diploma is awarded upon completion of each degree program. Students must pass an entrance exam toadvance from a bachelor’s to a master’s program, and pass a screening to advance from a master’s to adoctoral program. Students majoring in one discipline may go on to major in a different discipline at thenext degree level.

Wedge-shaped style education
Tokyo Tech implements a wedge-shaped style education to produce students with broad
perspectives that is not limited to science and engineering. Our unique wedge-shaped styleeducation is designed to generate an upward spiral of knowledge and ability by providing liberalarts education and specialized education in an interrelated manner from the bachelor's to thedoctoral program. It allows you to acquire cutting-edge science and engineering expertise, deepen
your understanding of the social significance of your studies, fosters personal development, andbroadens your sense of values.

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Education with distinctive character■Liberal arts and career development education
In order for you to firmly acquire specialized skills in science and engineering and to make useof these skills in life after university, you must (1) determine what area of expertise you wish to
pursue through specialized education, (2) think about what you want to live for through broad
liberal arts education, and (3) consider how you should live through career development education.
The combined effects of specialized education, liberal arts education, and career development
education will cultivate the skills you need to make contributions to society.

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■Developing research skills
Tokyo Tech's research reputation is not confined to Japan. It is rated highly worldwide. As Tokyo
Tech students, you are taught by faculty members who carry out such world-class research.
Our laboratories are the ideal environment for you to learn to put all of the skills you acquired inyour studies to use, and to strengthen this ability.

Bachelor's degree program
We offer courses that allow you to get a taste of research as early in the bachelor's degree
program as possible.
● Research Opportunity Course
This course allows you to experience research in multiple laboratories. You can selectlaboratories from different campuses or from different fields.
● Independent Research ProjectIn this course, you conduct research on a particular topic over two quarters and write a
graduation thesis.
● Advanced Independent Research ProjectIn this course, you can further explore the topic you researched for the Independent Research
Project, conduct research on a different topic, or prepare a research topic for the master's
degree program.

Graduate majors
Full-fledged research begins when you join a graduate program. To help you expand yourknowledge related to your research, you take Research Seminars as part of the program, Different
fields and laboratories have their own ways of conducting seminars, but in general, you readresearch papers and engage in discussions under the guidance of faculty members.
In the laboratories, you can get helpful suggestions for your research not only from faculty
members, but also from research staff and your peers. Furthermore, the discussions you have willlead to new perspectives and you will see your research gain depth over time.

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■Study abroad and other international experiences
International awareness is an essential element in becoming leaders in Japan and leaders aroundthe world. Therefore, we provide many opportunities for our students to acquire internationalawareness, and expect all of you to have studied abroad or to have gained other international
experience by the time you complete the master's degree program.
Moreover, receiving intellectual stimulation from outside the university is a great way to learninternational values, enhance yourself, and broaden and deepen interests and concerns.

■Classes in English
The English language is a tool to broaden your world. It enables you to communicate with people
all around the globe, and share things such as your studies at Tokyo Tech, your thoughts, yourtheories, and your research results. However, bachelor's level education is about learning thefundamentals, and during this time, we want you to build a strong foundation of the discipline anddevelop your ability to think in Japanese. For these reasons, you study mainly in Japanese.
Nonetheless, Tokyo Tech recognizes the importance of having proficiency in English, as this is vitalfor you to play an active role at a global level. It puts you on the path to becoming individuals whomake worldwide contributions through science and technology. Therefore, major courses at thegraduate level, which are concerned with the practical aspects of the discipline, are taught in English.
To prepare you for graduate-level studies, English is gradually introduced in undergraduate major
courses.

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Highly developed education system■Achievement-based assessment
At Tokyo Tech, what you have learned is determined not by the year in which you are in, but by
your academic progress. Your advancement is based on your level of achievement.
Through this achievement-based learning system, you get to monitor your own progress. This inturn allows you to reflect on what you have done and achieved in your studies. Use this knowledge
to determine what further learning you require and to set new goals. Since advancement is basedon achievement, you can learn at your own pace.

A standard model18

■The five competencies
In society, you need to interact with a variety of people. After you graduate, you will need morethan your expertise in a major discipline to function in this rapidly evolving world: you will need to
be able to act on your own initiative and to deal with matters in any environment.
Tokyo Tech has therefore taken various steps, including the incorporation of many active learningtechniques in lectures, exercises, experiments, and training sessions, so that you acquireintercultural, communication, specialist, critical thinking, and practical and/or problem-solving skills— the five competencies — through the courses you take. Each course states which of thesecompetencies it develops on its syllabus. By the time you graduate, you will have acquired all fivecompetencies.
The faculty keep in mind what you will become capable of doing and which competencies you
will develop while they teach courses. Therefore, we urge you to be aware of the five competencies
when you take your courses.

Five competencies acquired by Tokyo Tech students
Knowledge and language proficiency necessary toIntercultural skills

communicate successfully within an international
community, and the intelligence and maturity
required of an independent adultCommunication
skillsSpecialist skills
Critical thinking
skillsSkills that are required to communicate and reach arequired insocietyconsensus among a group of people by drawing on
your knowledge and experience
Knowledge and academic skills necessary to conduct
research and development in your area of expertiseCompetencies
relating to
major

Skills necessary for resolving issues or discrepancies
found between an ideal and actual state
The following skills based on your theories and ideas(drawn from experience, learning, and ways ofPractical and/or
problem-solving
skillsCompetencies

thinking): the ability to act and achieve a certain goalor to resolve issues; the ability to tackle social issues

Competencies
required tocontend withvarious issues

and problems where no real solutions exist; and theability to come up with new findings and disseminate
them.

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■Course numbering system
All courses are assigned a course number that indicates the learning level. This arrangement iscalled the course numbering system. The course numbers serve as a guide for choosing courses. It
directs you to the courses you need to take now, to those you should take next, and furthermore,to the courses you will take after advancing to the next stage of your education.
Since the learning sequence and your level of achievement are linked, you can see what lies ahead.
This enables you to set up specific learning plans. There is no need to coordinate your plans tomatch the number of years you have spent in university or with the learning plans of other students.
Instead, examine each course, create learning plans geared to your own achievements, and takecourses that will thoroughly develop your capabilities.

■Limit on the number of credits that can be registered(maximum credit load)
One credit is equivalent to forty-five hours of learning, including time spent learning on your own(Standards for Establishment of Universities). In other words, to earn a credit, you are not only
expected to attend class but also to spend time studying outside class. By preparing for class, time
can be allocated for you to hold discussions during class. You can then spend time after classtackling assignments. Courses are held on the assumption that you continue to learn beyond yourhours in class.
To ensure that you have the time necessary to study outside class and gain a solid grasp of thecourse content, a limit is placed on the number of credits you can register. In the bachelor's degree
program, you can register up to forty-eight credits per year. If you showed outstanding academic
performance in the previous year, you will be permitted to register up to eight extra credits for a
maximum of fifty-six credits per year. In the graduate degree programs (excluding the professional
master's degree program), no upper limit on the number of credits you can register has been set,as the number of courses taken in one year is small.
Although we understand that you will be engaged in a variety of activities during your time atTokyo Tech, we urge you to make every effort to keep a good balance of the number of credits you
register every quarter and to study at a pace that allows you to gain a solid grasp of the content ofeach course.

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■Course syllabi
The course syllabus tells you what is covered in the course, what competencies you can develop
in the course, and what the learning outcomes of the course are. Refer to the syllabi to help you
decide which courses to take.
Course syllabi are provided in both Japanese and English. (The English syllabi are not only there
for the benefit of international students, but for Japanese students who wish to study abroad.)21

Active learning
Along with traditional lectures that concentrate on the dissemination of knowledge, courses withgreater emphasis on active learning are also promoted at Tokyo Tech. We have incorporated group
work, discussions, and presentations in the courses with the aim of encouraging you to learn for
yourselves.

Online learning is used to help active learning. Through it, you can tackle tasks that are assigned
in advance and do preparatory study before attending class. This allows you to ask questions about
things you don't understand and engage in discussions to deepen your understanding during class.
Furthermore, Tokyo Tech participates in edX, a worldwide online educational consortium thatprovides opportunities for independent study and autonomous learning through massive open
online courses (MOOC) and small private online courses (SPOC).
In conjunction with these initiatives, we are also increasing the number of classrooms thatfacilitate active learning. The epitome of this is the Tokyo Tech Lecture Theatre. The Theatre isdesigned to provoke the five senses as you participate in creative debates and open experiments,
and is an ideal space for holding lectures given by leading Tokyo Tech researchers, Nobel Prizelevel scientists, and industry experts with a creative edge.

Scene of a Christmas lecture held in the Tokyo Tech Lecture Theatre22Support for learning■Student support system
Tokyo Tech has a well-developed student support system to help you maintain the quality of lifeand learning necessary to successfully navigate through your studies. Make use of the services
available whenever you have questions or issues that you need help with or wish to discuss.

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■Tokyo Tech Learning Portfolio
The Tokyo Tech Learning Portfolio is a custom designed tool to document your learning. It allows
you to maintain an extensive record of your learning progress and achievements.
There are many benefits to using the portfolio.
(1) You can use your learning record for critical reflection as well as to help you determine goals
and what steps you need to take next.
(2) You can use it to improve your student life and to help you with career development as itenables you to visualize your experiences at Tokyo Tech.
(3) Your academic advisors can view your portfolio to give you constructive guidance. It can also
be used to receive advice from your academic advisors.
We encourage you to use the portfolio to gain an objective understanding of yourself and tohelp you with your independent learning.

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November 2016
Published by: Tokyo Institute ofTechnology Student Services
Department27

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