Osaka University

Osaka University
大阪大学
Osaka University  logo
Motto 地域に生き世界に伸びる
(Live Locally, Grow Globally)
Established Founded in 1724 (Kaitokudo),
Chartered on November 22, 1919 as Osaka Prefectural Medical College. Re-established on April 28, 1936 as Osaka Imperial University.
Type Public (National)
Endowment US$2.3 billion[citation needed]
(JP¥264.3 billion)[citation needed]
Faculty 2,953 (academic)[2]
Staff 8,675 (total)[2]
Students 25,248[2]
Undergraduates 15,937
Postgraduates 7,856
Other students 1,455 (international students)
Location Suita, Osaka, Japan
Campus Suburban / Urban,
1.59 km²
Authorized Student Groups 58 sports-related, 68 culture-related groups [3]
Mascot Macchi the Crocodile (unofficial)
Affiliations APRU, AEARU
Website www.osaka-u.ac.jp

Osaka University (大阪大学 Ōsaka daigaku?), or Handai (阪大 Handai?), is a major national university in Osaka, Japan. It is the sixth oldest university in Japan as the Osaka Prefectural Medical College, and formerly one of the Imperial Universities of Japan.

Hideki Yukawa obtained his Nobel Prize in Physics on his early work conducted at Osaka University.

Osaka University is recognized as a leading university, especially in the basic sciences, technology and medical field. The university was ranked the 43rd among the world's best universities and the 3rd best Japanese university in 2009, according to the QS World University Rankings .[4]

History

Osaka University School of Human Science
Osaka University Hospital

Osaka University traces its origin back to 1869 when Osaka Prefectural Medical School was founded in downtown Osaka. The school was later transformed into the Osaka Prefectural Medical College with university status by the University Ordinance (Imperial Ordinance No. 388 of 1918) in 1919. The college merged with the newly-founded College of Science to form Osaka Imperial University(大阪帝國大学) in 1931. Osaka Imperial University was inaugurated as the sixth imperial university in Japan. As part of the University, Osaka Technical College was later included to form the school of Engineering two years later. The university was eventually renamed Osaka University in 1947.

Merging with Naniwa High School and Osaka High School as a result of the government's education system reform in 1949, Osaka University started its postwar era with five faculties: Science, Medicine, Engineering, Letters, and Law. After that, faculties, graduate schools, and research institutes have been successively established. Among these are the School of Engineering Science, the first of its kind among Japanese national universities, which draws upon the excellence of both sciences and engineering disciplines, and the School of Human Sciences, which covers its cross-disciplinary research interest as broadly as psychology, sociology, and education. Built on the then-existing faculties, 10 graduate schools were set up as part of the government's education system reform program in 1953. Two graduate schools, the Graduate School of Language and Culture and the cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional Osaka School of International Public Policy, add to the list, making the number of graduate schools reach 12 in 1994.

In 1993, Osaka University Hospital was relocated from the Nakanoshima campus in downtown Osaka to the Suita campus, completing the implementation of the university's plan to integrate the scattered facilities into the Suita and Toyonaka campuses. In October 2007, a merger between Osaka University and Osaka University of Foreign Studies was completed. The merger made Osaka University the only national university in the country with a School of Foreign Studies, with the exception of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. In addition, the merger made the university the largest national university in the country.

Academic traditions of the university reach back to Kaitokudo (懐徳堂 Kaitokudō?), a Edo-period school for local citizens founded in 1724, and Tekijuku (適塾?), a school of Rangaku for samurai founded by Ogata Kōan in 1838. The spirit of the university's humanity sciences is believed to be intimately rooted in Kaitokudo, whereas that of the natural and applied sciences, including medicine, is widely believed to be based on Tekijuku.[5]

In 2009, Osaka University implemented a major revision of its web site. The result is a site much more accessible and informative to persons not versed in the Japanese language--also a site much more user-friendly to international exchange students, international researchers, and expatriates living in the Osaka area. Currently, thanks to the work of the "Web Design Unit," virtually all Osaka University's web pages come in pairs--a Japanese page and the same page in English. These pairings include frequent updates on symposiums, seminars, and other events open to staff, students and, often, the general public.

Campuses

Suita, Toyonaka and Minoh are the university's three campuses. Home to the university's headquarters, the Suita campus extends across Suita city and Ibaraki city in Osaka prefecture. The Suita campus houses faculties of Human Sciences, Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Engineering. It contains the Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences and a portion of the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology. The campus is also home to the Nationwide Joint Institute of Cybermedia Center and Research Center for Nuclear Physics. Because access to the campus by public transportation is relatively inconvenient, automobiles, motorcycles, and bicycles are commonly seen within the campus. While sports activities are primarily concentrated on the Toyonaka campus, tennis activities are concentrated on the Suita campus because of its many tennis facilities.

The Toyonaka campus is home to faculties of Letters, Law, Economics, Science, and Engineering Science. It is also the academic base for Graduate Schools of International Public Policy, Language and Culture, (a portion of) Information Science, and the Center for the Practice of Legal and Political Expertise. All freshmen attend classes on the Toyonaka campus during their first year of enrollment.

The Minoh campus was incorporated following the merger with Osaka University of Foreign Studies in October 2007. The Minoh campus is home to School of Foreign Studies, Research Institute for World Languages, and Center for Japanese Language and Culture.

In addition to these three campus, the former Nakanoshima campus, the university's earliest campus located in downtown Osaka, served as the hub for the faculty of medicine until the transfer to the Suita campus was completed in 1993.[6] Starting from April 2004, the Nakanoshima campus has been transformed into the "Nakanoshima Center", serving as a venue for information exchange, adult education classes, and activities involving academic as well as non-academic communities.

Organization

Faculties (Undergraduate and Graduate Programs)

Osaka University has 11 faculties (学部) for undergraduate programs and 15 graduate schools (大学院).[7]

School of Letters (文学部) [1]
  • Department of Humanities (人文学科)
School of Foreign Studies (外国語学部) [2]
  • Department of Foreign Studies (外国語学科)
    • Chinese Major
    • Korean Major
    • Mongolian Major
    • Indonesian Major
    • Filipino Major
    • Thai Major
    • Vietnamese Major
    • Burmese Major
    • Hindi Major
    • Urdu Major
    • Arabic Major
    • Persian Major
    • Turkish Major
    • Swahili Major
    • Russian Major
    • Hungarian Major
    • Danish Major
    • Swedish Major
    • German Major
    • English Major
    • French Major
    • Italian Major
    • Spanish Major
    • Portuguese Major
    • Japanese Major
School of Law (法学部) [3]
  • Department of Law (法学科)
  • Department of International Public Policy (国際公共政策学科)
School of Economics (経済学部) [4]
  • Department of Economics and Business administration (経済・経営学科)
School of Human Sciences (人間科学部) [5]
  • Department of Human Sciences (人間科学科)
School of Science (理学部) [6]
  • Course in Mathematics (数学科)
  • Course in Physics (物理科)
  • Course in Chemistry (化学科)
  • Course in Biology (生物学科)
Faculty of Medicine (医学部) [7]
  • Medical School (医学科)
  • Allied Health Science (保健学科)
Faculty of Dentistry (歯学部) [8]
  • Dentistry (歯学科)
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (薬学部) [9]
  • Department of Pharmacy  (薬学科)
  • Department of Pharmaceutical Science (薬科学科)
School of Engineering (工学部) [10]
  • Department of Applied Science (応用自然科学科)
  • Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Science (応用理工学科)
  • Department of Electronic and Information Engineering (電子情報工学科)
  • Department of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering (環境・エネルギー工学科)
  • Department of Global Architecture (地球総合工学科)
School of Engineering Science (基礎工学部) [11]
  • Department of Electronics and Materials Physics (電子物理科学科)
  • Department of Chemical Science and Engineering (化学応用科学科)
  • Department of Systems Science (システム科学科)
  • Department of Information and Computer sciences (情報科学科)

Graduate Schools

  • Graduate School of Letters (文学研究科)
    • Division of Studies on Cultural Forms (文化形態論専攻)
    • Division of Studies on Cultural Expressions (文化表現論専攻)
    • Division of Studies on Cultural Dynamics (文化動態論専攻)
  • Graduate School of Human Sciences (人間科学研究科)
    • Human Sciences major (人間科学専攻)
    • Global Human Sciences major (グローバル人間科学専攻)
  • Graduate School of Law and Politics (法学研究科)
    • Department of Law and Political Science (法学・政治学専攻)
  • Graduate School of Economics (経済学研究科)
    • Economics (経済学専攻)
    • Applied Economics and Policy Studies (政策専攻)
    • Management Science and Business Administration (経営学系専攻)
  • Graduate School of Science (理学研究科)
    • Department of Mathematics (数学専攻)
    • Department of Physics (物理学専攻)
    • Department of Chemistry (化学専攻)
    • Department of Biology (生物科学専攻)
    • Department of Macromolecular Science (高分子科学専攻)
    • Department of Earth and Space Science (宇宙地球科学専攻)
  • Graduate School of Medicine (医学系研究科)
    • Master's Course
      • Medical Science (医科学専攻)
    • Doctoral Course
      • Division of Physiological Sciences (生体生理医学専攻)
      • Division of Pathophysiology and Therapeutics (病態制御医学専攻)
      • Division of Preventive and Environmental Medicine (予防環境医学専攻)
      • Division of Internal Medicine (内科系臨床医学専攻)
      • Division of Surgical Medicine (外科系臨床医学専攻)
    • Doctoral Course of Health Science (保健学専攻)
  • Graduate School of Dentistry (歯学研究科)
    • Basic Dental Science Course (統合機能口腔科学専攻)
    • Clinical Dental Science Course (分子病態口腔科学専攻)
  • Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Science (薬学研究科)
    • Molecular Pharmaceutical Sciences (分子薬科学専攻)
    • Applied Biopharmaceutical Sciences (応用医療薬科学専攻)
    • Environmental Pharmaceutical Sciences (生命情報環境科学専攻)
  • Graduate School of Engineering (工学研究科)
    • Division of Advanced Science and Biotechnology (生命先端工学専攻)
    • Division of Applied Chemistry (応用化学専攻)
    • Division of Precision Science & Technology and Applied Physics (精密科学・応用物理学専攻)
    • Department of Adaptive Machine Systems(知能・機能創成工学専攻)
    • Division of Mechanical Engineering (機械工学専攻)
    • Division of Materials and Manufacturing Science (マテリアル生産科学専攻)
    • Division of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering (電気電子情報工学専攻)
    • Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering (環境・エネルギー工学専攻)
    • Division of Global Architecture (地球総合工学専攻)
    • Department of Management of Industry and Technology (ビジネスエンジニアリング専攻)
  • Graduate School of Engineering Science (基礎工学研究科)
    • Department of Materials Engineering Science (物質創成専攻)
    • Department of Mechanical Science and Bioengineering (機能創成専攻)
    • Department of Systems Innovation (システム創成専攻)
  • Graduate School of Language and Culture (言語文化研究科)
    • Department of Language and Culture (言語文化専攻)
    • Department of Language and Society (言語社会専攻)
  • Osaka School of International Public Policy (国際公共政策研究科)
    • Department of International Public Policy (国際公共政策専攻)
    • Department of Comparative Public Policy (比較公共政策専攻)
  • Graduate School of Information Science and Technology (情報科学研究科)
    • Department of Pure and Applied Mathematics (情報基礎数学専攻)
    • Department of Information and Physical Sciences (情報数理学専攻)
    • Department of Computer Science (コンピューターサイエンス専攻)
    • Department of Information Systems Engineering (情報システム工学専攻)
    • Department of Information Networking (情報ネットワーク専攻)
    • Department of Multimedia Engineering (マルチメディア工学専攻)
    • Department of Bioinformatic Engineering (バイオ情報工学専攻)
  • Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences (生命機能研究科)
    • Department of Frontier Biosciences (生命機能専攻)
  • Graduate School of Law (高等司法研究科)

Academic alliances

Osaka University has completed academic exchange agreements with a large number of universities (in 2010, 78) throughout the world and also exchange agreements between schools at Osaka University and schools and institutes in other countries (in 2010, 323). These agreements facilitate international students studying at Osaka University and Osaka University students studying at overseas universities, schools, and institutes. In many cases, students are able to participate in these exchange agreements without paying any additional tuition.[8] Below are examples of some of these universities:

  • Chulalongkorn University (Thailand, 1988)
  • Cornell University (U.S., 1989)
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China, 1994)
  • Pusan National University (Korea, 1995)
  • Australian National University (Australia, 1995)
  • Xi'an Jiaotong University (China, 1995)
  • Conference of Rectors and Principals of Québec Universities (CREPUQ) (Canada, 1996)
  • University of Washington (U.S., 1996)
  • McGill University (Canada, 1996)
  • Wuhan University (China, 1996)
  • Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) (Belgium, 1996)
  • Technical University of Munich (Germany, 1996)
  • Monash University (Australia, 1996)
  • Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (Germany, 1996)
  • Åbo Akademi University (Finland, 1997)
  • Mahidol University (Thailand, 1997)
  • Chonnam National University (Korea, 1997)
  • McMaster University (Canada, 1997)
  • University of Nottingham (U.K., 1997)
  • Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands, 1998)
  • Yonsei University (Korea, 1998)
  • Academy of Grenoble (France, 2000)
  • University of Strasbourg (France, 2000)
  • University of British Columbia (Canada, 2000)
  • National University of Mongolia (Mongolia, 2000)
  • Seoul National University (Korea, 2000)
  • Wesleyan University (U.S., 2001)
  • Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) (Sweden, 2001)
  • Peking University (China, 2001)
  • Karolinska Institutet (Sweden, 2001)
  • Texas A&M University (U.S., 2001)
  • Nazareth College (New York) (U.S., 2001)
  • Fudan University (China, 2001)
  • University of California (U.S., 2002)
  • Zhejiang University (China, 2002)
  • University of Groningen (The Netherlands, 2002)
  • Vietnam National University, Hanoi (Vietnam, 2002)
  • Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain, 2003)
  • Nanjing University (China, 2003)
  • Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (Switzerland, 2004)
  • Tsinghua University (China, 2004)
  • University College London (UCL) (U.K., 2004)
  • University of Pierre and Marie Curie (France, 2005)
  • French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) (France, 2005)
  • National Institute of Health (Thailand, 2005)
  • RWTH Aachen University (Germany, 2005)
  • Gyeongsang National University (Korea, 2005)
  • Kasetsart University (Thailand, 2006)
  • King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (Thailand, 2006)
  • Thammasat University (Thailand, 2006)
  • Chungnam National University (Korea, 2006)
  • National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan, 2006)
  • De La Salle Philippines (The Philippines, 2006)

List of notable persons

  • The Wolf Prize laureate in Medicine in 1986 Osamu Hayaishi
  • Manga author Osamu Tezuka (School of Medicine)
  • Economist Heizo Takenaka (Graduate School of Economics)
  • Sony founder Akio Morita (School of Science)
  • Nobel Prize in Physics Hideki Yukawa (Graduate School of Science)
  • Physicist Hantaro Nagaoka (First President of Osaka University)
  • Shiba Ryotaro - Japanese author (School of Foreign Studies)
  • Michio Morishima - Japanese economist

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