Osaka University

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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 Prefectural Osaka 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: 2,546
Staff: 4,825
Students: 19,942
Undergraduates: 12,018
Postgraduates: 7,924
Doctoral students: 7,570
Location: Suita, Osaka, Japan
Campus: Suburban / Urban,
357 acres (1.4 km²)
Athletics: 55 varsity teams
Colors: Sky blue
Mascot: Macchi the Crocodile (unofficial)
Affiliations: APRU, EUIJ
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 Prefectural Osaka 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 basic sciences and medical field. The university was ranked the 61st among the world's best universities and the 3rd best Japanese university in 2006, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Osaka University School of Human Science
Osaka University School of Human Science
Osaka University Hospital
Osaka University Hospital

Osaka University traces its origin back to 1869 when Osaka Prefecture Medical School was founded in downtown Osaka. The school was later transformed into the Prefectural Osaka Medical College with a 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 as 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 the School of Foreign Studies, with the exception being Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. In addition, the merger made the university the largest national university in the country.

Academic traditions of the university trace 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.[2]

[edit] 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 Cyber Media 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 club activities are primarily conducted at the Toyonaka campus, only tennis circle activities are concentrated in the Suita campus because of its home to 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. Like the Suita campus, the Toyonaka campus also houses part of the National Institute of Cyber Media Center. All freshmen attend classes in Toyonaka campus at 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, World Languages Research Center, and Japanese and Japanese Culture Education Center.

In addition to these three campus, the former Nakanoshima campus, the university's earliest campus located in downtown Osaka, had served as the hub for the faculty of medicine until the transfer to the Suita campus was completed in 1993. Starting from April 2004, the Nakanoshima campus has been transformed into "Nakanoshima Center", or "Campus Innovation Center", serving as a venue for information exchange and association with academic as well as non-academic communities.

[edit] Organization

[edit] Faculties(Undergraduate Programs)

Osaka University has 11 faculties (学部) for undergraduate programs.

  • School of Letters (文学部)[1]
    • Department of Humanities (人文学科)
  • School of Human Sciences (人間科学部)[2]
    • Department of Human Sciences (人間科学科)
  • School of Foreign Studies (外国語学部)[3]
  • School of Law (法学部)[4]
    • Department of Law (法学科)
  • School of Economics (経済学部)[5]
    • Department of Economics and Business (経済・経営学科)
  • 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]
    • (薬学科)
    • (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)

[edit] 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)
  • Graduate School of Human Sciences (人間科学研究科)
    • Human Sciences (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 (経営学系専攻)
    • Manegement Science and Business Adminsitration (政策専攻)
  • 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)
    • Doctocal 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 Cource (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, Electlonic 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 Glocal 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 Matelialas 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)
  • 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)

[edit] Academic alliances

Osaka University has signed academic memorandum of understanding (MOUs) that facilitate academic collaborations among researchers with a total of 53 universities and institutions.

[edit] List of notable persons

[edit] Newspaper

Handai Walker(in Japanese)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Top 500 World Universities. Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
  2. ^ History of the University. Osaka University. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.

Coordinates: 34°49′09″N, 135°31′36″E