Courses & Programs

Department of Organic Materials Science

Brief Introduction and Characteristics

Polymers and other organic functional materials are one of the essential material categories supporting our modern way of life; improvement of their performance as well as the development of novel materials and functions are being actively pursued. In the future, the utilization of organic materials in interdisciplinary areas and the applications in other fields are expected to generate novel value-added organic material systems. In the Graduate School of Organic Materials Science, Yamagata University, education and research are not limited to simply acquiring knowledge of the fundamentals of organic materials, especially in relevance to applications. The education and research are expected to seed interdisciplinary collaborations and inspire an integrated, system-level understanding of organic materials.

Yonezawa Higher Technical School, the predecessor of the Faculty of Engineering, Yamagata University, was established in 1910 with the department related to fibers and textiles. In 1913, Professor Itsuzo Hata at the Yonezawa Higher Technical School succeeded in producing rayon for the first time in Japan. Since then, the tradition of research on organic materials has continued in Yonezawa for over a century. The new Graduate School of Organic Materials Science was established in April 2016 by integrating the following departments of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering: the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Department of Organic Device Engineering for the master's program and the Department of Organic Materials Engineering for the doctoral program. The new graduate school consists of the Department of Organic Materials Science with the enrollment capacity of 65 for the master's program and 10 for the doctoral program.

In the new Graduate School, education and research will be pursued to achieve the following objectives and be guided by the following principles:

Encourage the spirit of enquiry of the students of organic materials science and develop their ability to independently explore and cultivate novel domains.
Educate engineers, researchers and educators who can employ their deep understanding of the fundamentals to solve sophisticated challenges, especially in their highly specialized fields of expertise.
Cultivate engineers, researchers and educators as human beings with high ethical standards and a deep commitment to the well-being of humanity.

Admission Policy

The following qualities are desirable in the applicants for the Master's program:

A basic knowledge of organic materials and the determination to deepen their understanding.
Leveraging their profound knowledge of organic materials and logically building upon the foundations, a fervent desire to proactively explore and/or perform research and development of organic material systems.
Commitment to contribute to the wider society using their knowledge and expertise of organic material systems.
While harmoniously living in and cooperating with society, the ability to independently think, decide and act.
Compassion for humanity and high ethical standards.

In addition to the above, the following are expected in the applicants to the doctoral program:

An abiding interest in areas not restricted to their specialization and the ability to apply their knowledge widely.
Engineer

Curriculum Policy

In response to the rapid transformation of the societal landscape and the industrial structure in the 21st century, the objective is to create "a University that can foster the ability of students to independently pioneer novel domains". Towards this end, the education of the students - from post graduate to undergraduate - will be enhanced to reflect a broader perspective. Fundamental and applied research and development will be vigorously pursued. Creativity and scholarship that can inspire increasingly sophisticated science and technology that can shine at the international stage will be actively supported.

The curriculum for the master's program is as follows:

To acquire a deep understanding of organic materials, courses that begin with the fundamentals and lead to the vanguard will be offered.
Courses in interdisciplinary areas and other fields relevant to organic material systems will also be offered. Subject to departmental approval, courses offered by other departments and graduate schools can also be used to satisfy credit requirements for graduation.
Courses that enable the students to thrive internationally, such as English for communication and global perspective will be required.
Through laboratory based experiments and exercises, the students will receive a hands-on education necessary for engineers and researchers.

The curriculum for the doctoral program is as follows:

Advanced in-depth courses in organic materials, interdisciplinary areas and other related topics are offered.
Courses on leading and implementing fundamental and applied research with a global outlook and on communicating the research results in the international arena will be required.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Engineering degree will be awarded upon registration for the prescribed term and acquiring the prescribed number of course credits as approved by the graduate school; submission of a master's thesis, and passing the thesis and the final examinations; and the satisfaction of the following requirements:

The candidates have the ability to think deeply and discuss logically based on their knowledge and research experience in the field of organic materials.
The candidates have excellent communication skills and the ability to convey information and interact globally.

The Doctor of Engineering degree will be awarded upon registration for the prescribed term and accumulation of the prescribed number of course credits as approved by the graduate school; submission of a doctoral thesis, and successful completion of the thesis and the final examinations; and the satisfaction of the following requirements:

The candidates have extensive knowledge and profound understanding of organic materials and are self-reliant as researchers.
The candidates have the necessary ability to engage in world-class research and education in their chosen area of specialization.
As globally oriented leaders, the candidates can drive scientific and technological developments and can contribute to the wider society.