St. Marianna University School of Medicine

About St. Marianna University School of Medicine

St. Marianna is an independent Japanese medical university rather than a medical faculty within a larger institution. Japan’s national academic-recognition directory classifies it as both a university and graduate school and records bachelor’s and doctoral qualifications. The institution began in 1971 as Toyo Medical University; it adopted its present Japanese and English identity in 1973. It is operated by an educational corporation, placing it in Japan’s private nonprofit higher-education sector. The university’s purpose is tightly focused. Its undergraduate division trains physicians through a six-year medical curriculum, while the Graduate School of Medicine provides a four-year doctoral course for medical researchers, educators, and advanced professionals. Students seeking a broad range of unrelated majors should look elsewhere. For those committed to medicine, the focused structure integrates classrooms, research facilities, and clinical services within the same institutional system. The founding philosophy emphasizes the dignity of life, humanitarian service, ethical judgment, and evidence-based medical decision-making. Christian ideas are visible in the mission, Christian Culture Center, and campus chapel, but the published curriculum also gives substantial attention to basic science, clinical medicine, social medicine, ethics, communication, and professional responsibility. The medical program is accredited by the Japan Accreditation Council for Medical Education for the period from June 2022 through May 2029. Active university news and published 2027 entry materials confirm that the institution was operating and accepting applicants as of August 2026.

For April 2027 undergraduate entry, the university published several Japanese admissions routes: open-recruitment school recommendation, a Kanagawa regional recommendation allocation, the national Common Test route, and general selection in early and late rounds. The medical course has a total published intake of 117. Within that total, approximately 75 places are assigned to the early general round, approximately 10 to the late general round, and approximately five to the Common Test route; other places are allocated through recommendation routes. The 2027 general-selection application windows are December 14, 2026 to January 20, 2027 for the early round and February 15–20, 2027 for the late round, with mailed materials due shortly afterward. First-stage testing covers mathematics, English, and science. Candidates who progress complete an aptitude assessment, essay, and interview. The university assesses academic performance alongside motivation, communication, cooperation, social awareness, and suitability for medical training. Applicants educated outside Japan may qualify after completing a recognized 12-year school curriculum, but some candidates from foreign educational institutions must undergo an individual eligibility review. The published course and admissions process are in Japanese, and no separate English-taught undergraduate route was verified. International applicants should confirm document equivalence and the Japanese proficiency needed for examinations and clinical study directly with admissions. The 2027 doctoral cycle has two planned rounds. The first application period runs from August 28 to October 6, 2026; the second is scheduled for December 1–28, 2026 only if places remain. Selection includes an English examination and an oral interview, and applicants must coordinate with the relevant research supervisor.

The undergraduate medical program is a continuous six-year course. It uses an outcome-based curriculum designed around what students can demonstrate by graduation, including medical knowledge, problem-solving, communication, basic clinical ability, professional responsibility, and the capacity to reflect and improve. Professional study begins in the first year. Teaching combines lectures with active learning, small-group problem solving, laboratory work, integrated basic and clinical subjects, medical ethics, social medicine, and research experience. Clinical participation becomes central after students pass the national common achievement tests, including CBT and OSCE, in the fourth year. The first clerkship phase runs from the fourth-year winter into the fifth year and includes small-group rotations through core areas such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics. A later phase extends across additional specialties and includes the university hospital, its emergency center, Yokohama City Seibu Hospital, and Kawasaki Municipal Tama Hospital. Students then complete an elective placement that may be undertaken in an affiliated department or an approved external or overseas hospital. Graduate study is offered through a four-year doctoral program in medical science; the official 2027 guide lists capacity for 60 students, including working professionals. Its research fields span foundational, translational, and clinical medicine. Some clinical fields normally expect applicants to have completed at least two years of postgraduate clinical training. The institution’s recognized qualifications are bachelor’s and doctoral degrees; no current master’s degree was verified.

Key Highlights

• Independent medical university and graduate school recognized by Japan’s national academic-recognition center
• Founded in 1971 and renamed St. Marianna University School of Medicine in 1973
• Medical education accreditation is valid from June 2022 through May 2029
• Focused institution offering medical education and doctoral medical research rather than a broad subject portfolio

Student Life & Environment

Student life is organized around the Sugao medical campus, where the intensity of a six-year professional curriculum shapes the weekly routine. The education building contains lecture and seminar rooms, small-group learning space, study rooms, the medical information center and library, a cafeteria, and a bookstore. The wider complex includes research laboratories, the university hospital, a gymnasium with three arenas and a training room, and a chapel used for religious and community gatherings. The university publishes a substantial list of student organizations. Athletic choices include football, rugby, basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming, skiing, martial arts, sailing, dance, and several other sports. Cultural and academic groups include light music, chorus, Medical English Speaking Society, an orchestra, medical simulation, anatomy, photography, and traditional medicine. Students may join more than one organization. These activities offer an important counterweight to a demanding and highly specialized course of study. Christian heritage is visible through the Christian Culture Center and chapel, which hosts Masses, Christmas gatherings, and other events. Prospective students should nevertheless distinguish verified medical-university facilities from housing advertised for the affiliated nursing school: current official information did not establish a general university residence for medical students. Applicants should therefore investigate private accommodation and commuting costs independently.

Location & Surroundings

The main Sugao campus is at 2-16-1 Sugao, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. It is a consolidated medical complex containing the undergraduate and graduate schools, research buildings, university hospital, educational facilities, and student activity spaces. Clinical education also reaches affiliated sites elsewhere in Kawasaki and nearby Yokohama. The campus is not directly beside a railway station, so commuting normally includes a bus journey. Official access information lists services from several rail corridors. Typical published bus times are approximately 20 minutes from Mukogaoka-yuen, Ikuta, Yurigaoka, or Miyamaedaira; approximately 25 minutes from Saginuma; approximately 30 minutes from Shin-yurigaoka or Azamino; and approximately 35 minutes from Mizonokuchi. Travel time can vary with road conditions. This location offers access to the wider Tokyo–Kanagawa metropolitan area while retaining a self-contained medical-campus environment. The tradeoff is daily dependence on road connections for most commuters. Prospective students should compare housing against the particular rail and bus routes they expect to use, especially when planning around early clinical duties or evening club activities.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For the 2027 undergraduate medical intake, the official guide lists first-year academic charges of JPY 6,970,000: a JPY 1,500,000 admission fee, JPY 3,700,000 tuition, JPY 1,200,000 education-maintenance charge, and JPY 570,000 education-enhancement charge. Charges from the second year total JPY 5,570,000 under the published schedule, although the university says later-year fees may change with social conditions. Separate first-year charges include JPY 5,000 for student government, JPY 112,000 for the parents’ association, and JPY 200,000 for the alumni association. Living costs, transport, books, equipment, and housing are additional. The same guide describes several forms of aid, but eligibility and repayment conditions differ. These include a need-based university grant of up to JPY 3.6 million, university and memorial loans, an entrance merit award covering JPY 5.47 million of first-year tuition-related charges, support linked to specified future clinical service, and Japan Student Services Organization programs. Applicants should not assume every scheme can be combined or is open before enrollment. Doctoral tuition is substantially lower: the current official schedule lists JPY 500,000 in the first year and JPY 400,000 in subsequent years, plus medical-society charges and a JPY 70,000 degree-examination fee. Medical graduates proceed toward Japan’s national medical licensing examination and postgraduate clinical training. For the 2024 graduating cohort, the university reports 99 of 110 new graduates passing the national examination. Thirty entered training or employment within the university’s affiliated hospitals, while 69 went to external training institutions. These are cohort outcomes, not guarantees for future students.