Organization of the Curriculum
The program is providing a total of 25 courses from the two universities. Key points of the curriculum are:
Students will spend a minimum of one year of the program period at the partner university and, in addition to completing the curriculum coursework, will conduct their research under the supervision of their academic advisors.
In the first and second years of the program, students will take compulsory subjects that will assist them to develop their basic knowledge and research skills, advance their abilities for logical thinking, and help them identify and solve problems. Additional elective courses will further advance their knowledge base and research skills.
In the first two years of the program, students will also be able to take lecture courses offered by other departments of Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine. This will enable students to gain course experience and a wider perspective of the overall field of medicine. However, such courses will not count towards the total number of credits required for graduation.
A compulsory Joint Course, in the form of a short, intensive lecture course, will also be provided so that students can acquire knowledge and skills that make best use of the resources and expertise available at both universities.
To assist students to prepare for their doctoral thesis, beginning in the third year, effective means of promoting their research with an international perspective will be developed under the supervision of faculty members from both universities.
All courses will be conducted in English.
Outline of Course Subjects
Kyoto University will offer four compulsory courses, worth a total of 12 credits, as well as four elective courses worth 8 credits in total. McGill University will offer a catalogue of 16 potential courses, worth a total of 48 credits, one of which is a compulsory course worth 3 credits. In addition, a Joint Course, designed and offered by both universities, will be worth 2 credits.
The total number of credits to be acquired will be 30 or more (16 or more at Kyoto University, 12 or more at McGill University, and 2 from the Joint Course).
The courses to be offered at Kyoto University are:
a) Compulsory courses
・Genomic Medicine I (lectures and seminars); 4 credits
・Genomic Medicine II (lectures and seminars); 4 credits
・Statistical Genetics I (lectures and seminars); 2 credits
・Statistical Genetics II (lectures and seminars); 2 credits
b) Elective courses
・Statistical Learning I (lectures and seminars); 2 credits
・Statistical Learning II (lectures and seminars); 2 credits
・Methods of Genome and Omics Analysis I (seminars); 2 credits
・Methods of Genome and Omics Analysis II (seminars); 2 credits
The courses to be offered at McGill University are:
a) Compulsory course
・HGEN 692 Human Genetics; 3 credits
b) Elective courses
・HGEN 660 Genetics and Bioethics; 3 credits
・HGEN 661 Population Genetics; 3 credits
・HGEN 663 Beyond the Human Genome; 3 credits
・HGEN 670 Advances in Human Genetics 1; 3 credits
・HGEN 674 Research Internship; 3 credits
・HGEN 675 Stem Cell Biology; 3 credits
・HGEN 676 Lab Course in Genomics; 3 credits
・HGEN 677 Statistics Concentrated in Genetic & Genomic Analysis; 3 credits
・HGEN 690 Inherited Cancer Syndromes; 3 credits
・HGEN 691 Host Responses to Pathogens; 3 credits
・HGEN 693 Using Bioinformatics Resources; 3 credits
・HGEN 695 Psychiatric Genetics; 3 credits
・EXMD 602 Techniques in Molecular Genetics; 3 credits
・BIOL 568 Topics on the Human Genome; 3 credits
・BIOL 575 Human Biochemical Genetics; 3 credits
The compulsory Joint Course will be as follows:
・Genome Analysis Using NGS and Its Applications (lectures and seminars); 2 credits