Brief Version of the Procedures for Dissertation Submission to
Obtain a Doctoral Degree (Dissertation) (OTSU)
Translation disclaimer

Kyoto University strives to achieve the highest possible accuracy in translating its documents fromtheir official language of Japanese. Please note, however, that due to the nature of translated
documents, accuracy is not guaranteed. The translated documents are produced for convenience
only, and are not legally binding. The original documents in the Japanese language shall always takeprecedence over their translated versions.

About this document
This document provides information on how to submit your dissertation. Please read each item
thoroughly and follow the submission and preparation guidelines provided in the original Japanese
documents. Following items are the translated titles and brief summary of the original documents.
Page 1 to 5 is fully translated into English and on and after page 6 are translated as a brief summary
listed below. ① to ⑰ are required documents to submit for the application.

Procedures for Dissertation Submission to Obtain a Doctoral Degree (Dissertation)(OTSU)……………………………………………………………………………...……………....1-5
Ⅰ. Requirements and Procedures for Doctoral Degree (Dissertation)
Ⅱ. Documents to be submitted
Ⅲ. Doctoral Degree Application
Ⅳ. Foreign Language Examination
Ⅴ. Degree Application Documents Preparation Guidelines
Ⅵ. Date of Oral Examination after Acceptance of Application
Ⅶ. Degree Conferment
Application for Degree Conferral(①)…………………………….….………….…….…..………..6
Format of Application for Degree Conferral
You will be provided this document after preliminary dissertation review.
How to prepare documents(②-⑤)………..………………………..……..……….……………….7
Main dissertation and Reference papers(②)
Curriculum Vitae(③)
List of Publications(④)
Dissertation Summary(⑤)

Curriculum Vitae(③)………………………………...……………………………….……..………8
Preparation guideline for Curriculum Vitae
Format of Curriculum Vitae Form A………….....………………………..……………………9Format of Curriculum Vitae Form B.………….....………………………..……………….…10
Please note that the Graduate School of Medicine uses a form that differs from other Graduate
Schools.
List of Publications(④)………………….……..…………………………………….…………..…11
Format of List of Publication
It includes title and publication method and the date of the main dissertation and theinformation of reference papers.
Dissertation Summary(⑤)……………………………………...………………………………….12
Format of Dissertation Summary
All applicants of academic degree must submit this Dissertation Summary.
Format of Report on Doctoral Dissertation Examination(⑥)…………...……..….…………….13
Format of Report on Doctoral Dissertation Examination
You will be provided this document after preliminary dissertation review.
Form for Consent to Use of Joint-Authorship Paper (⑦)…………..…...…....…………………14
Certificate of Scheduled Publication issued by journal publisher (⑧)….…….……..………….15
How to prepare “Request for Examination of Dissertation” and “Title of Dissertation” (⑨)...15
Screening Fee(⑩) ….…….……………………………………………………………...………….15
Online Publication of Doctoral Dissertation(⑪-⑬), (⑯-⑰)…………...……..……….…….16-22
For articles already published in an academic journal, in most cases, the copyright has beentransferred to the original publisher under a copyright transfer agreement or manuscript
submission rules. It is required to take an agreement with a publisher for the dissertation
available online.
1. Confirmation with the publisher….…………..…………………….……………….……...17
2. In case the dissertation is to be published in full texts on KURENAI*1...…….……..……..17
3. In case the dissertation is to be published in summary on KURENAI…..………….……...18
4. Submission of the dissertation on the USB flash drive…...…….………………….………18
5. Format of Publication of the Doctoral Dissertation……...…………………….....…….21-22
How to prepare copies of temporary bound dissertation (⑭)……………...……………………23
Copies of temporary bound dissertation are required to submit by the day of the final

examination after the oral examination.
Required documents for Research Information Repository(⑮)….…………………………..…24
This preparation guideline is for Dissertation Summary and Summary of Dissertation
Examination Results required registering for Research Information Repository.

Format of Request for Examination of Dissertation………………………………..……..….25-26
Format of title of dissertation……..……..………………………………………………………...27*1: KURENAI is the other name of the Kyoto University Research Information Repository.

Procedures for Dissertation Submission to Obtain a Doctoral Degree (Dissertation) (OTSU)*1
Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University- Read each item thoroughly. -★ Requirements for ApplicantsApplicants correspond to one of the following must proceed with the steps in this document:
1. Those who are not enrolled in the 3- or 4-year Doctoral Program of the Graduate School of Medicine, and try toobtain a doctoral degree by submitting a dissertation
2. Those who had received research guidance approval from the Graduate School of Medicine and have been
passed over three years after withdrawal“Withdrawal after Research Guidance Approval” means to give eligibility for applying for the PhD candidate to theapplicants who completed the necessary requirements to graduate from school except for an acceptance ofdissertation. (The application of Doctoral Degree (Dissertation) (OTSU) must be accepted within three years fromthe day of withdrawal (usually on March 31)*1: There are two ways of taking the Doctoral Degree in Japan. One is called “OTSU” and the other is called“KOU”.

Ⅰ. Requirements and Procedures for Doctoral Degree (Dissertation)
1. Doctoral Dissertation (main dissertation, reference papers)(1) The dissertation must be an original paper published in (or accepted by) a refereed academic journal in
English.
(2) The dissertation must have been published within the last five years as of the date of application.
(3) In principle, the applicant must be the first author of the main dissertation.
However, he/she may be the second author of the dissertation to be submitted if a clear statement is made in
the dissertation that the first and second author have equally contributed to the research.
(4) In case the main dissertation consists of some papers and if all of them are joint papers, the applicant must
be the first author of at least one paper.
2. Required Research History
It is required to have some research history in the research institutions related to medicine to apply for theDoctoral Degree (Dissertation) (OTSU). A required research year depends on the background of the applicants. The
applicants must have at least one year enrollment in the department or division of the Graduate School of Medicine, as
the following status and engage in research.
- Academic staff- Clinical Fellow- Graduate student (3- or 4-year Doctoral Program)- Research student- Foreign Guest Research Associate- Foreign Guest Scholar

(The status of the Research Fellow cannot count in their research history.)
However, two years period after taking a medical or dentist’s license will not be included the research history of those
who have an experience as a clinician.
[Reference] Required research history for each degree
Doctor (Medicine)
Graduation from a six-year program of Japanese university

more than 5 years(Department of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine)Completion of Master’s Program

Basic(Department of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine)

Medicine

more than 5 years

more than 6 years
ClinicalMedicine

more than 6 years

Graduation from Faculty except for Medicine or Dentistry

more than 7 years

more than 8 years

Othersmore than 10 years

more than 11 years

Doctor (Public Health)Completion of the graduate school of Public Health or equivalent

more than 4 years

Completion of the other than graduate school of Public Healthmore than 5 years

Othersmore than 7 years

Notes: Those who apply for the Doctoral Degree (Public Health) must have completed designated Core Area classes in professional degree
program of Public Health or equivalent.
Doctor (Medical Sciences)
Completion of the graduate school of Medical Sciencesmore than 4 years

Completion of the other than graduate school of Medical Sciencesmore than 5 years

Othersmore than 7 years★ The research institutions related to Medicine
The number of research years listed below is considered as a research history:- The faculties or graduate schools of medicine or dentistry at the national, public or private universities- Other faculties or institutions related to Medicine at the universities- Other authoritative institutions listed below
1. Medical related national or public research institutions or health institutions founded by national or local
government
2. Medical related research institutions organized by the incorporated foundation or incorporated association
3. National or public hospitals or clinics, the Japanese Red Cross Society, or Saiseikai hospitals
4. Designated hospitals for clinical training★ Consult the Office of Student Affairs about your research history before the preliminary dissertation
review, since it may be needed for screening. Please submit Curriculum Vitae form B at the same time.
Eight copies of each document are required to prove your research history:- If you have an experience in a university, the information about the university and a qualification of the term of
residence are required to prove your research history at universities abroad, research institutions, or otherresearch institutions listed above.
- If you have an experience in a company, the information about a company and research content and aqualification of the term of engagement are required to prove your research history at a research institution or acompany.
You will be provided the detailed information when you visit the Office of Student Affairs.

Ⅱ．Documents to be submitted
1. Preliminary Dissertation Review
Please provide 1 to 3 below to the Office of Student Affairs by fax (075-753-4405) or in person.
1. One copy of each document ③, ④ and ⑤.
2. One copy of the first page of the main dissertation or reference papers which indicates the name of the journal
and the publication date of your dissertation (If your dissertation has been undisclosed or unpublished, submit
the Certificate of Scheduled Publication issued by journal publisher or an evidence such as a copy of e-mailwhich indicates your dissertation has been accepted.)
3. Your e-mail address
It will take a few days to check documents by the Office of Student Affairs. You will be notified by e-mail whenyour documents have been checked.
After receiving the e-mail, please visit the Office of Student Affairs to receive necessary documents for theapplication. If there are any typographical errors or omissions in your documents, the staff in the Office of Student
Affairs will advise you to correct them.
2. Prior confirmation regarding publishing a degree dissertation
On March 11, 2013, the Degree Regulations (Ordinance of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture No. 9 of
1953) were revised. Effective on April 2013, dissertations pertaining to the doctor’s degrees conferred by Japanese
universities are required to be published via the Internet within one year after receiving the Doctoral Degree.
Japanese government requests to make a full thesis available online to the public, if permission is obtained by the
publisher. If there is a restriction such as a copyright, a digest version instead of the entire dissertation can be
published online until the reason becomes extinguished.
Please confirm that the publisher and co-authors (if there is any) allow you to disclose a full dissertation on the
Kyoto University Research Information Repository Registration, “KURENAI”, in advance. For more details, referto page 18 to 23.
3. Degree Application Documents (Japanese only)★: Use a USB flash drive to submit your data
Application Documents

Related Page

Number of Copies

No.

① Application for Degree Conferral

※1

1

6

② Main dissertation and Reference papers

6

7③ Curriculum Vitae

16

Form A(on a A4 size sheet)★

7-9

(on a A4 size sheet)

120

★

7-10

④ List of Publications(on one A4 size sheet)

120

★

7,11

⑤ Dissertation Summary(on one A3 size sheet)

120

★

7,12

Form B⑥ Report on Doctoral Dissertation Examination⑦ Form for Consent to Use of Joint-Authorship Paper

⑧

※1
.

1

13

※2 Number of the co-authors

14

Certificate of Scheduled Publication issued by journal publisher
15

1

※3

Downloaded Excel file for input is downloaded⑨

Request for Examination of Dissertation and the Title★

Medicine⑩ Screening Fee (57,000 yen)⑪

15

Documents that verify your payment[Form No.2] “Means of publication of Doctoral※4

Dissertation” [Excel file]⑫

15

from the website of the Graduate School ofof Dissertation [Excel file]

1 in paper and 1 in electronic medium

★

20,21

Response form the publisher regarding disclosure of thedissertation.

⑬ Disclosure of Digest Version of Dissertation

※5
※6

1

16,17

6 (only in the case you disclose your summary
18-21
not a full text dissertation)※1 As you will be provided ① and ⑥ after the Preliminary Dissertation Review, you don’t need toprepare them in advance. Proceed with the preparation for other documents using example formats andlayouts on the website of the Graduate School of Medicine.
※ Website of Graduate School of Medicine -> Current Students -> Apply for degree（http://www.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/faculty/kyoumu/degree-apply/）※2 ⑦ is required to submit. The signature of an applicant and co-authors must be handwritten and its copy or
PDF files are not acceptable. If you and a co-author live in a country outside of Japan, prepare for it before
the Preliminary Dissertation Review so as to avoid delay. Also, prepare ⑫ at the same time as well.
※3 If the main dissertation has not been disclosed, contact the publisher and obtain the paper in advance. In case
the Certificate of Scheduled Publication is not issued by journal publisher, submit a copy of evidence
such as e-mail that indicates the acceptance.
※4 ⑪[Form No.2](Excel file) can be downloaded from the website of the Graduate School of Medicine.
(1) Fill in the necessary information on the Excel file to complete the document.
(2) Submit the printed document to your supervisor and obtain his/her signature and seal.
(3) Submit both the printed document with a seal/signature of your supervisor and the Excel file saved
on a USB flash drive.

※5 Submit the response (documents or e-mail) from the publisher or co-author(s).
※6 Submit ⑬, only in the case the dissertation is to be published in a digest version. If contributors publish theirdissertation in full texts, this is unnecessary to submit.
4. Required documents to submit after the oral examination★: Use a USB flash drive to submit your data
Application Documents

RelatedNumber of Copies

Page No.

⑭

Dissertation (Copies of temporary bound of main dissertation and221
reference papers)
Required Documents for Registration of the Kyoto University

1 in paper and 1 in electronic medium⑮ Research Information Repository [Dissertation Summary andSummary of Dissertation Examination Results]⑯ Full Texts of Dissertation [PDF file]

Download the format from the website of the※1 Graduate School of Medicine
※2

.

★

1 in electronic medium(required for all students)⑰ Digest Version of Dissertation [PDF file]

23

★

17

1 in electronic medium (required only for the
students who disclose a digest version)

★

18-20

※ It is required to submit above documents by the day of the Graduate School Council (the final examination) which
is held after the oral examination.
※1 “⑮Dissertation Summary” and “⑰Digest Version of Dissertation” are different as below described.
⑮: All the recipients of academic degree must submit “Dissertation Summary”.
⑰: If your dissertation is not allowed to open to the public in full, submit “Digest version of Dissertation”.
※2 This data must be as same as the dissertation screened at the dissertation examination.
If the examination has been done based on the Word file created by the applicant, please submit that file.
If the examination has been done based on the published layouts in an academic journal, please submitthat data.

Ⅲ．Doctoral Degree Application
You will be provided the documents ① and ⑥ by the Office of Student Affairs after the Preliminary Dissertation
Review. After receiving the documents, please apply with all the necessary documents ① to ⑫ or ① to ⑬.
1. Application due date:

2. Office hours:

At least two weeks before the day of the Graduation School Council (every second
Thursday).
※ The Graduate School Council will not be held in August. The application should
be made three weeks before the Graduate School Council, if it falls on the Golden
Week holidays, the year-end and New Year holidays.
Monday to Friday 9:30 - 11:30, 13:30 - 16:30

(excluding public holidays and office closing-hours due to the school events)
3. To be submitted to:

The Office of Student Affairs, Graduate School of Medicine(1F hallway of the Faculty of Medicine Bldg. B)

Ⅳ.Foreign Language Examination
The applicants who are not enrolled in the 3- or 4-year Doctoral Program in the Graduate School of Medicine have topass the Foreign Language Examination. Take a foreign language examination in the following dates. A dissertationcommittee review will be started after confirmation of the result that the applicants have passed the foreign language
examination.
1. Examination Dates: Early February, Late May, Late August, Late November
2. Announcement of successful applicants:
The result judged by the Graduate School Council will be mailed on the following day of the meeting
3. Eligibility: Those who accepted the degree application about one month before the examination day
4. Notification of Examination Date: About one month before the foreign language examination(you will be notified the date when you apply for the Doctoral Degree at the Office of Student Affairs)
5. Makeup Exam: Available only once

Ⅴ. Degree Application Documents Preparation Guidelines※Each document should have the same date as the application date except consents.
1. Refer to the example format and layout of the documents available on the website of the Graduate School of
Medicine, except for the documents handed out at the office.
2. Use medium- or high-grade white A4-size paper. Use A3-size paper for Dissertation Summary.
3. How to prepare documents(1) Use black or blue ballpoint pen or printed with word processing software to keep the documents
permanently.
(2) Write each word clearly and accurately. Do not use phonetic-equivalent characters or abbreviations.
(3) If there are any typographical errors or omissions, make necessary corrections and affix your seal orsignature on them. If a document contains too many corrections, create a new document.
(4) Set all the page margins to about 2cm
4. Name
Fill in your name and date of birth accurately as recorded in the Certificate of Registered Items in Alien
Registration (For Japanese students, Certificate of Registered Items in family register).
If you wish to print your maiden name or alias (restricted to that printed on the Certificate of Registered
Items in the Alien Registration) on your diploma, consult the Office of Student Affairs of the Graduate
School to which you belong.
5. For the further information about how to prepare the documents, refer to the page 6 and after.

Ⅵ．Date of Oral Examination after Acceptance of Application
Those who need to take a foreign language examination and their supervisor should consult with the member ofDissertation Examination Committee to fix the oral examination date after decided the member of Dissertation
Examination Committee (including specialists). An examination date must set after the applicant has passed theforeign language examination.

Ⅶ．Degree Conferment
The conferral of doctoral degree takes place six times a year. (Jan., Mar., May, Jul., Sep. and Nov.)
Detailed information regarding the degree conferral will be notified around a week before the degree conferral
date by the Educational Planning Division, Academic Affairs Department.
The Educational Planning Division, Academic Affairs Department also issues the Certificate of Doctoral
Degree Conferment.
Refer to the following URL for further information.
Website of Kyoto University -> Education -> Campus Life -> Procedures -> Request for Graduation
certificate/Transcript/Certificate of Degree conferment(http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/education/campus/procedure/certificate.htm/)
Regarding Degree Conferment Ceremony and Certificate of Doctoral Degree Conferment, please contact theabove mentioned division (Telephone number: 075-753-2499).
If you have any inquiries regarding procedures for the Doctoral Degree (Dissertation) (OTSU) Application,
contact the Office of Student Affairs.
Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
Office of Student Affairs
Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8530, Japan
TEL: +81-75-753-4688
FAX: +81-75-753-4405
EMAIL: Kyomu-in@mail2.adm.kyoto-u.ac.jp