For 1st- and 2nd-year undergraduate students

At Kyoto University, undergraduate students select a major field of study in their third year. Registration for your chosen field takes place in the second semester of your second year. If you are a first- or second-year student, perhaps you are currently struggling with what major to choose. In the Earth and planetary sciences we study the Earth and planets, but you do not necessarily need to remember everything from your high-school geology classes to join. Much of your studies in this department will emphasize topics not covered in your high-school geology classes—subjects like physics, chemistry, and mathematics—and you will review much of what you studied about geology in high school. Below are links to some helpful pages if you are interested in declaring a major in our field. Please note that the pages with the sign [JP] are written in Japanese.

Undergraduate school

Please visit this page if you are interested in studying the Earth and planetary sciences. On this page, you can also learn about open lectures and laboratory sessions for first- and second-year students. If you are considering graduate studies in our department, please also see the Graduate School page.

Research

On our Developments in the Earth and Planetary Sciences [JP] page, you can learn about some of the most recent research going on in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. There are also articles about the areas studied in this field on our Introduction to the Earth and Planetary Sciences [JP] page, presented in an easy-to-read style.

Events

To spread information about the Earth and planetary sciences as widely as possible, our department hosts periodic events like our Wegener Festival [JP] for undergraduate students and Gaia Festival [JP] for the general public. For dates for these and other events, please see the notifications on our Home page or our Event Calendar [JP] , which are updated regularly.