Having moved into the 21st century, we now experience a massive paradigm shift in the field of medical biology with the uncovering of extensive information on the human genome. In addition, the merging of medicine with fields such pharmaceutical science, science and engineering creates new interdisciplinary fields. As the scope of clinical medicine, meanwhile, has expanded beyond the realm of research topics such as etiology, diagnostics, and therapy, other important issues such as developments in life-related ethics have begun to surface; issues including organ transplants, in-vitro fertilization gene therapy; striking a proper balance between advanced medical treatment and the dignify of life; changes in the demographics of illness due to the advent of the super-aging society; medical treatment that emphasizes on the quality-of-life (QOL) of patients, and so on. Taken together, these factors are dramatically changing the working environments associated with medicine and therapies.

In collaboration with the Institute of Frontier Medical Sciences, Institute of Virus Research, Radiation Biology Center, Institute of Chemical Research, International Innovation Center, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Research Reactor Institute, and Student Health Center, the integrated multidisciplinary research programs of the School of Medicine comprise 67 key courses and 48 associated courses. Furthermore, additional courses in eight fields are also available in collaboration with other graduate schools (specialist institutions outside our Kyoto University). All in, the total comes to 123 courses, where a wide range of information concerning the latest medical science is taught in a focused and systematic way. By actively pressing forward with seminars and research projects, we strive to nurture analytical researchers, knowledgeable educators and sophisticated clinicians in medical fields to the highest international level possible.

Following the adoption of the Emerging Field Personnel Training Program (fiscal 2005) – which is supported by the Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology – in October 2005, the School of Medicine started a new discipline; the Nano-Medicine Merger Education Unit. Nano-Medicine is a new cutting-edge field of medical engineering that crossovers the university departmental boundaries between the Graduate School of Medicine, Engineering, Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences and others, molding a multi-integrated discipline encompassing nanotechnology, life sciences and medical science.

The Master’s (Pre-doctoral) Course in Medical Science was established in April 2000. It fosters outstanding medical scientists by offering a fundamental medical education and basic training in medical research to students who have been educated in departments other than medicine and who are knowledgeable in a wide range of natural sciences.

The Doctoral Course in Medical Science was established in April 2005 to foster researchers and educators capable of facing the challenge of creating an integrated field, transcending the traditional framework of conventional medicine. The course offers students with a background in science or engineering an education in medical knowledge from a new perspective unlike the conventional approach in order to train new researchers and educators in medical science, where they can combine their specialist knowledge and skills to further transcend existing frameworks in medical science.