Kobe University

Kobe University
, also known in the Kansai region as , is a leading Japanese national university located in the foothills of Mount Rokkō in the city of Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture. It was established in 1949, but the academic origins of Kobe University trace back to the establishment of Kobe Higher Commercial School in 1902, which was renamed as Kobe University of Commerce, and Kobe University of Economics. Kobe University is one of the oldest and largest national universities in Japan, as well as one of the highest ranking national universities in the country. It comprises 14 graduate schools and 11 undergraduate faculties, and holds about 16,000 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs. Overseas students accounted for 1,179 members of the student body as of 1 May 2021. It also has 3,102 staff members, including professors, associate professors and administrative officials.
Kobe Higher Commercial School was one of the oldest institution with business and economics majors in Japan. Because Kobe is also the first collegiate business school in Japan, Kobe has been called the birthplace of Japanese higher education in economics and business administration. Furthermore, the Graduate School of Law was established from the legal studies section of the former Kobe University of Economics and has become a leading institution in the field of legal and political studies. The Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, founded in 1919, is a prominent research institution for international economics and international management. Kobe Hospital was established in 1869; it was a training center for medical practitioners, which was one of the oldest institutions in the modern medical education in Japan.
History
The roots of the university can be traced back to 1902, when the was established. Its first president was . In 1929 this school was renamed , and it was further renamed in 1944, .
In 1949, under Japan's new educational systems, the university was merged with Hyogo Normal School, Hyogo Junior Normal School, Kobe Technical College and Himeji High School, all of which were in Hyōgo Prefecture, leading to the creation of Kobe University.
The university has since been expanded and has created new faculties to complement its main academic foundations, which have been strongly established in the fields of economics and commerce.
Graduate Schools
Graduate School of Humanities
Graduate School of Intercultural Studies
Graduate School of Human Development and Environment
Graduate School of Law
Tier 1 full-time law school
Graduate School of Economics
The Okishio Theorem (Nobuo Okishio) is well known and appreciated worldwide
Graduate School of Business Administration
Tier 1 full-time MBA school
Graduate School of Science
Graduate School of Medicine
Graduate School of Health Sciences
Graduate School of Engineering
Graduate School of System Informatics
Graduate School of Agricultural Science
Graduate School of Maritime Sciences
Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies
Faculties
Research Institutes
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration
Campuses
The university is formed by four campuses: Rokkodai, Kusunoki, Myodani, and Fukae. Rokkodai Campus is considered the main campus, and it comprises nine out of eleven faculties.
Rokkodai area
Campus
Law, Economics, Business Administration (2-1, Rokkodai, Nada-ku, Kobe)
Campus
Letters, Science, Agriculture, Engineering (1-1, Rokkodai, Nada-ku, Kobe)
Campus
Intercultural Studies (1-2-1, Tsurukabuto, Nada-ku, Kobe)
Campus
Human Development (3-11, Tsurukabuto, Nada-ku, Kobe)
Kusunoki area
Campus
Medicine (7-5-1, Kusunoki, Chūō-ku, Kobe)
Myodani area
Campus
Health Sciences (7-10-2, Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe)
Fukae area
Campus
Maritime Sciences (5-1-1, Fukaeminami, Higashinada-ku, Kobe)
Academic rankings
Kobe University is one of the leading universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.
General rankings
The university is ranked 10th in 2010 in the ranking "Truly Strong Universities" by Toyo Keizai. In another ranking, Japanese prep school Kawaijuku ranked Shindai as the 11th best university in Japan.
In 2010 QS World University Rankings ranked Shindai 234th in the world. It is also ranked as the 26th best university in QS Asian University rankings.
Research performance
Kobe University is one of the leading research institutions in Japan. According to Thomson Reuters, Shindai is the 14th best research university in Japan.
Weekly Diamond reported that Shindai has the 15th highest research standard in Japan in terms of research funding per researchers in COE Program. In the same article, it is also ranked 20th in terms of the quality of education by GP funds per student.
It especially has a high research standard in Social Science and Humanities.
Asahi Shimbun summarized the number of academic papers in Japanese major legal journals by university, and Shindai was ranked 5th during 2005–2009. Economics is also a notable field for Shindai. According to RePec, Shindai is the 7th best Economics research university in Jan 2011.
In 2004 Nikkei Shimbun surveyed about the research standards in Engineering studies based on Thomson Reuters, Grants in Aid for Scientific Research and questionnaires to heads of 93 leading Japanese Research Centers. Shindai was placed 12th (informative ability of research outcome 3rd) in this ranking.
Graduate school rankings
Eduniversal ranked Shindai's MBA as 6th best in Japan in their MBA rankings. It also means 129th best in the world.
Shindai has one of the leading law schools in Japan as it was ranked 4th in 2009 (and 5th in 2011) in the passing rate of Japanese Bar Examination.
Alumni rankings
Alumni of Shindai enjoy their good success in Japanese industries such as shown below.
According to the Weekly Economist's 2010 rankings, graduates from Shindai have the 18th best employment rate in 400 major companies in Japan. By contrast, the alumni of Shindai's average salary is very high with the 10th best in Japan, according to the PRESIDENT.
Mines ParisTech : Professional Ranking World Universities ranks Shindai as 25th in the world in 2011 in terms of the number of alumni listed among CEOs in the 500 largest worldwide companies. The university is also ranked 12th in Japan for the number of alumni holding the position of executive in the listed companies of Japan, and this number per student (probability of becoming an executive) is 21st.
Shindai graduates were ranked 8th in Japan in the number of successful national CPA exam applicants.
Popularity and selectivity
Shindai is a popular university in Japan. Its entrance examination is usually considered as very selective. It is ranked in top 10 in Japan.
Scholarships for international students
Kobe university encourages international students to study at the university through a number of scholarships for eligible students. Some of them are:
Japanese Government Scholarship System
JASSO/ Honors Scholarship
Hyogo Prefecture Private Foreign Student Scholarship
Kobe/Sugawara Scholarship
Evaluation from Business World
Notable alumni
Sōsuke Uno, 75th Prime Minister of Japan
Masayuki Naoshima, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan)
Sanae Takaichi, Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy
Sazō Idemitsu, founder, Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.
Tadahiro Sekimoto, recipient of the IEEE Medal of Honor, ex-CEO, NEC Co., Ltd.
Shinya Yamanaka, stem cell researcher, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012
Shirin Nezammafi, Iranian writer
Shijaku Katsura II, Rakugo performer
Kuranosuke Sasaki, Japanese actor
Kumi Tanioka, Japanese video game music composer and musician
Yasuo Mizui, Sculptor, awarded Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Commandeur)
Notable faculty
Yasutomi Nishizuka, biochemist
Ichiro Fujimori, visiting professor, electrical engineer
See also
:Category:Academic staff of Kobe University
References
External links
Kobe University website(English)
Kobe University/ Virtual Tour of Kobe University - Ocean Breeze from Kobe (movie)
Kobe University (movie)
Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration
Graduate School of International Coopetation Studies
Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Disaster Materials Collection,Digital Archive (EDMC)
Kobe University International Student Center
EU Institute in Japan
Kansai Six (original)
Japanese national universities
Education in Kobe
Kobe University
Buildings and structures in Kobe
Kansai Collegiate American Football League
Art Deco architecture in Japan