Nagoya University

The Ranking of Nagoya University, Japan

www.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Nagoya University (名古屋大学 Nagoya daigaku), abbreviated to Meidai (名大), is a Japanese national university headquartered in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in Japan.

As the forth-largest city in Japan, the city of Nagoya is the prefectural capital of Aichi Prefecture, which is located in the southwest of the Chubu region, literally meaning the central Japan. The city has a station for the Shinkansen or the so-called Bullet Train, which runs east and west along the Pacific Ocean and is conveniently used for people to visit Japan’s well-known sightseeing places such as Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. Since the ancient times, the city has been playing an important role as a key region for transportation in an environment marked by the rich Nobi Plains.

History

Nagoya University began its history in 1871 with its temporary hospital standing on a site where the conference chamber for the former Nagoya clan once stood, and the temporary medical school standing on a site where the magistrate's office for the former Nagoya clan once stood. Thereafter, many transitions took place, and the Aichi Medical College was established in 1920. In 1931, the management of the Aichi Medical College was transferred to the national government and the Nagoya Medical College was newly established in the same year. In 1939, the Nagoya Imperial University was established with the addition of the School of Science and Engineering and the School of Medicine, thus absorbing the Nagoya Medical College.

In 1942, the School of Science and Engineering was divided into the School of Engineering and the School of Science, and the name of the university was changed to Nagoya University in 1947. With the educational reform, the former Nagoya University, the attached medical school, the Eighth Higher School, the Nagoya Commercial College and the Okazaki Higher Normal School were integrated in 1949, and Nagoya University commenced under a new system of 6 Schools: the School of Letters, School of Education, School of Law & Economics, School of Science, School of Medicine and School of Engineering. Thereafter, the School of Law & Economics became independent schools in 1950 and the School of Agricultural Science was established in 1951, totaling 8 Schools, evolving into a larger comprehensive university.

In 1993, an extensive educational reform took place in line with the reorganization of the general education program, and the School of Informatics and Sciences was established as the 9th School responding to the demands of the age, as well as introducing a 4-year continuous education system for all schools (6-year continuous education for the School of Medicine) abolishing the College of General Education.
Graduate schools also went through system reforms after WWII, establishing 2-year masters and 3-year doctorate programs in the Schools of Letter, Education, Law, Economics, Science and Engineering in 1953. Graduate School was also established in the Schools of Medicine and Agricultural Science, and all eight schools, at the time, offered continuous education into graduate programs.

Stand-alone graduate schools without undergraduate programs were also established; International Development in 1991, Human Information Science in 1992, Mathematics in 1995, Language and Culture in 1998, Environmental Science in 2001 and Information Science in 2003 (abolishingHuman Information Science). Currently, there are 13 graduate schools.Other facilities include 3 subsidiary research institutes, 2 facilities open to the public and 16 research centers.
In 2004, Nagoya University became a national university with a new governing structure.

Global Center of Excellence (GCOE) Programs

The Global COE (Center of Excellence) Program provides funding support for establishing education and research centers that perform at the apex of global excellence to elevate the international competitiveness of Japanese universities. The program will strengthen and enhance the education and research functions of graduate schools, to foster highly creative researchers who will go on to become world leaders in their respective fields through experiencing and practicing research of the highest world standard in an international exposed environment. Furthermore the program will enhance the attractiveness of Nagoya University to young global researchers and will promote global and interdisciplinary collaborations and exchange.

Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology

Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology is utilized in the following particulars as policy-driven competitive funds managed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to promote important matters comprehensively required for the advancement of science and technology in line with the policy of the Council for Science and Technology Policy, Cabinet Office.

• Strengthening the functions of the command of the Council for Science and Technology Policy, Cabinet Office
• Reforming the science and technology system for developing one's imagination and creativity and creating innovation
• Promoting strategic research and development to meet the needs of the people
• Promoting strategic internationalization of the technological activity

Institute for Advanced Research

The Institute for Advanced Research was established by the University in April 2002 as a research base for achieving an advanced level of academic research that the University could be proud of internationally. In recognizing the value of creative research for providing intellectual assets for the future, the Institute intensively promotes highly creative research in all academic disciplines.

The Institute accommodates approximately 1% of the University faculty members, whose research projects have been carefully selected. In principle, to allow these project-focused faculty members to concentrate completely on their research, they are either exempted from their teaching and administrative duties, or have had such duties greatly reduced during the project's duration (the maximum project duration is five years.) Fifteen associate professors (tenure-track positions) adopted under the Special Rearing Plan for Researchers also conduct research at the Institute.
Five core faculty members have been assigned to the Institute to handle administrative matters, to maintain and improve the research environment, and to disseminate research results widely outside the University. Important matters related to the Institute, including management and planning, and the selection and evaluation of projects, are decided by the Institute for Advanced Research Committee (IAR Committee), which comprises the five core faculty members and seven of the steering committee members.
Up to now twenty-nine research projects have been successfully completed at the Institute, all of them carefully evaluated by the IAR Committee. They have been used to energize other research activities throughout the University and have been disseminated widely throughout the society.

Library

The University Library is an organization which provides information resources and services to support the university's educational and research activities and is in the process of assuming the role of a regional center for nationwide science information systems coordinating throughout the university and broader scholarly communities.

The University Library is composed of the Central Library, the Medical Library, and departmental libraries within the faculties, institutes, and other research centers. The library holds 3,006,777 volumes of books and currently subscribes to 3,352 journals. Each library is connected by an integrated library computer system at the Central Library via campus LAN. The Library also provides digital information services such as Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC), Institutional Repository (NAGOYA Repository) database services, and 15,482 electronic journals which are accessible both from computer terminals in the library and remotely 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Central Library provides open access to a huge range of books and journals, holds workshops, and exhibits special collections and archives to students for study and to the general public as a part of the social service program of the university.


Schools and Graduate Schools

Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Institute for Advanced Research
University Library
University Hospital
Graduate Schools / Schools
Graduate School of Letters / School of Letters
Graduate School of Education and Human Development / School of Education
Graduate School of Law / School of Law
Graduate School of Economics / School of Economics
School of Informatics and Sciences
Graduate School of Science / School of Science
Graduate School of Medicine / School of Medicine
Graduate School of Engineering / School of Engineering
Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences / School of Agricultural Sciences
Graduate School of International Development
Graduate School of Mathematics
Graduate School of Languages and Cultures
Graduate School of Environmental Studies
Graduate School of Information Science

Nagoya University was ranked 120th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking.