This center offers a PhD program in Child Development under the United Graduate School of Child Development (UGSCD)-- a joint graduate school comprised of five prestigious national universities: Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui. The PhD program in Child Development (three years) is an intensive program, where students are expected to gain knowledge and skills on different topics related to child mental development including neuroscience, psychology, social services for developmental disabilities, epidemiology, biostatistics and other relevant fields through attending various lectures and practical courses offered by five national universities. Additionally, students will develop a solid base in cutting-edge research on child mental development and related fields. Details of the United Graduate School of Child Development can be found here.

As the Division of Neuropsychological Development and Health Sciences at the UGSCD, our Center offers courses on the following fields:

Neuroimaging techniques allow us to non-invasively examine the morphological and functional architecture of the human brain. We focus on the mechanisms underlying children's cognitive development and neurodevelopmental/psychiatric disorders, using various neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). In the Neuroimaging section, students will learn the basic principles of such techniques. They will also acquire skills to collect, analyze, and adequately interpret neuroimaging data.

Faculty: Prof. Yasuomi OUCHI, Prof. Hidenori YAMASUE, Lecturer Toshiki IWABUCHI, Assis. Prof. Masamichi YOKOKURA, Assis. Prof. Taeko HARADA, Assis. Prof. Motofumi SUMIYA, Assis. Prof. Hirotoshi HIRAISHI, Visiting Assoc. Prof. Keisuke WAKUSAWA

People involved in providing social services to individuals who need a range of support for developmental problems should know the structure of how the social services are organized in advance. In particular, knowledge regarding human development, developmental problems, and developmental disabilities is critical. Furthermore, the basis of proper support, management of individual services, and social services in social contexts should also be thoroughly understood. Faculty members and students will be involved in the knowledge-base of a range of issues related to social services, and are asked to deliver relevant services to individuals in need.

Faculty: Prof. Kenji J. TSUCHIYA, Prof. Atsushi SENJU, Prof. Shu TAKAGAI, Assis. Prof. Akemi OKUMURA, Assis. Prof. Sayaka KAWAKAMI, Visiting Prof. Masatsugu TSUJII, Visiting Prof. Miho KURODA, Visiting Assoc. Prof. Nagahide TAKAHASHI

Epidemiology and Biostatistics

To conduct research on human development and behavior, it is important to have a variety of measures for accurately understanding phenomena. Without suitable measures, objective measurement, appropriate sampling, and logical interpretation of the data would not be possible. This understanding can be achieved by learning about epidemiology and biostatistics. Specific topics covered in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics course include research design, data interpretation, and statistical analysis methods.

Faculty: Assoc. Prof. (Lecturer) Tomoko NISHIMURA, Lecturer Md. Shafiur RAHMAN, Visiting Professor Hitoshi KUWABARA

Our center, in collaboration with United Graduate School of Child Development of Osaka University, offers PhD program in Child Development for those who have academic or professional experiences in psychiatry, psychology, child development, medicine, nursing, epidemiology, informatics, basic neuroscience and associated fields. We welcome international students from various backgrounds. The PhD program consists of introductory and advanced coursework along with exercise/training courses (conducted in both Japanese and English) and comprehensive research for the dissertation. Students are expected to publish their research outputs in peer-reviewed journals.

Admission requirements: Applicants of the PhD program at UGSCD must qualify for a test for English (e.g. IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC) and meet either of the following qualifications:

(1) Those who have obtained or are expected to obtain a master's degree or professional degree in Japan or overseas
(2) Those who graduated or are expected to graduate from a university course in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy or veterinary medicine.
(3) Those who have professional experience as a nurse, psychologist, school counselor, social workers, or school teacher, usually for five years and longer depending on the degree of the experience after their university degree. In this case, you need to undergo Qualifying Review before applying to the formal examination.

For details of the admission requirements, please see the Application Guidelines.

Admission process: Applicants should hand-deliver or mail the application documents to the office of the United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University. Candidates are selected based on their overall academic evaluation (English proficiency tests and Oral presentation) and submitted materials.

*These dates are subject to change each year

Prospective students are encouraged to contact a faculty member prior to the application. If you have any questions about the admission process, you can contact the United Graduate School of Child Development or any of the faculty members in our center.

Scholarships: There are several scholarships offered by the Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, United Graduate School of Child Development, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in Japan. International students can also apply for scholarships offered by private foundations in Japan.

Subject in charge

Undergraduate courses

• 'Introductory Medical Statistics', 2nd grade
• Psychiatry', 3rd grade
    A series of systematic lectures along with neuropsychiatric practices

Postgraduate courses

• 'Epidemiology and Biostatistics I', United Graduate School of Child Development, 1^st year
• 'Epidemiology and Biostatistics II', United Graduate School of Child Development, 1^st year
• 'Social Services for Developmental Disabilities', United Graduate School of Child Development, 1^st year
• 'Child and Adolescent Psychiatry I', United Graduate School of Child Development, 1^st year
• 'Child and Adolescent Psychiatry II', United Graduate School of Child Development, 1^st year
• 'Training Program on Epidemiology and Biostatistics', United Graduate School of Child Development, 2^nd year
• 'Training Program on Brain Image Analysis II', United Graduate School of Child Development, 2^nd year
• 'Seminar in Epidemiology and Biostatistics', United Graduate School of Child Development, 2^nd-3^rd year
• 'Seminar in Social Services for Developmental Disabilities', United Graduate School of Child    Development, 2^nd-3^rd year