Kyoto University

Kyoto University (Japanese: 京都大学, Kyōto Daigaku; abbreviated to 京大, Kyōdai) in Kyoto, Japan, is the second oldest university and one of the leading research universities in the country. It has a total of about 22,000 students enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate programs. The university advocates "traits of liberty" and conducts significant creative research. It is also the home of the Kyoto School group of philosophers.

History

The forerunner of the university was the Chemistry School (舎密局, Seimi-kyoku: 舎密 is a transcription of a Dutch word Chemie) founded in Osaka in 1869, which, despite its name, taught physics as well. Later, the Third Higher School (第三高等学校, Dai-san Kōtō Gakkō) was established in place of Seimi-kyoku in 1886, it then transferred to the university's present main campus in the same year.

Kyoto Imperial University (京都帝国大学, Kyōto Teikoku Daigaku) as a part of the Imperial University system was established in 1897, using the Third Higher School's buildings. The higher school moved to a patch of land just across the street, where the Yoshida South Campus stands today. In the same year of the university's establishment, the College of Science and Technology was founded. The College of Law and the College of Medicine were founded in 1899, the College of Letters in 1906, expanding the university's activities to areas outside natural science.

After World War II, the current Kyoto University was established by merging the imperial university and the Third Higher School, which assumed the duty of teaching liberal arts as the Faculty of Liberal Arts (教養部, Kyōyōbu). The faculty was dissolved with the foundation of the Faculty of Integrated Human Studies (総合人間学部, Sōgō Ningen Gakubu) in 1992.

Kyoto University has since 2004 been incorporated as a national university corporation under a new law which applies to all national universities.

Despite the incorporation which has led to increased financial independence and autonomy, Kyoto University is still partly controlled by the Japanese Ministry of Education (Monbukagakusho, or Monkasho).

The current president is Kazuo Oike.

Campuses

The university has three campuses in Yoshida, Kyoto; in Gokashō, Uji; and in Katsura, Kyoto. Yoshida Campus is the main campus, with some laboratories located in Uji. The Graduate School of Engineering is currently under process of moving to the newly-built Katsura Campus.

Faculties and graduate schools

Integrated Human Studies
Letters
Education
Law
Economics
Science
Medicine
- University Hospital
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Engineering
Agriculture
- Experimental Farm
- University Forests
- Human and Environmental Studies
Energy Science
Asian and African Area Studies
Informatics
Biostudies
Global Environmental Studies

Research institutes, centers, and facilities

Institute for Chemical Research

Institute for Research in Humanities
Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences
Institute of Advanced Energy
Wood Research Institute
- Disaster Prevention Research Institute
Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics
Institute for Virus Research
Institute of Economic Research
Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences
Research Reactor Institute
Primate Research Institute
Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies
Radiation Biology Center
Radio Science Center for Space & Atmosphere
Center for Ecological Research
Radioisotope Research Center
Environment Preservation Center
Center for Molecular Biology and Genetics
Center for Student Exchange
Research Center for Higher Education
University Museum
- International Innovation Center
Research Center for Low Temperature and Materials Sciences
Center for student Health
Research Center for Sports Science
Counseling Center
University Archives
Center for Archaeological Operations
Center for African Area Studies
KU-VBL (Venture Business Laboratory)
Health and Medical Services

Notable alumni

Hideki Yukawa physicist Nobel laureate
Shinichiro Tomonaga physicist Nobel laureate
Kenichi Fukui chemist Nobel laureate
Susumu Tonegawa biologist Nobel laureate
Ryoji Noyori chemist Nobel laureate
Heisuke Hironaka mathematician Fields Medal laureate
Shigefumi Mori mathematician Fields Medal laureate
Michio Morishima economist
Kiyoshi Oka mathematician
Kinji Imanishi ecologist,anthropologist
Motoo Kimura biologist
Nagisa Oshima film director
Fumimaro Konoe Prime Minister of Japan
Hayato Ikeda Prime Minister of Japan
Lee Teng-hui President of the Republic of China

External links

Kyoto University