Kobe University (神戸大学, Kōbe daigaku), also known in the Kansai region as Shindai (神大), is a national research university located in Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan.
The university 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 in 1929, and Kobe University of Economics in 1940.
It comprises 14 graduate schools and 11 undergraduate faculties, and has a total enrollment of about 16,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. International students accounted for 1,179 members of the student body as of 1 May 2021. The university has 3,102 staff members, including professors, associate professors and administrative officials.
The university is the only university in Japan to have a faculty dedicated to maritime sciences. It was also the first university to establish a faculty dedicated to business administration in the country.
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History
The roots of the university can be traced back to 1902, when the Kobe Higher Commercial School (神戸高等商業学校, Kōbe kōtō shōgyō gakkō) was established. Its first president was Tetsuya Mizushima (水島銕也; 1864—1928). In 1929 this school was renamed Kobe University of Commerce (神戸商業大学, Kōbe shōgyō daigaku), and it was further renamed in 1944, Kobe University of Economics (神戸経済大学, Kōbe keizai daigaku).
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.
Organisation
Undergraduate faculties
Faculty of Letters (文学部)
Faculty of Global Human Sciences (国際人間科学部)
Faculty of Law (法学部)
Faculty of Economics (経済学部)
Faculty of Business Administration (経営学部)
Faculty of Science (理学部)
Faculty of Medicine (医学部)
Faculty of Engineering (工学部)
Faculty of System Informatics (システム情報学部)
Faculty of Agriculture (農学部)
Faculty of Maritime Sciences (海洋政策科学部)
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
Research institutes
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration
Campuses
The university comprises four campuses: Rokkodai, Kusunoki, Myodani, and Fukae. Rokkodai Campus is the main campus of the university, and nine out of the eleven faculties are located there.
Rokkodai area
The First Rokkodai (六甲台第1, Rokkōdai Dai-ichi) Campus
Law, Economics, Business Administration (2-1, Rokkodai, Nada-ku, Kobe)
The Second Rokkodai (六甲台第2, Rokkōdai Daini) Campus
Letters, Science, Agriculture, Engineering (1-1, Rokkodai, Nada-ku, Kobe)
The First Tsurukabuto (鶴甲第1, Tsurukabuto Dai-ichi) Campus
Intercultural Studies (1-2-1, Tsurukabuto, Nada-ku, Kobe)
The Second Tsurukabuto (鶴甲第2, Tsurukabuto Daini) Campus
Human Development (3-11, Tsurukabuto, Nada-ku, Kobe)
Kusunoki area
Kusunoki (楠, Kusunoki) Campus
Medicine (7-5-1, Kusunoki, Chūō-ku, Kobe)
Myodani area
Myodani (名谷, Myōdani) Campus
Health Sciences (7-10-2, Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe)
Fukae area
Fukae (深江, Fukae) Campus
Maritime Sciences (5-1-1, Fukaeminami, Higashinada-ku, Kobe)
Academic reputation and rankings
QS World University Rankings ranked the university 465th in the world in 2024.
In 2023, THE World University Rankings categorised the university within the 601-800th tier globally, without specifying an exact rank.
Popularity and selectivity
Shindai is a popular university in Japan. Its admission process is usually considered as selective. It is ranked in top 20 in Japan.
International education
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
Notable alumni
Politics
Sōsuke Uno, 75th Prime Minister of Japan
Masayuki Naoshima, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Sanae Takaichi, 104th Prime Minister of Japan
Technology
Sazō Idemitsu, founder, Idemitsu Kosan
Rizaburo Toyoda, founder, the first president of Toyota
Tadahiro Sekimoto, recipient of the IEEE Medal of Honor, ex-CEO, NEC.
Academic
Masato Sagawa, Neodymium magnet researcher, awarded the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering in 2022
Shinya Yamanaka, stem cell researcher, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012
Haruko Wakita, historical researcher, Order of Culture in 2010
Arts
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, awarded the Lasker Award in 1989
Ichiro Fujimori, visiting professor, electrical engineer