• Those who possess broad and deep knowledge in nursing and interdisciplinary domains, and who can plan and carry out a whole research process autonomously.
• Those able to analyze current and future challenges in health, medical, and welfare domains from the perspective of nursing, and to solve them in a comprehensive, organized manner.
• Candidates who satisfy the policies above and achieve sufficient learning outcomes in the domains of “Foundational Competence,” “Specialized Knowledge,” “Ethics,” and “Creativity” will be awarded:
  • Master of Nursing (for completion of the master’s / pre-doctoral portion)
  • Doctor of Nursing (for completion of the doctoral / post-doctoral portion)

Fundamental Ability

• Achievement Goals:
  Acquire broad and rich knowledge, and as a nursing professional / researcher be able to understand nursing targets from a holistic perspective, engage in education, research, and social contribution.
• Performance Indicators:
  Contribute to nursing scholarship responsive to societal change; complete graduate-common and faculty-common required credits; pass doctoral thesis examination.

Specialized Knowledge

• Achievement Goals:
  Be able to set research problems grounded in nursing and interrelated fields, plan and execute sophisticated research, and write a thesis for the doctoral degree.
• Performance Indicators:
  Formulate research questions contributing to the development of nursing, integrate interdisciplinary knowledge, produce original research.

Sense of Ethics

• Achievement Goals:
  Acquire high levels of ethical awareness and ability as a scholar of nursing.
• Performance Indicators:
  Understand and apply nursing ethics deeply; do research in compliance with ethical norms; complete required courses in research ethics.

Creativity

• Achievement Goals:
  Accumulate knowledge contributing to the construction of nursing as a discipline and develop research methods.
• Performance Indicators:
  Generate novel insights, methodological contributions, and interdisciplinary research in nursing.

• The Nursing Sciences Program designs a curriculum so that students systematically acquire the four competency domains in the Diploma Policy.
• The curriculum enables students to collect multifaceted information about developments in nursing and interdisciplinary trends, set high-quality research themes, master basic research methods necessary for thesis writing and publication.
• It incorporates comprehensive understanding of nursing targets (individuals, families, groups, communities), integrates interdisciplinary findings, and develops nursing practice, leadership, and management competence.

1. The educational program is implemented through university graduate-common subjects, faculty/common subjects, Nursing Sciences Program-specific subjects, and thesis supervision.
2. From the first year, students plan their thesis topic, ensure compliance with ethics procedures, and work toward preparing a master’s or doctoral thesis.
3. Program-common and nursing advanced courses are provided to foster the foundation for leadership, high-quality practice, and research.

Fundamental Ability

• Learning Content:
  Theory and practice forming the basis of nursing; research methodology; integration from integrative medical perspectives; graduate-common and faculty-common coursework.
• Learning Methods:
  Lectures, seminars, guidance in research planning and execution.
• Evaluation of Learning Outcomes:
  Thesis examination, Q&A performance, consistency and significance of research, evaluation of common/faculty courses via exams and reports.

Specialized Knowledge

• Learning Content:
  Advanced nursing practice, theoretical foundations, methodology, interdisciplinary approaches.
• Learning Methods:
  Lectures, seminars, research guidance, reading and discussion of literature.
• Evaluation of Learning Outcomes:
  Evaluation in thesis defense, consistency between thesis and research, response to questioning, plus course grades.

Sense of Ethics

• Learning Content:
  Nursing ethics, research ethics, ethical decision making in care settings.
• Learning Methods:
  Courses on nursing ethics; guidance on ethical research conduct; lectures and media.
• Evaluation of Learning Outcomes:
  Ethical justifications in thesis, quality of responses in thesis defense, completion of research ethics requirements.

Creativity

• Learning Content:
  Interdisciplinary topics, healthcare policy, nursing education and system design, innovation in nursing research.
• Learning Methods:
  Seminars, independent research development, interdisciplinary exploration.
• Evaluation of Learning Outcomes:
  Novelty and developmental potential of research, defense Q&A, coherence with discipline growth.

We seek students who understand the objectives of the Nursing Sciences Program and who possess broad and deep knowledge, problem-solving ability, and capacity to plan and execute entire research processes in nursing and interdisciplinary domains. Specifically, candidates should:

1. Possess the capacity to act in areas requiring advanced technology, psychological / bioethical understanding, QOL support, and comprehensive care in health, medical, welfare settings.
2. From the perspective of current and future health and welfare challenges, have interest in comprehensive, organized approaches and wish to develop a career in advanced nursing practice or research.

• To accept diverse applicants, we admit both April and October entries, conducting selection twice per year.
• Special admissions for working professionals and international students are also implemented.

General Entrance Examination

Selection based on essay, aptitude test, English examination, oral examination, and academic transcripts. Candidates’ research potential, motivation, and fundamental skills in nursing are assessed.

Special Entrance Examination for Working Professionals

Selection based on evaluation of professional achievements, English test, oral examination, and research interest. Experience in clinical nursing practice is considered.

Special Entrance Examination for International Students

Selection is based on evaluation of written essays, aptitude tests, English test, and oral examination. Candidates’ foundational knowledge and research execution abilities are assessed as a basis for acquiring advanced nursing practice skills and research methods.

Fundamental Ability

• Interest in nursing scholarship and understanding of the significance of conducting high-level nursing research.
• Commitment to lifelong learning and valuing research in career development.

Specialized Knowledge

• Interest in research approaches to nursing practice.
• Desire to contribute to the advancement of nursing as a discipline.

Sense of Ethics

• Strong ethical awareness as required for autonomous research in nursing.
• Track record or capacity to explain prior research clearly regarding ethics.

Creativity

• Desire to continue research over a lifetime as a nursing practitioner–researcher.
• Interest in generating new knowledge and methods in nursing.

The program aims to cultivate individuals who, as researchers in nursing science, can independently conduct and develop an entire research process, or who, in diverse areas of advanced nursing practice requiring a high level of expertise, can engage in practice, education, and management based on a research-oriented mindset and grounded in a rich body of academic knowledge.
To achieve this goal, the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing degree shall be conferred upon those who have acquired the following abilities—Foundational Competence, Specialized Knowledge, Ethical Awareness, and Creativity—and who have demonstrated sufficient academic achievement.

Fundamental Ability

• Achievement Goals:
  Students will acquire the ability to understand nursing subjects from a holistic perspective based on broad and rich academic knowledge and advanced research competence in their specialized field, and to engage in education, research, and social contribution.
• Performance Indicators:
  • Contribute to the academic advancement of nursing science in response to social change.
  • Develop and create nursing practical knowledge integrating “Eastern wisdom” and Western medicine.
  • Contribute to the life and culture of local and international communities.
  • Complete the required credits for common graduate courses and department-wide common courses.
  • Pass the final doctoral dissertation review.

Specialized Knowledge

• Achievement Goals:
  Amid increasing emphasis on specialized knowledge and skills, students will learn to understand individuals, families, groups, and communities holistically, respect their dignity, and apply these insights in nursing practice, education, and research.
• Performance Indicators:
  • Identify research themes contributing to the advancement of nursing science in response to social change.
  • Develop and create nursing practical knowledge based on the integration of “Eastern wisdom” and Western medicine.
  • Examine research topics that contribute to the life and culture of local and global communities.

Sense of Ethics

• Achievement Goals:
  Students will acquire a nursing philosophy that forms the basis for fulfilling their responsibilities and roles as nursing scholars. They will be able to deepen their worldview and nursing philosophy through personal and professional experience and pursue universal nursing philosophy.
• Performance Indicators:
  • Understand the history and philosophy of science in relation to nursing.
  • Achieve a deep understanding of nursing ethics.
  • Possess ethical awareness appropriate for a nursing scholar.
  • Complete the common course “Pharmaceutical and Medical Professional Research Theory.”

Creativity

• Achievement Goals:
  Students will acquire the ability to develop research methods and accumulate knowledge that contributes to the establishment of nursing as an academic discipline built upon practical wisdom.
• Performance Indicators:
  Cultivate the ability to approach advanced and innovative nursing research with creativity and a research mindset, focusing on respect for human dignity in advanced medical and nursing practice and basic education.

• The Nursing Science Program systematically organizes its curriculum to enable students to acquire the four abilities stated in the Diploma Policy.
• The curriculum allows students to collect multifaceted information on research and interdisciplinary developments in nursing, contribute to the construction of nursing theories that lead to universal nursing practice and education, and independently conduct research from a holistic and comprehensive nursing perspective that emphasizes the dignity of individuals, families, groups, and communities.
• It also enables students to systematically develop the ability to become advanced nursing professionals with internationally recognized excellence, capable of educating, guiding, and managing specialized nursing personnel.

Education in the Nursing Science Program is conducted through coursework and supervision related to the doctoral dissertation.

1. In the first year, students formulate their research plans and clarify conceptual frameworks and valid methodologies for their dissertation research.
2. By the first half of the second year, students conduct their research in compliance with ethical procedures.
3. By the third year, they prepare their doctoral dissertation based on scientific reasoning and critical discussion of their findings. Research plan reviews, interim presentations, and preliminary and final dissertation defenses are conducted accordingly.

Fundamental Ability

• Learning Content:
  The curriculum provides instruction in nursing theories, research methods, and approaches from the perspective of integrative medicine. Students also take common graduate courses such as “Pharmaceutical and Medical Professional Research Theory” to acquire broad academic knowledge.
• Learning Methods:
  Students learn nursing theories in relation to practice, study theory development, and explore processes of constructing nursing frameworks. Various research methods are taught, and common courses are offered through lectures and seminars (in-person or via advanced media).
• Evaluation of Learning Outcomes:
  Achievement is comprehensively evaluated during interim and final dissertation reviews, based on academic rigor, consistency with the dissertation, and scholarly discussion. Coursework is evaluated through examinations and reports.

Specialized Knowledge

• Learning Content:
  Students approach nursing phenomena from three perspectives—human existence, interaction with the environment, and functioning within care systems—to develop original, applicable, and academically rigorous dissertations.
• Learning Methods:
  Students learn about the role of nursing in integrative medicine, respect for human dignity, and the process of selecting appropriate research methods.
• Evaluation of Learning Outcomes:
  Evaluated during interim and final dissertation reviews for practical applicability, academic consistency, and scholarly communication.

Sense of Ethics

• Learning Content:
  Students cultivate a strong sense of ethics to ensure that nursing and science evolve without deviating from moral principles.
• Learning Methods:
  Through collaboration with local institutions and professionals, students study ethical issues related to vulnerable populations and culturally informed nursing practice.
• Evaluation of Learning Outcomes:
  Evaluated during interim and final dissertation reviews for ethical reasoning and coherence with the dissertation. Coursework such as “Pharmaceutical and Medical Professional Research Theory” is graded through exams and reports.

Creativity

• Learning Content:
  The curriculum provides instruction in analyzing nursing techniques scientifically, theorizing them, and developing educational methods.
• Learning Methods:
  Students learn to create new nursing theories, develop scales and evaluation systems, and explore human biological defense systems, health, illness, and recovery to generate new nursing knowledge. They also study management approaches for empowering individuals, families, and communities.
• Evaluation of Learning Outcomes:
  Evaluated during dissertation reviews for originality, creativity, and consistency with the doctoral dissertation.

The program aims to cultivate practical researchers who can integrate, create, and develop knowledge; reform and innovate nursing practice; and contribute to the life and culture of both domestic and global communities. Applicants should understand this mission and possess the following qualities:

1. Broad and deep academic knowledge in nursing and interdisciplinary fields, with the ability to design and conduct comprehensive research processes.
2. The capacity to identify and solve issues in health, medical, and welfare systems, and to serve as highly professional nurses with internationally recognized expertise.

To accept a diverse range of students, admissions are held twice a year (April and October), including a Special Entrance Examination for International Students.

General Entrance Examination:

Applicants are evaluated through a written essay, aptitude test, English proficiency test, oral examination, and academic transcripts to assess research capability, motivation, and academic ability equivalent to a master’s degree.

Special Entrance Examination for International Students:

The same evaluation methods apply as for the general entrance examination.

Fundamental Ability

• Applicants should:
  • Understand and value the significance of conducting academically rigorous nursing research.
  • Possess lifelong learning abilities and recognize the importance of research approaches for career development.

Specialized Knowledge

• Applicants should:
  • Appreciate the value of academic and specialized research approaches that contribute to nursing practice.
  • Show interest in creative and innovative research approaches in the field of nursing.

Sense of Ethics

• Applicants should:
  • Have a firm commitment to uphold ethical standards in conducting independent nursing research.
  • Have no record of ethical violations in past research, or be able to explain and justify any issues transparently to other researchers.

Creativity

• Applicants should:
  • Demonstrate a strong will to continue research throughout their lives as practical researchers in nursing science.