The School of Pharmaceutical Sciences aims to offer an organized program of study in pharmaceutical sciences that will provide our society with pharmacists who scientifically trained and professionally competent to deliver the expertise of pharmaceutical services in the modern health care system. The School of Pharmaceutical Sciences also encourages the students to embark upon courses of exploration and discovery that may form the framework for future learning, both in school and later. To achieve this goal, the undergraduate programs provide opportunities for the attainment of the fundamentals of physical, chemical and biological sciences on which modern pharmaceutical sciences are based. The strong background of fundamental principles and knowledge is prerequisite for the students who wish to develop their potential ability to pursue original research in the graduate program.

In 2006, the School was, for undergraduate programs, reorganized into the Department of Pharmacy, which offers a 6-year program, and the Department of Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences, which offers a 4-year program, in accordance with the national reform of the pharmacy education system. The 6-year program at the Department of Pharmacy includes extended clinical pharmacy practice courses and fulfills the newly enacted requirements to be eligible for the National Pharmacist Licensure Examination. The 4-year program at the Department of Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences places emphasis on research skills for drug development and relevant activities. The graduates of the 4-year program, which does not include clinical pharmacy practice courses, are in principle not eligible for the National Pharmacist Licensure Examination. As the certificate of the curriculum, the School offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy or in Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences.

The pharmaceutical sciences lies within the broad objective with regard to interaction between drugs and living body, and drug development, which is ranging from basic biochemical and biophysical sciences, molecular biology, medical chemistry to health professions and practices. The rapid advancement in the pharmaceutical sciences in recent years has especially made graduate training necessity for the individual who aspires to maximum achievement in this growing field.

The Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences consists of 21 departments, two of which are affiliate graduate school, and Educational Research Center for Clinical Pharmacy, each of which has maintained its reputation in educational and research activities.

The aim of graduate program is to provide the proper background for individuals to develop the required skills to become leaders in scientific research and development, capable of making original contributions to the advancement of pharmaceutical sciences and related disciplines. Programs leading to the M.S. and Ph. D. degrees are offered in wide research fields of pharmaceutical sciences.

Each graduate student is required to belong to a department or center for his or her graduate study. The opportunity for such advanced graduate work is provided in two research majors; (1) Medicinal and Life Sciences and (2) Experimental and Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences. This scientific activity is appreciated not only in pharmaceutical and medical communities but also in basic life sciences. More than 200 original research papers per year have been published in English in a variety of reorganized scientific journals. The research at our Graduate School is conducted in many interdisciplinary areas as shown in the “Research Group”.

Some graduate students receive the JASSO scholarship and the JSPS fellowships throughout their graduate study. Both the scholarships and the fellowships allow students to devote full-time efforts towards their degree programs.