Educational and Research Fields


Educational Program at Geoscience Section
The curriculum of first year students mainly consists courses in general education and basic specialized education (acquisition of basic knowledge and skills to prepare for advanced specialized courses). As students advance from second to third year, the courses they take will naturally become more specialized, with labs and fieldwork. In the fourth year, students are expected to work on their graduation theses, and the scope of their study becomes more specialized and focused.

All freshmen are required to take a basic seminar and participate in marine geoscience fieldwork. The basic seminar, comprised of a small number of students, is designed to teach students basic skills (composition, etc.) all college students are expected to have. In the marine geoscience fieldwork, students will learn about basic geological survey skills. During a short field trip, students will study the geology of the Ryukyu Arc, and be introduced to various fields within geoscience.

Educational and Research Fields in the Geoscience Section
There are two major educational and research fields in the Geoscience Section. One is Marine Geosphere Science, the study of phenomenon that occur around the island arc, ocean floor, and inner-Earth, and another is Marine Hydrosphere Science, which is the study of phenomenon in hydrosphere and atmosphere, primarily the ocean. 10 faculty members (as of July 2010) teach and conduct research in the fields of Atmospheric and Marine Physics, Marine Environmental Science, Solid Earth Physics and Seismology, and Petrology, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry. The central research topic is the birth of the Ryukyu Arc and surrounding seas, with a particular focus on unraveling the mysteries of current geoscientific phenomenon in the subtropics; researchers and students are hard at work conducting field investigation and observation on land and out in the ocean, as well as various indoor experiments.

For more information about the educational and research fields:

[ Atmospheric and Marine Physics ]
[ Solid Earth Physics and Seismology ]
[ Geology ]
(Students who enroll in FY2021 or later will select a course out of "Atmospheric and Marine Physics" and "Solid Earth Science". Solid Earth Science course integrates two courses of "Solid Earth Physics and Seismology" and "Geology".)