Gakushuin University
Faculty of Science

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• Department of Physics
• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Mathematics (in Japanese)
• Department of Life Science (in Japanese)

Overview of the Faculty of Science Gakushuin University

The Faculty of Science consists of Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mathematics, and Department of Life Science. The Faculty was established in 1949, with two Departments, Physics and Chemistry, as a successor to the Science Course of pre-war Gakushuin High School (a college). The basic plan was laid by Dr. Koji Sato, a leading experimental physicist in acoustics, who emphasized free thinking and tried hard to build up an ideal place for creative minds who would bridge the gap then prevailing between science and engineering in Japan. The third Department, Mathematics, was added in 1963. The Graduate School of Science with the corresponding three graduate departments, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, was started following the completion of undergraduate departments. The Institute for Biomolecular Science was inaugurated in 1991. The addition of this Institute has broaden the field of research in the Faculty. The fourth department, Life Science, was added in 2009.

The faculty is of relatively small size. The number of students admitted in each year is 210 (48 each for physics and life science, 54 for chemistry and 60 for mathematics). We have 34 faculty members and 34 research associates. Due to this small student /staff ratio students and teachers can keep close relation to each other. This is most evident in experimental laboratories, drill courses, and seminar style courses, which occupy considerable portion of the curriculum up to the third (junior) year. It is our policy to keep this person-to-person style education as far as possible. To help this, many graduate students take part in undergraduate education as research assistants. In the fourth (senior) year students are engaged in research activities under the guidance of a professor of their choice and strive for their BS. This is the time when students make the greatest progress towards maturity.
"Think with your own brain, make experiment with your own hands, and then confirm with your own eyes" is our guiding principle.

A considerable part of the graduates of the Faculty prefer to continue their study in the Graduate School. Others, and many of those who finish the first two year course of the Graduate School, take their jobs in the industry and other businesses, and in the education. Some stay further in the Graduate School to strive for a Doctorate and continue their career in universities and other research oriented organizations. In all, the graduates of this Faculty and the Graduate School have good potential of becoming leaders in each field.