Student Application Guidelines

Admission Policy

Modern industry has advanced by deepening knowledge and discoveries within individual disciplines. In recent years, however, new industries have rapidly emerged that focus on creating value that cannot be generated through discipline-specific thinking and frameworks alone. In other words, it is becoming increasingly important not only to adopt an interdisciplinary approach that understands the different layers within a particular field and creates value through the integration of those layers, but also to adopt a cross-disciplinary approach that incorporates knowledge from diverse fields and generates new forms of value that lie beyond existing frameworks.

To develop internationally competitive industries and support a sustainable society amid such changes, it is essential to design multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral strategies grounded in social science perspectives, without being constrained by any single discipline.

In response to this need, this Leading Program aims to cultivate “Systems-Inspired Leaders in Multidisciplinary Science” who can design research strategies that foster the creation of new value (innovation). These leaders are expected to combine broad multidisciplinary thinking that encompasses multiple fields with the capacity to integrate the layers within a given field at a deep level.

 We seek to recruit highly motivated students, including those who meet the following criteria: 

• Students motivated to acquire advanced expertise and strong research skills in their major field.
• Students with an entrepreneurial mindset who are eager to connect cutting-edge academic achievements with industrial innovation.
• Students motivated to engage actively in multidisciplinary research in a global environment.
• Students motivated to demonstrate leadership and advance their own research.
• Students who are highly motivated and capable of designing their own coursework and research plan in order to acquire the knowledge required of leaders in multidisciplinary science.

The program aims to provide students who are thinking about entering the doctoral program, or who are still unsure about entering the doctoral program, with the opportunity to reflect on the value of conducting research as a doctoral student and on their career path plan beyond the doctoral degree, as well as to provide the opportunity to better understand the content of the program and the kind of professionals the program aims to cultivate. Toward that end, the program has adopted two screening methods, as follows:

Screening Method 1: Coursework (Screening Period: December of Year M1)

Students who have applied to and taken the common graduate course Special Seminar for Strategic Reasoning and Thinking 2, in their first year of enrollment in the master's program (Year M1) will be evaluated and selected based on their performance in those seminars.

Screening Method 2: Examination (Short Essay, Interview, Etc.) (Screening Period: January of Year M1)

Students will be evaluated and selected based on their statement of purpose, short essay, interview, and oral examination.

Important: Please note that screening methods 1 and 2 have different application periods. For more information, see the application guidelines for the given year.

Application Guidelines

    For 2026 

Application Guidelines（Screening Method 1）  

Schedule for application and Screening

2_2026_SiMS_Application_Guidelines (300.8KB)
2_Form2-1_Reason for Application