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Tokyo Institute of Technology is one of the high-status universities renowned in Japan for its contributions to the country, focusing on science and technology. The university offers intensive programs to cultivate students to become global leaders, targeting Japanese and international students with high academic potential in science and innovations.
Table of Contents
- From a humble seed grew a fruit-bearing tree
- Academic Life in Tokyo Tech
- Campus Life in Tokyo Tech
- In summary,
Note: In January 2023, it was announced that the Tokyo Medical and Dental University and The Tokyo Institute of Technology would be merged into 1 school called 東京科学大学 (Tokyo Kagaku Daigaku). At the time of this update, the English name has not been announced.
From a humble seed grew a fruit-bearing tree
The lively metropolitan, unique technologies and rich culture of Japan has ever since invited many to visit the country be it for tourism or business, but before present-day Japan came to be, it underwent more than a century-long restoration and industrialization. One of the early fruits springing from it is the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Established in 1881, the Tokyo Institute of Technology, or as formerly known, Tokyo Vocational School has stood the test of time. Spanning from students having to rely only on handwritten lecture notebooks during its early years, to surviving and overcoming the damage of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, it has not wavered in accomplishing its century-old mission to create vanguards of science and technology paving the way for a sustainable society.
Today, Tokyo Tech stands as one of the leading universities in Japan, ranking 3rd overall in the country according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings and rightfully so, considering the features of Tokyo Tech’s education. The institute strives to deliver not only quality education but also to mold its students into well-rounded individuals adept not only in research but other competencies such as in the liberal arts and communication. It is all thanks to these and its generous funding of research aided by state of the art technology that it skyrocketed as one of the best universities in Japan and produced some key figures in science and other industries whose contributions benefited people beyond the country.
Have you ever wondered about the minds behind the Nintendo DS? That’s right, Satoru Iwata, the fourth CEO of Nintendo was a product of Tokyo Tech. If we’re talking about the Nobel Prize, the institute also has its share of laureates such as Hideki Shirakawa, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000, and Yoshinori Ohsumi, an honorary professor in the university, who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 2016.
※ Tokyo Institute of Technology, "History" ※ Tokyo Institute of Technology, "Data on Research Activities" ※ Nintendo Life, "Feature: Remembering Satoru Iwata, Five Years On" ※ Times Higher Education World University Rankings, "Tokyo Institute of Technology"
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Academic Life in Tokyo Tech
Programs
Starting classes in only two departments in its beginnings, the institute has expanded greatly over the years. The university offers programs from undergraduates to doctoral degrees in its six schools: Science, Engineering, Materials and Chemical Technology, Computing, Life Science, and Environment and Society. Under these schools are an array of departments and programs you can choose from, ranging from industrial engineering to space science. Other programs offered are Interdisciplinary Graduate Majors and the Global Scientist and Engineers Program (GSEP) for international students.
Interdisciplinary Graduate Majors are programs for students who wish to take up a degree that’s not limited to one specialization and want to study synergies of the different sciences as standalone disciplines. Some of the programs under this include Urban Design, Artificial Intelligence, and Nuclear Engineering.
Classes in Tokyo Tech are mostly taught in Japanese but don’t worry, because the institute welcomes diversity, with international students making up more than ten percent of its student demographics, and has provided solutions for the language barrier through offerings such as the Global Scientist and Engineers Program (GSEP) meant for promising international students who wish to study in Tokyo Tech. GSEP courses primarily use English in delivering lectures. Also, it includes basic Japanese in the curriculum so you can learn the language meanwhile focusing on your major. Students under the program receive a degree in Engineering upon graduation.
Besides language classes to ease the barriers of communication, Tokyo Tech also seeks to break barriers of instruction through digital means and for students to gain easier access to lecture materials. The Tokyo Tech Open Course Ware (OCW) is a database hosted by the institute to make lectures done in the university available online with its access not only exclusive to its students but opened to the world in hopes to share educational resources and achieve quality learning and instruction in science and technology. Some of the resources that can be found on the website include course outlines or syllabi, lecture notes, and videos.
Admission
To get admitted as a full-time student to the institute, you may choose from two options. The first of which is to pass both entrance examinations conducted by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations and Tokyo Tech. The second option, for international students, is to take the Examination for University Admissions of the Japanese Student Services Organization and afterward, undergo the Special Screening Examination for international students by Tokyo Tech.
※ Tokyo Institute of Technology, "Information for International Students"
The University also offers a variety of short-term programs where international students can enroll and stay in Tokyo Tech for a duration of about 2 months to 1 year. These programs are inclusive to those studying in Tokyo Tech’s partner universities, from non-partner universities and those who are privately-funded. Some of the programs offered are Tokyo Tech Summer and Winter Program, Young Scientist Exchange Program, International Exchange Student Program and International Visiting Students to name a few. Another perk in enrolling for these short-term programs is that tuition exemptions are also offered.
※ Tokyo Institute of Technology, "International Programs (Non-Degree)" ※ Tokyo Institute of Technology, "International Study Programs"
Campus Life in Tokyo Tech
Photo: Kakidai / CC BY-SA
Facilities
With its three campuses, there is much to see in the Tokyo Institute of Technology. There are a variety of facilities offering plenty of services from gymnasiums and museums to research centers. One of the key facilities in the Ookayama campus is the Tokyo Institute of Technology Library. The library offers an extensive collection of periodicals, books, and other resources for research that is available to students and outsiders with reservations.
Meanwhile, the university’s second campus in Suzukakedai features the four major research facilities of the institute where the laboratories are located. The Tamachi Campus is home to the Tokyo Tech High School of Science and Technology which was recognized as a super science high school. It also houses the Graduate School of Innovation Management which offers evening classes so you will often see people both coming and going at the end of the day, creating a lively campus atmosphere.
All of these might seem very academic but rest assured that Tokyo Tech also allows you to explore your creative and inventive side as well with facilities like the Collaboration Center for Design and Manufacturing that allow students to craft products themselves and turn their ideas into physical outputs.
Career Paths
There is not a lack of career paths to choose from for Tokyo Tech graduates. You can find Tokyo Tech graduates in plenty of industries. You can make a career in manufacturing, telecommunications, education, or work in research institutions and other related fields.
With its high employability rate among its graduates - 2nd in Japan and 32nd in the world according to the QS rankings, plenty of career opportunities and offers await you in Japan as Tokyo Tech makes it their goal to create leaders of science and technology whose contributions create an impact. With their excellent delivery of education through instruction and skill-based cutting edge research projects, the demand for Tokyo Tech graduates only goes higher.
What’s more, studying in Tokyo Tech gives you the chance to be taught by some of the best researchers and scientists in the field and immerse yourself in research projects and technologies from the institute such as the Tokyo Tech Supercomputer Ubiquitously Accessible Massstorage Environment (TSUBAME), declared fourth most efficient supercomputer in the world in 2010 and to discover things yet unknown to the world yourself. Who knows, you just might be the next recipient of the Nobel Prize.
※ Tokyo Institute of Technology, “Tokyo Tech by the Numbers”, "Research Highlights"
In summary,
Tokyo Institute of Technology seeks to deliver only the highest quality of education by applying scientific learning to real world scenarios. The university’s achievements over the years and its graduates creating names in the industry are proof of its good reputation. Through its enthusiastic drive towards research, it cultivated many students to reach their highest potential in the field of science and technology and has since contributed to the industrial progress of Japan and in general, modern science.
