Program Overview

Program Overview

The WINGS-GLAFS program is designed to provide students with comprehensive knowledge and field experience in addressing the challenges of an aging society. The program aims to strengthen the social responsiveness of students' research by understanding how their research can be connected to the issues of an aging society.

Program Coordinator

The program coordinator is Professor Toshiyuki Otsuki, who is a professor at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Engineering and the vice-director of the Institute of Gerontology.

Eligible Specializations

The program is open to students from various specializations, including:

• All specializations in the Graduate School of Engineering
• Social and Cultural Studies in the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Education Sciences and School Education in the Graduate School of Education
• Law and Politics in the Graduate School of Law and Politics
• Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies in the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies
• Agricultural and Life Sciences in the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences
• Medicine in the Graduate School of Medicine
• New Frontier Sciences in the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences
• Information Science and Technology in the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology
• Interdisciplinary Information Studies in the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies

Curriculum

The curriculum includes:

Required Courses

• High-Level Seminar on Aging Society I and II (2 credits)
• High-Level Exercise on Aging Society (1 credit or more)

Elective Courses

• Cross-Disciplinary Courses on Aging Society (4 credits or more)

Research Presentation

• Annual Research Progress Presentation
• Doctoral Dissertation Progress Presentation

2025 Academic Year Courses

The following courses are scheduled to be offered in the 2025 academic year:

• Lilian Mano Seminar
• Mejirōdai
• Frailty Prevention
• G-tech
• Gerontech
• Living Lab
• IARU 2025
• Professor Stefan White Seminar

Program Completion Requirements

To complete the program, students must meet the following requirements:

• Qualifying Examination 1 (QE1) at the end of the first year of the master's program
• Qualifying Examination 2 (QE2) at the end of the second year of the master's program
• Final Examination (FE) at the end of the doctoral program

Qualifying Examination 1 (QE1)

• Unit requirements: completion of required courses (1 credit or more)
• Examination: assessment of unit requirements

Qualifying Examination 2 (QE2)

• Unit requirements: completion of required courses (2 credits) and elective courses (2 credits or more)
• Academic requirements: application for JSPS Research Fellowship (DC1)
• Doctoral program advancement confirmation: interview to confirm advancement to the doctoral program

Final Examination (FE)

• Unit requirements: completion of required courses (2 credits), exercise (1 credit or more), and elective courses (4 credits or more)
• Presentation requirements: research progress presentation at the end of each academic year
• Academic requirements: application for JSPS Research Fellowship (DC2)
• Dissertation requirements: assessment of the doctoral dissertation

Economic Support (Excellence RA)

Economic support is provided to students who apply and are selected through a screening process. The support is up to 180,000 yen per month for master's program students in their second year, doctoral program students, and four-year doctoral program students. The support is provided as a research assistantship, and students are required to submit a monthly report on their research activities. The details of the application process and requirements are outlined in the Excellence RA recruitment guidelines.

Notes on Economic Support

• The economic support is a paid research assistantship, not a scholarship.
• Students who wish to receive economic support must apply for a JSPS Research Fellowship (DC1 or DC2).
• Students who are eligible for the SPRING GX project must apply for it.
• The economic support will be stopped if a student decides not to advance to the doctoral program.
• The economic support may not be combined with other fellowships, scholarships, or part-time jobs.
• The economic support is subject to taxation, and students are required to pay income tax.
• The economic support may affect the student's eligibility for health insurance or other benefits.
• The amount of economic support may be reduced or changed based on the student's research progress or the program's budget.