Do you understand the Earth?

We all live on the Earth. The planet is filled with both blessings and calamities, such as earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanoes, hot springs, and natural resources. To study such phenomena is called “geoscience”. Geoscience is the academic field that deals with events on a time scales ranging from the history of continents, oceans and life during the 4.6 billion years after Earth’s formation, to the single moment of an earthquake today. Japanese Geoscientists lead the world in geoscience research by reasons of well-developed experiments and analytical methods, quality and quantity of data, superior theories etc. The Department of Geosphere Sciences at Yamaguchi University is one of the departments providing the opportunity to study geoscience, with a special focus on filed works. Many graduates start their career related to geoscience field, and they are working around the world as geological engineers.

Let’s discover the secrets of the Earth!

Department/Courses

The department will offer students a high quality undergraduate education. From the third year students specialize in either Regional Environmental Science, or Environmental Materials Science. Neither course has a set number of students, so students can freely choose.

Regional Environmental Science Course

In this course, we train graduates who assist society by using specialized geological knowledge. Educational curriculum of this course has been accredited by the Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (JABEE*). Our curriculum has been approved to meet international standards for engineering education. Here, you can obtain the specialized knowledge and skills to support society through both theory and abundant field practice. Students can obtain the national “associate professional engineer” certification upon graduation from this course, which is extremely useful for finding a career related to geological engineering.
*Please see “What is JABEE? ” for more details.

Environmental Materials Science Course

In this course, we provide students with a broad base of knowledge while cultivating scientific thinking and application. This course is well suited for students who are interested in minerals or fossils, or in volcanoes and earthquakes. Students auquire the knowledge and techniques to serve society in sectors such as disaster prevention for earthquakes and volcanoes, and resource and energy management. Our program offers a variety of career paths, and many graduates go on to work in resource and materials companies as well as in teaching and in civil service. In the first and second years, the curriculum of this course is same as the Regional Environmental Science Course. Thus, students can freely choose courses to match their career path and ambitions from the third year onward.