Overview of Department of Planetology

Academics

Undergraduate cource

Every year our department accepts 35 new undergraduate students, consisting of 25 students through the general selection in the first-round examination, 8 students for the second-round examination, and 2 students for the comprehensive selection. There is also a system of third-year transfer admission, which accepts students who have completed their second year at other universities and those who have graduated from technical colleges. Since our department deals with phenomena from the center of the Earth to planets outside the solar system, we would like our students to acquire a wide range of knowledge and skills in planetary science, while at the same time cultivating a broad perspective, creativity, and originality that are not bound by existing frameworks. To that end, we provide opportunities to understand the academic foundations of mathematics, physics, and earth science, as well as to learn while experiencing field surveys, observations, experiments, and theoretical analysis. Through lectures, exercises, and practical training from a diverse group of faculty members, you can learn everything from the basics to the cutting edge of Earth and planetary science.

Graduate cource

In our department, we conduct various research on the formation and evolution of the Earth and other planets in the solar system. We want students to take full advantage of this strength of our department and approach research in their own field with a broad perspective. For this reason, as the first course of the master’s program we offer a course “Essence of Planetology”, where students can learn the basics of research in various fields of Earth and planetary science in the form of intensive lectures. Many elective courses are also offered to learn more specialized content. Meanwhile, graduate students work on their own research in their own educational and research fields. They also have the opportunity to present their research results at domestic and international conferences. The experience of independently conducting research through trial and error will be of great use when they become active in the workforce, such as in a company. In addition, if you proceed to the doctoral program, your life will become even more research-centered. We also strive to train researchers who will be active internationally.

Research

Our department consists of five Basic Planetology Research Groups (Geology, Petrology and Mineralogy, Solid Geophysics, Fluid Geophysics, Planetary Astrophysics), three New Frontier Planetology Research Groups (Experimental Planetary Science, Computational Planetology, Marine Geodynamics), and the Collaborative Course (Planet Earth Change History, Applied Planetary Science). The diverse faculty members of these research units are conducting cutting-edge research with a wide range of approaches, targeting phenomena ranging from the interior of the Earth to planetary systems outside the solar system. In addition, we are also conducting research in collaboration with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, the Meteorological Research Institute of the Japan Meteorological Agency, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and it is possible to conduct research under the guidance of faculty members of the collaborative courses affiliated with these organizations.

History

• 1973 Establishment of the Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science
• 1977 Establishment of the Department of Earth Sciences, Graduate School of Science
• 1993 Renamed to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
• 2015 Renamed to the Department of Planetology