About

Background

From climate change to resource depletion, energy crisis, widespread poverty, financial insecurity, aging societies, rapid population growth and depopulation, biodiversity loss, and large-scale disasters, humanity in the twenty-first century faces a myriad of challenging issues.

The future health of our socio-natural life support systems depends on forging sustainable developmental pathways and demands a generation of leaders that pair extensive knowledge and intensive specialization with a critical perspective and strong moral compass.

The University of Tokyo has long challenged the complex issues related to global sustainability through transdisciplinary and holistic approaches. As a collaborative effort between the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences (GSFS) and the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), both institutes agreed to establish a joint diploma.

The diploma is open to doctoral and master students of both GSFS and UNU-IAS, provided that they obtain permission from their supervisors, and that the courses taken as part of the diploma do not clash with their research or other academic activities as part of their respective programs.

Diploma title

Upon completion of the course the student will obtain a diploma with the title “Joint Diploma Program on Sustainability Science”.

Tuition Fees

There are no tuition fees required for students at GSFS and UNU-IAS. However, Exercise on Resilience courses at GSFS involve traveling to other countries or regions in Japan.

While UNU-IAS students are not requested to pay tuition fees for these courses, transportation and accommodation costs of these courses are not covered by GSFS for UNU-IAS students.

Students of UNU-IAS willing to take these courses must arrange their own funding or enquire the possibility of UNU-IAS funding.

Who are eligible for the diploma?

Master and doctoral students enrolled in either the GSFS or UNU-IAS postgraduate programs.