Studies of human life and the environment aim to realize a happier society by examining our living conditions and surrounding environments as a basis for a productive life. Our daily lives are supported by various factors. The Faculty of Human Life and Environment, consisting of the following 5 departments, performs educational and research activities related to such factors: Department of Food Science and Nutrition to study 乬food science乭; Department of Health Sciences to comprehensively learn about 乬mental and physical health乭; Department of Computer Science and Clothing Environment to learn about 乬information-based communication using computers and clothing environments乭; Department of Residential Architecture and Environmental Science to create 乬comfortable and safe living environments乭; and Department of Culture and Humanities to examine life from cultural viewpoints.
In each department, the student quota is set at 30 to 40, while the number of faculty staff members is 10 to 19, reflecting its policy to provide intensive education for small groups. While being active in the forefront of their fields, faculty staff members carefully proceed with education. They also organize diverse activities for students to learn, such as lectures, seminars, training, and practice. You will be able to realize your own possibilities, and create a foundation for your future in this faculty.
Nara is a calm, serene city abundant in historical and cultural heritage. It is easy to access Osaka and Kyoto from it, promising a rich environment to enjoy university life. The university period is a major turning and starting point for one乫s life. In this placid, serene city of Nara, you will be able to nurture your chances for a bright future.
The desire to lead a healthy and productive life is common to all humans. Therefore, it is important to develop scientific knowledge of various issues related to food.
The Department of Food Science and Nutrition aims to nurture specialists who will lead the fields of food science and nutrition in Japan. We help students examine methods for health promotion and disease prevention, focusing on foods as familiar materials, and learn about nutrients in them, their functions, safety, and palatability through education and research based on life sciences. We deal with diverse issues from microscopic fields, such as chemical substances (such as DNA, proteins, lipids, and vitamins) and cells, to macroscopic fields, covering individuals and human groups. In our courses to nurture registered dieticians, nutrition instructors, homemaking teachers (for junior and senior high schools), and food sanitation inspectors/managers, practical education is also provided through training in hospitals, schools, and public health centers.
In the Faculty of Human Life and Environment, the studies of life health science help students learn about and examine the association between life and health from the viewpoints of natural sciences, such as physiology and human engineering. With 2 fields, sports health science and clinical psychology, incorporated into such studies, the Department of Health Sciences was newly organized in 2014 to perform comprehensive education and research activities related to mental and physical health.
In order to lead a productive life, it is basically necessary to be mentally and physically healthy. Everyone desires to lead a healthy life. In this department, students will extensively learn about the influences of living environments and lifestyles on mental and physical health. Through such learning, they will develop abilities to consider appropriate living conditions and lifestyles to lead a healthy life, in addition to approaches to promote mental and physical health, based on evidence.
Developing practical abilities to create environments and lifestyles needed for a healthy mind and body, you will become able to contribute to society.
With lifestyle changes, global warming, and the increased use of information technology, our modern society is markedly and continuously changing. In such a situation, the importance of clothing environments, which support their activities, is increasing. With the goal of creating safe and comfortable clothing environments needed today, we cover the following areas of education and research: polymers and fiber assemblies as materials for clothing environments; apparel designing and production; computerized fashion designing; frontier technologies such as wearable computers; and the management and reuse of clothes. We aim to develop human resources, and nurture leaders with the ability to create comfortable, sensitive clothing environments.
Residential architecture and environmental science are academic fields, aiming to systematically create living environments for humans to live with safety, security, and comfort in harmony with natural environments. In the Department of Residential Architecture and Environmental Science, students will examine methods to plan, design, organize, and manage diverse issues from familiar interior and housing designs to proximate environments, landscapes, communities, and cities in relation to our lives.
In our society, changes, represented by aging with a reduced birth rate, the promoted use of advanced information technology, equal participation of males and females, and diversified family structures, will further progress. At the same time, with the enhancement of awareness of global protection, our lives will also markedly change in the future. Under these circumstances, we aim to nurture specialists who will lead each area (conceptualizing, planning, designing, managing, and improving living environments) with appropriate insight, while meeting social demands by accurately recognizing new needs related to housing and living conditions and trends in socially needed human resources, and promoting education and research based on them.
In this global society with a large number of females becoming politicians, corporate managers, specialists, teachers, and public servants, female leaders are not a minority anymore. However, regrettably, their number is markedly lower in Japan compared with other countries. In the Department of Culture and Humanities, female students will acquire the tools needed to become a leader, and develop skills to appropriately communicate with others, among whom the sense of values varies. In this case, the term 乪skills乫 refers to capacities and qualities to establish appropriate relationships with others in society, rather than simple, superficial techniques. In this department, studies start from daily life-related issues, such as families and interpersonal relationships, and they expand to those in Asian and all other countries.
Leaders are not necessarily managers or specialists. In communities, parent-teacher associations, and all other daily settings, leaders with appropriate insight into life are needed. Female students who study in the Department of Culture and Humanities are expected to become competent leaders who can contribute to others乫 well-being, based on their 4-year learning experience.