Kobe University (Shindai) - Maritime Sciences Education and Research

Maritime Science Program with Sea Training, Global Transportation Sciences, Ocean Safety Systems Science, and Marine Engineering Education and Research Programs

Established in 1929, Kobe University (Shindai) is one of the oldest and leading national universities located in the international port city of Kobe, Japan. The university is made up of 11 faculties, 14 graduate schools, one research institute and may centers covering the four disciplines of humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and bio-medical sciences. The institution welcomes oversea students and currently there are over 1100 international students from 75 countries and regions studying at Kobe. Moreover the university has academic agreements with 189 universities and institutions from 45 countries and regions.

The Faculty of Maritime Sciences was established in October, 2003 with the integration of Kobe University of Mercantile Marine (KUMM) which was founded in 1917. Emphasis is placed on fields such as Maritime Safety Management, efficiency of Marine Propulsion and Energy, Transportation Systems, Marine Engineering and the Marine Environment Conservation. Faculty of Maritime Sciences pursues collaboration with other faculties and plays a key role in interdisciplinary studies on maritime issues.

Students can select courses from a wide variety of subjects offered by faculties of Science, Engineering, Law, Economics, and Business Administration. Students are encouraged to undertake interdisciplinary studies in addition to their research in a specific discipline. The Faculty has three separate departments; Marine Technology Management, Maritime Transportation Systems and Marine Engineering. The International Maritime Education and Research Center, and the training ship Fukae Maru. Students can advance to Master’s Degree Program of Maritime Sciences in the Graduate School of Maritime Sciences or to Sea Training Course after graduation.

Undergraduate Programs

• Bachelor of Maritime Sciences (4 years): Global Transportation Sciences, Ocean Safety Systems Science & Marine Engineering. The course includes sea training.
• This is a balanced curriculum incorporating mechanical engineering, Electrical and electronic engineering, and environmental sciences. The Ship Management Course trains marine engineers for large vessels, and the Mechatronics Course teaches the theory of component technology related to heat, materials, fluids, and environment.

Graduate Programs

• Master of Maritime Science and Technology (2 years)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Maritime Science and Technology (3 years)
• The Graduate School of Maritime Sciences builds on the core skills and goals formed during the undergraduate program to produce highly creative researchers, educators, and advanced specialist professionals. The graduates have an international perspective and a high level of problem-solving skills. Subject areas include the following
• Global Transportation Sciences: The Global Transportation Sciences provides education and research programs on ship operation, management technology, logistics management, and information analysis in order to multilaterally construct the optimal transportation and logistics system that combines all modes of transportation especially with a focus on marine transport.
• Ocean Safety Systems Science: The Ocean Safety Systems Science provides education and research programs which cover the fields of Water Environment, Meteorology, Geology, Maritime Safety, Radiations and Particle Beam Science, Material and Analytical Chemistry, and Mathematics, with paying the special attentions on the preservation of global and marine environment and safety development and uses of the oceans, in order to achieve the sustainable development of the human society.
• Marine Engineering: The Marine Engineering provides education and research programs to foster highly-skilled engineers and researchers who are capable of developing, designing, and managing ocean related systems, based on the foundations of engineering.

200 students are selected at the undergraduate level and after one and half year of learning fundamentals of maritime sciences study, each student chooses his or her specialization subject or department. The determination is made on the basis of the credits that the students acquire after the enrollment and the score of entrance examination. Students who want to be seafarers or experience ship-training with large training ships select sea training. The Graduate School of Maritime Sciences offers graduate programs leading to the Master of Maritime Sciences (60 seats) and PhD (11 seats) degrees. The Graduate school of Maritime sciences have biannual admission seasons (April and October).

• Campus: The Kobe University campus is located in Kobe, Japan on the foothills of the lush green Rokko Mountains. The campus provides a spectacular view of the city and port of Kobe, providing a serene and ideal environment for the pursuit of academic studies.
• Accreditation: Kobe University is one of the prestigious national universities in Japan. All its programs are well recognized and accepted internationally.
• Language of Instruction: Most of the programs are conducted in Japanese. Students are advised to study Japanese before applying to the university.
• Japanese Language Courses: International Student Center offers the following Japanese language courses. The eligible students are limited to those who have been permitted to enter Kobe University. Students who wish to enroll in one of these courses are required to take the placement test at the beginning of the term in which they wish to enroll.
• Exchange Program: Kobe University has concluded over 180 academic exchange agreements with overseas institutions in both Inter-University and Inter-Faculty/Graduate School exchanges. Under these agreements, Kobe University is conducting extensive educational and research exchanges with partner institutions. Among these are student exchange agreements with 100 institutions, which are made up of “Inter-University Student Exchange Agreement” and other student exchange agreements concluded by faculties/graduate schools.
• International Maritime Research Center: The center has two major developing fields, research program for the maritime society include safety at the sea and the developing program of maritime information networks of sea transportation, global logistic data or ship machinery operation data etc.
• Maritime Museum: The collections are composed of over 2,900 maritime items including ship models, ship plans, nautical instruments and appliances, route maps, paintings, drawing, books, photographic materials, and more. The focus of Collections is on traditional Japanese style ships with 20 ship models and other materials such as a ship nautical plan of the 1860’s, and paintings of the 18th century.
• Sea Training Center: With a state-of-the-art full-mission Ship Handling Simulator, the Sea Training Center Carries out research and instruction in seamanship skills, and administers the University's training ships and other smaller vessels. Training offered are rowing, sailing, lifesaving, rope handling, and intramural sea training cruises, etc.
• Maritime Science Career Options: After completing graduate program, students go on to private companies as well as public sectors, making use of their highly advanced knowledge. Some of the companies recruited Kobe Students are - Daihatsu Motor Co, Imabari Shipbuilding Co, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation, Kobe Steel, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Sharp Corporation, Sumitomo Chemical Co, Universal Shipbuilding Corporation, and many more.
• Housing: The university dormitories were built for current and new international students (including matriculates) of Kobe University. The dormitories and residences managed by private organizations for current international students of Kobe University are also available. At houses owned by Hyogo Prefecture or Kobe City, the number of rooms available for international students is limited but available if applied early.

LAST UPDATED ON Oct 23, 2022