College of Agro-Biological Resource Sciences
Curriculum
This school aims to provide students with comprehensive studies regarding various life phenomenon including humans, the global environment that supports their lives, and the preservation and ongoing utilization of Agro-biological resources. Through these studies, we nurture students with a rich sense of humanity as well as the ability to identify and solve problems by training creative people who will become the future leaders of the global society.
Educational Goal of the college of Agro-Biological Resource Sciences
- Acquiring a diverse range of knowledge in order to understand the fundamentals of nature, people and culture, as well as the development of self-discipline.
- Acquiring incremental expertise in various uses of agrobiological resources and the ability to utilize them in society, as well as the ability to study more advanced and specialized subjects in graduate school.
- Acquiring abilities in cross-cultural understanding and communication that are necessary for international cooperation in the food and environmental fields.
- Acquiring the ability to analyze information and knowledge using IT, and transfer and receive information on agrobiological resources to and from local and global communities.
- Acquiring of enthusiasm for making a contribution towards solving food and environmental problems and the ability to continue self-development after graduation.
Subjects and Methods of Education
For freshman
We put deep thought into the combination of required courses for the first year student. First, the student will take “Intro, Agro-Bioresource Science” and “Recent Issues in Biological Resources,” both of which clearly explain the scientific way of looking at things and fundamental methods of analysis that are actually used in relevant research fields. Next, the student will identify his/her interest and the issue that interests him/her based on the knowledge acquired in those introductory courses to come up with his/her own research goal. Lastly, the student will report on how he/she came up with the research goal during the “Agro-Bioresource Science Practicum.”
For sophomore
For junior and senior
During the third and fourth years, the student will select one of four courses and continue acquiring specialized knowledge using the methodology of his/her choice. Also, the student can take additional courses as electives from three cross- disciplinary subjects offered in “Food,” “Environment” and “International” to deepen their knowledge of their research target. The reason why we offer these elective courses is that in order to conduct scientific analysis, while a thorough knowledge of methodology (decided when the student makes a program selection) is indispensable, the flexibility to study various aspects of the research target is also critically important to a successful research project.
When the student is halfway through the third year, he/she will select a faculty advisor who will oversee his/her graduation research project from the list of faculties who teach courses for the program the student is enrolled in. Then, the student will continue to work on his/her graduation research project under the individual guidance of the faculty advisor. Please refer to the college website or the collegiate public relations magazines for additional information on research topics.
Core subjects in the schools
Students are able to take classes in each field at the College of Biological Sciences, the College of Agro-Biological Resource Sciences or the College of Geosciences in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences. They study the philosophy of a new school of thought ? “Life and the Environment.”
Four course programs
Students learn basic subjects in the first and second years. From the third year, they pursue further studies in one of the four courses: Biological Sciences for Agriculture and Forestry, Advanced Life Sciences, Environmental Engineering, and Agriculture and Forestry Social Sciences, studying specialized subjects focusing on methods.
Three cross-disciplinary subjects
Students who wish to study a more specific subject along with their course are able to choose one of the 3 subjects (Food, Environment and International) as a free-choice subject. Students are able to study the subject with respect to problem-solving. Within these subjects, some unique classes are also offered.
Own curriculum
In the College of Agro-Biological Resource Sciences, students are able to choose from various classes in the schools and colleges, and build their own curriculum in order to study specialized subjects.
Comprehensive instruction from the teachers
With a class-based teacher assignment system, students receive individual advice from an experienced teacher. In the third year, classrooms are established for each course and the teacher of the course is responsible for the classroom. This provides students with a comfortable environment for receiving specialized tutoring. In the fourth year, students study their own specialized subject and work on their graduation thesis, receiving individual instruction from the teacher.
Acquiring a global viewpoint
The College of Agro-Biological Resource Sciences offers English classes in specialized fields and English classes by native teachers. We also offer an “International Internship Subject (International Agriculture Training)” system, in which training in overseas affiliated schools or in the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tsukuba International Center may be approved as credit for college courses. Other systems are available in the University of Tsukuba, including a system to convert TOEFL or TOEIC scores to credits, studying programs in overseas universities, and training programs at international organizations. Students are therefore able to acquire a broad global viewpoint through their own endeavors.