Tokyo Medical and Dental University

1. Distinctive identity: Japan's premier medical-dental graduate research school

Tokyo Medical and Dental University, abbreviated TMDU, is the only national university in Japan dedicated to medicine and dentistry. It was founded in 1928 as the Tokyo Higher School of Dentistry and developed across the twentieth century into one of the highest-output medical-dental research institutions in East Asia. In October 2024 TMDU formally merged with Tokyo Institute of Technology to create the Institute of Science Tokyo, but the medical and dental colleges retain their faculty, hospital, campus, and graduate-admission cycles. From an applicant standpoint in 2027, TMDU functions as the Medical and Dental Colleges of Institute of Science Tokyo, and the application paperwork still uses the TMDU name in many places.

For an international applicant, the practical implication is direct. TMDU gives you medical and dental research at the central Tokyo Yushima campus, with Tokyo University Hospital across the road as a clinical neighbour, in a graduate environment that is more English-friendly and more international than the equivalent at UTokyo Medicine. The post-merger institution adds direct interdisciplinary access to engineering, materials, and biotechnology research at Ookayama, which is genuinely useful for biomedical engineering, biomaterials, and computational biology applicants who would previously have had to choose one institution or the other.

2. Top departments to know in 2027

The major research clusters at TMDU for international applicants in 2027 are:

• Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences (MDS). The umbrella graduate unit hosting most international PhD candidates. Major divisions in molecular pathology, immunology, neuroscience, oncology, and oral biology.
• Department of Cardiovascular Medicine. Among the highest-cited Japanese clinical research groups in cardiology.
• Institute of Research (IR). Hosts the Department of Stem Cell Biology and several other internationally recognised translational labs.
• Graduate School of Health Care Sciences. Nursing, oral hygiene, and public health research.
• Joint cross-faculty programmes with the Institute of Science Tokyo Tokyo Tech successor units. Biomedical engineering, computational biology, biomaterials, and bioimaging.
• Department of Comprehensive Pathology and Department of Oral Pathology. Long-standing strength dating to the original 1928 dental school heritage.

For a wider scoping of the new merged institution, see our coverage of the universities directory entry on Institute of Science Tokyo. AI and machine-learning applicants entering medical research should additionally read studying AI and machine learning in Japan for context on cross-faculty access at the merged school.

3. English-taught programs in detail

TMDU is one of the most English-friendly Japanese medical and dental research environments. For the 2027 intake the headline tracks are:

• Doctoral Course in Medical and Dental Sciences (English). Four-year PhD with English supervision and English thesis. Open to international applicants with a relevant master's or clinical degree.
• Master's Programme in Medical and Dental Sciences. Two-year master's, English-medium.
• Joint Degree Programme with Imperial College London. Dual PhD route co-supervised between TMDU and Imperial.
• Global Leadership Course (PhD). Selective interdisciplinary doctoral track aimed at international students who plan to lead translational and clinical research programmes.
• Postdoctoral and visiting research positions. Particularly common in cardiovascular medicine and stem cell biology.

For broader scoping, our English-taught master's in Japan for the 2027 intake guide places TMDU among the strongest options for biomedical research. When you reach out to a TMDU professor, follow the structure in how to email a Japanese professor, but be prepared for a quicker English exchange than at most national universities, because TMDU faculty are unusually international in publication footprint.

4. International student support

TMDU has roughly 350 international students in a total enrolment of 3,000, putting the international share around 12 percent, which is high for a Japanese national university and unusually high for medical and dental institutions specifically. The International Exchange Centre handles visas, orientation, and a buddy system. The university operates international student residences within walking or short bus distance of the Yushima campus, with rents in the 35,000 to 55,000 yen range for graduate-prioritised rooms.

Functional Japanese is recommended for daily life. JLPT N3 by the end of your first year is a realistic working target. The clinical environment uses Japanese for patient interaction and most administrative paperwork, so any clinical track requires at minimum a serious Japanese-language plan in parallel.

5. Admissions specifics for 2027

TMDU follows the standard supervisor-first admission model with one important nuance: most labs require a CV and a research statement aligned to a specific principal investigator before any application document is opened by the graduate office. Identify your target supervisor early, exchange research-fit emails, and confirm English-medium feasibility before formal submission. TOEFL or IELTS is the standard English requirement.

For 2027, the main pathways are:

• MEXT University Recommendation. TMDU participates. Internal nomination cycle typically closes around November 2026 to January 2027 for October 2027 start.
• MEXT Embassy Recommendation. Apply via home-country embassy.
• Direct privately financed admission. April and October intakes for most programmes.
• Joint Degree Programme with Imperial College London. Has its own selection cycle with earlier deadlines.
• Research student entry. Common in clinical labs. See kenkyusei vs direct master's application for trade-offs at the medical-research level.

The full month-by-month sequence for medical and dental applicants is in our application timeline for Japanese graduate schools. Doctoral applicants should additionally read PhD in Japan: funding, duration, and English for stipend and duration realities at TMDU.

6. Tuition and scholarships

Tuition at TMDU is the national rate of 535,800 yen per year. Admission fee 282,000 yen, application fee 30,000 yen. A four-year doctoral programme totals around 2.4 million yen in formal fees, dramatically below international comparable medical-dental PhD programmes. The merger does not change tuition.

2027 scholarship layers:

• MEXT University Recommendation (full tuition plus stipend).
• MEXT Embassy Recommendation.
• JASSO Honors Scholarship for self-financed students.
• TMDU tuition exemption (50 to 100 percent).
• External medical and biomedical foundations (Honjo, Inpex, Yamada Science Foundation, Naito).
• RA and TA positions tied to specific labs, particularly in cardiovascular, stem cell, and computational biology research.
• Joint-degree partial funding through the Imperial College London partnership.

TMDU's low formal tuition does not cancel central Tokyo living costs, so build your budget against our living costs for students in Tokyo, Osaka, and Sendai reference. For the MEXT pathway specifically, the MEXT scholarship 2027 complete guide covers timing and document requirements. TMDU is also indirectly relevant in our cheapest universities in Japan for international graduates coverage because of standard national tuition combined with stronger-than-average funding access.

7. City life: Yushima and central Tokyo

The Yushima campus sits in Bunkyo Ward, central Tokyo, directly adjacent to the University of Tokyo Hospital and a short walk from Akihabara, Ueno, and Ochanomizu. The campus is compact and largely vertical, with the university hospital tower as the central building. Location is the obvious advantage. You are in the middle of Japan's densest medical research cluster, with the University of Tokyo Medicine, Juntendo, and several major national-research centres within a short cycle. The Joint Degree Programme partners and visiting researchers are in town constantly.

Cost of living is the trade-off. Studio rent within walking distance of Yushima runs 90,000 to 130,000 yen per month, which is meaningfully higher than the suburban or regional national-university comparables. International student residences at 35,000 to 55,000 yen are the structural way to manage that, prioritised for first-year graduate students. Food, transport, and amenities are at full central-Tokyo levels. Realistic monthly total is 130,000 to 170,000 yen including rent, and MEXT plus tuition exemption are typically the difference between viable and tight.

8. 2027 timeline at a glance

For an October 2027 start, the working calendar should be:

• Spring 2026: Take TOEFL or IELTS, identify three to five TMDU supervisors. Decide whether you are pursuing the standard PhD, the Joint Degree with Imperial, or a research-student route.
• Summer 2026: Email supervisors with research-fit statements. Confirm English-medium feasibility for the specific lab.
• Autumn 2026: Submit MEXT University Recommendation if applicable. Joint Degree Programme has its own earlier deadline window.
• Winter 2026 to spring 2027: Direct application submission, with most October-start deadlines closing between January and May 2027.
• Spring 2027: Decision, Certificate of Eligibility, visa, housing.
• October 2027: Arrival, orientation, lab assignment.

For language test sequencing, our EJU vs JLPT vs TOEFL guide explains exactly what TMDU expects. Engineering doctoral applicants who plan to use the post-merger biomedical engineering tracks should also work through engineering doctorate in Japan for sequencing realities, and the broader engineering competitive landscape is in best engineering universities in Japan beyond the imperial seven. For computational biology specifically, our computer science master's in Japan guide covers cross-faculty options at the Institute of Science Tokyo.

9. Bottom line for 2027 applicants

TMDU, now operating as the Medical and Dental Colleges of Institute of Science Tokyo, is the right choice if you want medical or dental research training in central Tokyo with strong English-medium options, a serious clinical research environment, and post-merger access to engineering-medical interdisciplinary tracks. It is not the right choice if you want clinical practice in Japan without the long licensing pathway, or if you need a comprehensive non-medical research catalogue under one roof. For most international applicants targeting biomedical PhD, dental research, biomaterials, or biomedical engineering, TMDU is one of the strongest options in Asia and the Imperial College London joint degree adds a unique parallel route. The merger improves rather than weakens TMDU's position for 2027 applicants, and the dental and oral biology heritage remains genuinely distinctive worldwide. Browse the scholarship index for funding options aligned to medical and dental research before locking your shortlist.