Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies

Tuition costs 535,800 JPY per year.

The Space and Astronautical Science Program, offered as a three-year doctoral program at The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, is conducted in English, with admission each October, based at the university's Kanagawa location. SOKENDAI was established in 1988 to train first-class researchers through doctoral course programs built around the research environment of Japan's Inter-University Research Institutes. The program focuses on space science and astronautical engineering, covering topics such as spacecraft systems, orbital mechanics, planetary science, and space-based astronomical observation. Kanagawa is home to major Japanese space research institutions, giving doctoral candidates access to satellite and spacecraft research infrastructure connected to the country's space program. The three-year format is generally suited to applicants entering with prior graduate-level preparation, moving from focused coursework into independent dissertation research on a specific space science or engineering problem. Students in this kind of program typically work on topics such as spacecraft design and testing, the physics of planetary bodies, remote sensing from orbit, and mission design for scientific space exploration. Graduates commonly pursue research scientist and engineering roles at national space agencies, academic positions at universities, technical roles at aerospace companies, and postdoctoral research that extends their dissertation work. Being based in Kanagawa places doctoral students near Japan's core space research and engineering infrastructure, supporting close collaboration with mission scientists and engineers. With a single annual intake each October, applicants plan around one entry point per year for the three-year doctoral track. Instruction delivered in English, combined with a required English proficiency test, makes the program accessible to international applicants without first needing Japanese language proficiency, while working within a Japanese institution central to the country's space research effort.