All the students in the Ph.D. programs offered at the National Museum of Ethnology are required to complete a dissertation based on their own fieldwork.

In the first year, students are required to attend a series of seminars to prepare themselves to conduct fieldwork. This starts with the Seminar for Research Planning, where each student is required to present their preliminary plan for the research for their degree. This is followed by a Thematic Lecture Series, where teachers in the program take turns to give a lecture on selected topics. Toward the end of the academic year, at the Seminar for Research Proposals, students are required to present their final research proposals for their dissertation.

In the second year, students begin conducting fieldwork under the supervision of their advisors. Fieldwork may be continued in subsequent years. Between their fieldwork trips, individual guidance is given by their advisors. Students are also required to attend the Thesis Seminar series, to present the current status of their research and, in later stages, part of the argument they are proposing in their dissertation. All students and professors in the graduate programs attend these Seminars and carry on discussions based on the presentations, to help the students strengthen their argument.

The degree awarded to those who have completed the programs is Bungaku Hakase (equivalent of the Ph.D.), or, when it is more appropriate, Gakujutsu Hakase (equivalent of the Ph.D.).

Courses are offered by the professors to familiarize students with the latest academic developments in the field and to help them develop an ability to examine them critically. The Museum offers several intensive courses every year for this purpose.

In 2005, the Museum began a program in cooperation with four universities in the Kansai area whereby students can take a course outside of their own University for up to 4 credits. The following Graduate Schools offer courses that students may take for this purpose.

Kyoto University, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies
Kobe University, Graduate School of Cultural Studies and Human Science
Osaka University, Graduate School of Human Sciences
Kyoto Bunkyo University, Graduate School of Cultural Anthropology