Okayama University


Okayama University is a national university in Japan. The main campus is located in Tsushima-Naka, Okayama, Okayama Prefecture.
The school was founded in 1870 and it was established as a university in 1949. In 2014, the university was selected as one of the 37 Top Global Universities by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
WWW okayama-u.ac.jp/index_e.h...𝕏 okayama_uniFB OkayamaUniversityIG okayama_university

History

Okayama University was originally founded as the Medical Training Place in 1870 by Okayama-Han. After the abolition of the han system, it became the Okayama Prefectural Medical School in 1880. In 1888 it was merged into a national school, the Third Higher Middle School to constitute the Medical Faculty. The Medical Faculty became an independent school in 1901 and was renamed Okayama Medical Speciality School, a four-year medical school for men ages 17–21 or above. In 1922, the school was chartered as Okayama Medical College, a four-year medical college for men ages 19–23 or above.
In 1949, after World War II, the college was merged with other national and public colleges in Okayama Prefecture to establish Okayama University, under Japan's new education system. The predecessors of the university were:
  1. Okayama Medical College, the Sixth Higher School
  2. Okayama Normal School
  3. Okayama Youth's Normal School
  4. Okayama Agricultural College
The new campus was the former camp of the Imperial Japanese Army (the 17th Division). After occupation army left the camp in 1947, the students of the Sixth Higher School guarded the camp, residing in the former military barracks. Later, the camp became their campus. The faculties of Okayama University, except the Medical School, were gradually relocated to Tsushima Campus.
The university at first had five faculties: Law and Letters, Education, Science, Agriculture and Medicine. The latter history of the university is as follows:

Academics

  • Faculty of Letters
  • Faculty of Education
  • Faculty of Law
  • Faculty of Economics
  • Faculty of Science
  • Medical School
  • Dental School
  • Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Faculty of Engineering
  • Faculty of Environmental Science and Technology
  • Faculty of Agriculture
  • Matching Program Course
  • Discovery Program for Global Learners

Graduate schools

Attached Institute

  • Research Institute for Bioresources

Nationwide Joint-use Facility

  • Institute for Study of the Earth's Interior

Academic rankings

Okayama University was ranked as the top university in the Chugoku and Shikoku area in the 2020–2021 University Brand Image Survey conducted by Nikkei BP.
In 2023, Okayama University ranked 21st in Japan and 351-400th in Asia according to Times Higher Education.
The QS World University Rankings placed Okayama University in the 901-950th bracket overall, 613rd in Sustainability, and 134th in East Asia in 2024. In the Academic Ranking of World Universities, Okayama University ranked 501-600th worldwide in 2023.

Notable alumni