The predecessor of the Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences (IGSES) was the Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences Research Course. This was established in 1979 as the nation’s first independent graduate school from the existing undergraduate schools that were engaged in interdisciplinary research and education in science and engineering. Currently IGSES consists of 5 departments and plays an important role in advanced research and education in three main fields. These are materials, energy and the environment. The cooperation of two adjunct institutes, the Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering (IMCE) as well as the Research Institute for Applied Mechanics (RIAM) further supplement the research and educational output of IGSES Over the past 26 years, IGSES has educated a wide range of excellent students from various undergraduate schools and universities from all over the world. It has achieved remarkable academic success through interdisciplinary research activities. We are convinced that the diversity of students and faculty in terms of research areas as well as their nationality in IGSES is an important resource and driving force to contribute to the realization of sustainable development and economic prosperity based on science and technology.

IGSES has a long history of welcoming excellent international students into various educational programs since its establishment. This has contributed to IGSES having a much higher number of international students compared to the other graduate schools of Kyushu University. In the recent decade, IGSES has provided several national leading graduate programs for excellent students, such as the Green Asia Program and the Intellectual Exchange and Innovation Program (IEI Program), after receiving strong financial support from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (Monbusho, MEXT). Under these circumstances, the ratio of international students to all students in IGSES is now about 25%, the highest among all graduate schools of Kyushu University.

Kyushu University possesses a centralized system for supporting international students and researchers, ‘KU International Student and Researcher Support Center’, which offers various services such as VISA acquisition, reserving dormitories, and consulting on the submission of various scholarships. In addition to this support center, IGSES has its own dedicated team who ensure that new international students experience as few difficulties as possible allowing them to maximise their academic achievements.

IGSES is located in Chikushi Campus, which is a compact and convenient campus surrounded by excellent transport links to Fukuoka city and the airport. Surrounding the campus are various shopping areas where students and staff can acquire essential daily items. The campus grounds are filled with a large number of mature trees as well as other attractive foliage to create a peaceful and fresh environment for study and research. The campus also contains a well-stocked scientific library with many current textbooks available in English as well as a small restaurant and convenience store. The further information of Chikushi Campus is provided here.