, colloquially known as , is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in Japan. The university offers Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees to around 25,000 students in almost 40 different disciplines across 11 undergraduate and 14 graduate programs. Kwansei Gakuin's main campus is the

Nishinomiya 270px, Nishinomiya City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Nishinomiya city center 270px, Hirota Shrine is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218948 households and a population density of 48 ...

Uegahara Campus, the university's other campuses consist of the Kobe Sanda, Nishinomiya Seiwa, Nishinomiya Kitaguchi,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Umeda, and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Marunouchi campuses. Kwansei Gakuin University has been selected for inclusion in the Japanese government's

Top Global University Project is a funding project by the Japanese government that began in 2014. The project aims to enhance the globalization of the country's public and private universities so that graduates can "walk into positions of global leadership". The project is so ...

as a Type B (Global Traction) university. The university is often referred to as one of the four leading private universities in the greater Kansai region. The university maintains academic standards that rank among the highest of all Japanese universities and colleges.

Overview

School name

The name originated from the desire of

Walter Russell Lambuth Walter Russell Lambuth (November 10, 1854 – September 26, 1921) was a Chinese-born American Christian bishop who worked as a missionary establishing schools and hospitals in China, Korea and Japan in the 1880s. Birth and family Born in Shangha ...

, the university's founder, to serve citizens of , the western part of Japan, while the word means "college." The unusual romanization of ''Kansai'' as ''Kwansei'' is due to the way it would have been pronounced by progressive students in the late 19th century when

Kan-on is one of the sources of pronunciation of Japanese kanji. They were borrowed during the Tang dynasty (7th to 9th century), introduced by, among others, envoys from Japanese missions to Tang China. This period corresponds with the Japanese Nara pe ...

pronunciations were seen as more educated. The "official" pronunciation of ''Kwan'' can be heard in performances of the school song, but the modern pronunciation of ''Kan'' is the standard in other contexts. Though the university is commonly referred to as ''Kangaku'', it would also be correct to say ''Kwangaku.''

School motto

In the context of "Mastery for Service," a "master" is an accomplished person in terms of their humanity, learning, and daily life. Kwansei Gakuin's avowed goal is to help students "master their God-given gifts in order to serve their neighbors, society, and the world."

School symbol

Kwansei Gakuin's symbol, the crescent moon, represents the purpose of education: students' growth to fullness in knowledge and wisdom.

International relations

Kwansei Gakuin University has agreements with several

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

organizations. The university and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) reached an agreement establishing the university as the first institution of higher education in Asia to form a volunteer-sending partnership with the United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS) in 2003. KGU and the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

(UNHCR) representation in Japan agreed to establish a special university scholarship system for refugees in Japan in May 2006. Under this agreement, Kwansei Gakuin started the UNHCR-KGU Higher Education Program for Refugees in Japan in April 2007, and two refugees were enrolled.

Academics and organization

Undergraduate departments

*School of Theology (established in 1952) *School of Humanities (1934) *School of Sociology (1960) *School of Law and Politics (1948) *School of Economics (1934) *School of Business Administration (1951) *School of Science and Technology (1961–2000 Nishinomiya Uegahara Campus, 2001–present Kobe-Sanda Campus) *School of Policy Studies (1995, Kobe-Sanda Campus) *School of Human Welfare Studies (2008) *School of Education (2009) *School of International Studies (2010)

Postgraduate departments

Graduate schools

*Graduate School of Theology (1952) *Graduate School of Humanities (1950) *Graduate School of Sociology (1961) *Graduate School of Law and Politics (1950) *Graduate School of Economics (1950) *Graduate School of Business Administration (1953) *Graduate School of Science and Technology (1965, Kobe-Sanda Campus) *Graduate School of Policy Studies (2001, Kobe-Sanda Campus) *Graduate School of Language, Communication, and Culture (2001) *Graduate School of Human Welfare Studies (2010) *Graduate School of Education (2009)

Professional schools (KGPS)

*Law School * Institute of Business and Accounting

Study abroad agreements

Kwansei Gakuin University has over 140 partner institutions overseas and accepts more than 700 international students each year.

Campus locations

Since 1929, the university's flagship Uegahara campus has been located in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo. The Uegahara campus was designed in a " Spanish Mission" style by

William Merrell Vories Merrell Vories Hitotsuyanagi (; born William Merrell Vories; October 28, 1880 – May 7, 1964) was an educator, architect, entrepreneur, Christian lay missionary, and founder of the Omi Mission. Born in the United States, he later became a natur ...

(1880-1964), an American

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

, architect, educator, and entrepreneur. In 2017, the campus won an achievement award for its design from the Architectural Institute of Japan. This campus is home to most of the administrative offices of Kwansei Gakuin. The Nishinomiya Seiwa Campus (2009–present) is home to the School of Education and Seiwa Junior College. It is 10 minutes away from the Nishinomiya Uegahara Campus on foot. The Kobe Sanda Campus (1995–present) is located in Sanda, Hyōgo, and houses the School of Policy Studies and the School of Science and Technology. It has the same architectural style as its Nishinomiya-Uegahara predecessor and is about an hour to 70 minutes from Nishinomiya by shuttle bus. The Osaka

Umeda is a major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, and the city's main northern railway terminus (Ōsaka Station, Umeda Station). The district's name means "plum field". History Umeda was historical ...

Campus (2004–present) is located a short walk from the main public transport cluster of Osaka City. It holds graduate school classes for working people and offers support for

lifelong learning Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated"Department of Education and Science (2000).Learning for Life: Paper on Adult Education Dublin: Stationery Office. pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons ...

and student job placement. The Tokyo

Marunouchi Marunouchi () is a commercial district of Tokyo located in Chiyoda between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. The name, meaning "inside the circle", derives from its location within the palace's outer moat. It is also Tokyo's financial di ...

Campus (2007–present) is on the 10th floor of the Sapia Tower, next to Tokyo Station. In addition to serving as an information hub and offering lectures, the campus provides job placement support for alumni in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Athletics

Kwansei Gakuin has one of Japan's most diverse varsity athletic programs, with 34 varsity teams competing in regional collegiate leagues. Although the school, unlike other private universities in the country, does not offer specific scholarships for student-athletes, it is still competitive with the top echelon of Japanese collegiate teams in the sports of American football, basketball, lacrosse, and soccer. The Fighters are one of Japan's most decorated American football programs at the university level, with a record 34 national championships.

Alumni

References

External links

Official site

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1889 Kansai Big Six Kansai Six (original) Education in Osaka Universities and colleges in Tokyo Christian universities and colleges in Japan Private universities and colleges in Japan Universities and colleges affiliated with the United Methodist Church Universities and colleges in Osaka Prefecture Registered Monuments of Japan Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia Kansai Collegiate American Football League Seminaries and theological colleges in Japan 1889 establishments in Japan Nishinomiya