OIST Facts and Figures

People | Research | Academics | Intellectual Property | Community Relations

What is OIST?

The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) is an interdisciplinary graduate school offering a 5-year PhD program in Science.

OIST was founded by the Japanese government to contribute to science and technology worldwide, attract leading researchers from Japan and abroad to conduct high-quality research, advance the development of a world-class research hub, and nucleate a knowledge cluster that will catalyze technology transfer and industrial innovation in Okinawa.

Unique in Japan

Over half of the faculty and students are recruited from outside Japan, and education and research are conducted entirely in English.
There are no departments, and courses are not restricted to a single discipline. Even the architecture and campus organization reinforce this emphasis on interdisciplinary research by populating each lab building with a variety of different specialties and facilities.
Each faculty member, including assistant and associate professors, lead independent research units and are responsible for their own research agenda.
With independent governance from the Private Schools Act and public funding under the sponsorship of the Cabinet Office, OIST is run as a private university under the stewardship of the Board of Governors, the membership of which includes Nobel Laureates and global leaders in science, business, and education. The Board of Counselors also provides university leadership with an additional range of international and domestic perspectives.

Guiding Principles

Globally Recognized: We want to be globally recognized for world-leading cross-disciplinary research that benefits humanity.
Destination of Choice: We want to be the destination of choice to work, learn and collaborate, linking science to education leading to innovation and entrepreneurship, supported by an efficient administration.
Partner of Choice: We want to be the partner of choice for innovation and a catalyst in Okinawa, promoting economic growth and sustainable benefits, addressing problems important to Japanese and global society.

Vision, Values, and Mission

Our Vision: The advancement of knowledge for the benefit of humanity
Our Values: We abide by a core set of values that underpin everything that we do: Excellence, Respectfulness, Responsibility, Transparency, Sustainability, Diversity, Courage and Freedom.
Our Mission: We are a pioneering graduate university. We conduct research that bridges disciplines to explore new frontiers of scientific knowledge. We educate a new generation of scientific leaders. We are a catalyst for an innovation hub in Okinawa.

For more information about OIST ideals and guiding principles, please see the Strategic Plan.

People

Employees

As of September 2020, OIST has 990 employees from 60 countries and territories.

	Number	% International	% Women
Faculty	80	63%	15%
Research Unit Staff	456	54%	46%
Research Support Staff	95	23%	44%
Administrative Staff	358	22%	66%
Total	989	40%	50%

PhD Students

As of September 2020, OIST has 217 PhD students from 42 countries and territories.

	Total	% International	% Women
PhD Students	217	82%	41%

Nationalities

Argentina	1
Australia	1
Brazil	1
Canada	1
China	19
Colombia	1
Croatia	1
Denmark	2
Egypt	5
Finland	1
France	4

Georgia	1
Germany	7
Greece	3
HongKong	1
Hungary	1
India	30
Indonesia	3
Iran	3
Ireland	1
Israel	2
Italy	3

Japan	40
Kazakhstan	7
Lesotho	1
Malaysia	2
Mexico	3
Pakistan	2
Peru	1
Philippines	5
Romania	3
Russian Federation	15
Slovenia	1

South Korea	1
Spain	3
Switzerland	1
Taiwan	11
Thailand	1
Ukraine	1
United Kingdom	16
United States	9
Viet Nam	2

Number of Students Admitted per Academic Year

Year	Total	% International	% Women
2012	34	85%	29%
2013	20	75%	25%
2014	27	78%	44%
2015	24	92%	29%
2016	35	83%	49%
2017	37	87%	35%
2018	34	97%	41%
2019	52	83%	38%
2020	33	64%	45%

Research (September 2020)

Research units: 80

Fields of Research

Physics
Chemistry
Neuroscience
Marine Science
Environmental and Ecological Sciences
Mathematical and Computational Sciences
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Research and Education

OIST research units take a cross-disciplinary approach to research, and the PhD program encourages students to explore the intersections of disparate fields of science and technology.

Circles representing research fields with lines draw between to represent interdisciplinary research and points of intersection.

Scientific Productivity (May 2018)

Fiscal Year	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Total
Conference Presentations	59	43	43	99	99	163	213	230	309	430	491	535	615	696	4,025
Seminars	3	1	3	6	21	19	20	40	147	119	166	167	181	191	1,084
Dissertations	0	0	2	3	3	0	1	1	2	4	3	1	4	7	31
Books, Edited Books	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	2	2	10
Book Chapters, Journal Articles	16	22	26	62	78	84	96	152	192	211	261	294	324	268	2,086
Software	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	9	10	10	8	0	44
Total	78	68	75	179	207	267	339	427	677	791	976	1069	1242	1254	7,649

A graph that displays the yearly increase in the number of presentations and journal publications.

Research Collaboration (29 Countries / 156 Institutions)

Research Collaborations by Country

Academics

The graduate school accepts less than 100 students per year, creating a very low student to instructor ratio. Students also receive support for living costs, health care, housing, childcare, and other needs that would otherwise distract them from the science. Balancing lectures and lab work, the doctoral program places students in well-funded labs where they work side-by-side with top researchers on state-of-the-art equipment. Frequent visits from internationally-known scientists further enrich the program and provide opportunities for collaboration and exchange. By the time they graduate, students have accumulated not only abstract knowledge and practical skills but also the kind of professional connections necessary to launch their careers as world-class researchers.