The School of Advanced Sciences is a school with just one department: the Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems. Our mission is to perform research and education in the fields of evolution and science and society. The evolution section focuses on the diversity and evolutionary history of organisms, and consists of four subsections: integrative anthropology, behavioral biology, evolutionary biology and theoretical biology.
The science and society section studies the roles and responsibilities of scientists within society, from the viewpoint that science is a social activity of humans. Students carry out Ph.D. research in their own field, but are also required to write a subthesis in the other one: biology students write a subthesis on science and society, and vice versa. The barriers between laboratories have been removed as far as possible, which makes for an intense, intimate educational environment for all students and faculty. We thus hope that all of our students will become competent and well-balanced researchers / professionals.
We also actively promote international and domestic collaborations with other universities and research institutes, to plant the seeds for fruitful future research fields.
Sasaki, Akira
Dean
School of Advanced Sciences
Special field: Mathematical Biology
Since the origin of life 3.8 billion years ago, an extremely diverse collection of living organisms has populated the Earth. The concept of evolution is key to understanding the history and diversity of life, and also provides a theoretical framework linking the various levels of biology. Even human society can be viewed through the lens of evolution. Students will be trained to be world-class scientists in their own research field. At the same time, we offer courses covering not only a wide range of biological topics but also the relationship between science and society. This comprehensive training program aims to broaden our students' perspectives, in order that they will become professionals able to contribute to developing a sustainable global society in the future.