Kyoto University School of Public Health
Double Degree Program for Master’s degree
Information for inbound students
Ayako Kohno
Assistant Professor
Internationalization Promotion Office (IPO)
Kyoto University School of Public Health
Email: kohno.ayako.8w@kyoto-u.ac.jp

As of April 2020

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What is Double Degree Program (DDP)?

• A program that provides students with anopportunity to obtain two master's degrees
within a period of two years (or more),
namely a Master of Public Health (MPH)from Kyoto University School of Public
Health (KUSPH) and a related degreefrom your home university.

2Merits of DDP

1. Shortens time:
It usually takes 4 years to obtain 2 master's
degrees, however, this program enables
students to complete 2 degrees in 2 years(or more), maximizing time by offering
intensive courses, a summer-school
program, a credit transfer system, and a
joint research.
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Merits of DDP

2. Partial scholarship:
When up-taking the DDP, students who areenrolled at home university will also be
officially enrolled at KUSPH, however, they
do not pay tuition fees at KUSPH. The
students pay tuition fees at home university
only.

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Merits of DDP
3. Personal growth: The DDP enables
candidates to acquire the ability and skills toplan, manage, solve problems, think
analytically and develop a broad understandingof his/her chosen field of study.
4. International experience
5. Career opportunity: Diverse career
opportunities in academia, research, industry,government and many other areas.
5Demerits of DDP• As explained above, intensive workload
within short timeframe;
2 sets of coursework (with some credit
transferable) and 2 different theses.

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Academic degrees
Students will be conferred 2 academic degrees by

1. Home university••••University of Malaya Faculty of Medicine, confers
MMedSc by research
Chulalongkorn University College of Public
Health Sciences, confers either MPH or MSc
National Taiwan University College of Public
Health, confers either MPH or MSc
Mahidol University Faculty of Public Health,confers either MPH, MSc or MNS

2. Host university: Kyoto University School ofPublic Health (KUSPH), confers MPH
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Master’s DDP and degrees conferred (as of April 2020)

MMedScMPH or MSc

MPH or MSc

MPH
OB stands for “Out-bound” from KUSPH.
IB stands for “In-bound” to KUSPH.

MPH or MSc or MNS8

DDP-MPH offered by KUSPH• Master of Public Health (MPH)-Research and coursework-http://www.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/wpcontent/uploads/2019/04/Bulletin-20192020-Brief-ENG-20190403.pdf

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KUSPH Departments• http://www.med.kyotou.ac.jp/en/organization-staff/research/sph/• http://sph.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/field/

10Curriculum for KUSPH’s MPH(Professional Degree) Course

11Core areas (list as of 2020)

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DDP-MPH offered by KUSPH• For the MPH to be awarded, the students are tobe enrolled in the program for at least 2 years.
– i.e. officially joining KUSPH in Oct but physically beon campus from the following April
October
2020

April
2021

March2022

September
2022

Student
officiallyregisters
atKUSPH

Student
physicallycome to
KUSPH andspend one fullyear oncampus

Student
completes all
coursework andthesis
requirement at
KUSPH andleaves Japan

Official
KUSPH
degreeconferment

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DDP Timeline and duration
Year
Month1
Aug
Registerat homeuniversityHome
university

KUSPH

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

JanFeb2
Mar

AprMayJunJulAug

SeptOct

Nov

Dec

JanFebMar

AprMayJunJulyAug

KUSPH
degreeconferredRegister atKUSPH

Coursework (1st term)

SeptCoursework(2nd term)

Coursework
Coursework(summer)(2nd term)
Research + Thesis submission +Exam at home university

ResearchPlease make the most of these months bycommunicating with your KUSPH supervisor todevelop clear research plan before coming to Japan

Home’sdegreeconferred

Coursework+ Research + Thesis submission at KUSPH

KU official Spring term: April 1 - September 30 (Class dates: April 8- August 5)
Fall term: October 1 - March 31 (Class dates: October 1 - February 10)• Students are enrolled as full-time degreestudents at host university; MPH at
KUSPH is 2 years but students will
physically come to the KUSPH for
only 1 year (2 semesters) from April until
the following March14

[Important] DDP Timeline and duration• KUSPH-MPH: In principle, the students can meet allof the requirements within 2 years.
• The period of enrollment at home universities
VARIES by degree. This depends on therequirements of that particular degree of your homeuniversity. (i.e.. if a peer-reviewed publication isrequired; the faster you could publish, the faster youcould graduate!)• Some previous DDP students could completed bothdegrees within 2 years and a half.
• Some students could take longer than 3 years.
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General DDP application and selection timeline• 2020 end of June: Deadline of application from yourhome university• 2020 Jul-Aug: KUSPH's internal process (identify
KUSPH supervisor, skype interview, etc.)• 2020 Sept: KU's office admin process and approval
from KU's medicine and KUSPH faculty meeting(student registration), JASSO scholarship application• 2020 Oct: Students officially registered at KUSPH• 2021 Jan-Feb: JASSO scholarship results
announcement• 2021 April: Student comes to KUSPH• 2022 March: Student leaves KUSPH• 2022 September: KUSPH degree conferred
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Tuition fees
• Only students enrolled at home university areeligible for the DDP at KUSPH• Under the DDP, students pay all required fees
(application, tuitions, etc.) only at home university• Under the DDP, students are benefited from tuition
fees exemption at the host university (KUSPH)
and will be officially enrolled at KUSPH with tuition
costs.
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Graduation requirements• Students are required to meet home andhost institution’s degree requirements;
coursework, thesis, exam
• A maximum of 10 credits can be transferredfrom home university to KUSPH– Provided that courses are viewed equivalent by
the relevant course instructor– Acknowledged by KUSPH Education Committee– Both Core or Elective classes• A separate thesis must be submitted to eachinstitution18

DDP student selection & eligibility
In order to be eligible for the DDP, students
must:• Be officially registered at home university• Will not graduate from home university
before completing the one-year stay atKUSPH• Have an appropriate academic record,reference from the current supervisor, etc.
• Possess the necessary language abilities– English proficiency: TOEFL, IELTS
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Frequently asked questions

ResearchSince the student will be physically on
KUSPH’s campus for only one year, it is quite
challenging to complete all requirements ofcoursework and research within that limited
timeframe. Therefore, we highly recommendthat the student communicate with the KUSPH
advisor to develop the research protocol,
prepare for IRB, etc. before coming to KUSPH.
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Frequently asked questions

ResearchTo fulfil degrees’ requirement, students are
required to submit 2 different theses, one to
KUSPH (4 credits) and another to homeuniversity. The theses could be of related
topics, coming from a single research
project. KUSPH’s thesis is a research report.
We do not require ISI-indexed publication,
though it is strongly encouraged!
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Frequently asked questions

Research
Some possible options for research at KUSPH are;
1. Working on the secondary data analysis of the existing datasets thatKUSPH’s supervisor has in his/her department.
2. Bringing any data that you may have at home university and may be do adesk review for a comparative study with Japanese context (population, riskfactors, perception, attitude, behavior, environment, etc.) under theguidance of the KUSPH’s supervisor.
3. Conducting a totally new research project during your stay at KUSPH. A
very ambitious plan, though please also consider several important points
such as ethical review board application (usually takes at least 3-4 months
at KU for the first review), timeline, language barrier if you were planning toconduct interviews, and especially research budget.

4. Others, any other ideas are always welcomed. Another suggestion isalso for you to discuss with your mentor at your home university for ideas.
22Frequently asked questions

CLASSES at KUSPH
Classes are majorly in Japanese at KUSPH.
26 credits of coursework are required (seeslide 11-12). The course instructor will provided
English materials for international students toself-study. Some instructors may additionallyoffer English classes depending on the subject.
Every year international students form a peerstudy group also. Generally, the students will
be able to manage.
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Frequently asked questions

Credit transfer
To reduce the students’ workload, KUSPH
accept 10 credits transferable from your homeuniversity. Provided that the courses are
viewed comparable by the KUSPH course
instructor and the Education Committee.
Documents required are
1. your official transcript from home university
2. the syllabus of that particular subject
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Frequently asked questions

Credit transfer
For example, if you have taken “Basicepidemiology” at your university and you feelthat it is closely similar to our “Epidemiology 1”
course, please bring your syllabus to KUSPH
to apply for credit transfer. The committee will
evaluate whether the courses are equivalent.

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Frequently asked questions

Scholarship & Financial support
Tuition fee at KUSPH is waived by the universities' DDP
agreement. You will pay tuition fees only at yourhome university. You DO NOT have to pay tuition
fees at KUSPH. Currently, KUSPH does not havefinancial support for air-ticket, accommodation costs,and monthly allowance. For these, we will help you
apply to JASSO scholarship around September 2020.
The result will be announced by the following Jan/Feb
2021. There is no guarantee. Please be reminded aswell of this point.
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Frequently asked questions

Visa and accommodation at KU
Our office will guide you through the application
process, please follow the instructions.

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For more info, contact

Ayako Kohno
Assistant Professor
Internationalization Promotion Office (IPO)
Kyoto University School of Public Health

Email:
kohno.ayako.8w@kyoto-u.ac.jp

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