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Osaka University
大阪大学

Motto	地域に生き世界に伸びる
Motto in English	Live Locally, Grow Globally
Type	Public (National)
Established	Kaitokudo founded 1724; Osaka Imperial University established 1931
Budget	186.718 billion yen (2023)
President	Shojiro Nishio
Academic staff	3,357
Administrative staff	3,672
Students	23,226
Undergraduates	15,075
Postgraduates	8,151
Doctoral students	3,374
Other students	537 (research students and auditors)
Location	Toyonaka/Suita/Minoh , Osaka , Japan
Campus	Suburban, 1.58 km²
Authorized Student Groups	59 sports-related, 70 culture-related
Colors	Sky blue
Mascot	Dr. Wani

Osaka University (大阪大学, Ōsaka daigaku), also known as OU or Handai (阪大), is a big research university in Osaka, Japan. It's one of Japan's national universities.

This university has a long history. It started from old schools like Tekijuku (from 1838) and Kaitokudō (from 1724). It officially became a university in 1931. Back then, it was called Osaka Imperial University. It was the sixth "Imperial University" in Japan. These were special universities created by the government.

Osaka University is known for its great research. Many famous scientists and thinkers have studied or worked here. For example, Hideki Yukawa won a Nobel Prize in Physics. The famous manga artist Osamu Tezuka also studied here.

History of Osaka University
University Campuses
How the University is Organized
- English Study Programs
- Working with Other Universities
University Rankings
- Being Accepted to Osaka University
Sports at Osaka University
Famous People from Osaka University
See also

History of Osaka University

Osaka Imperial University Nakanoshima campus

The ideas behind Osaka University go way back. In 1724, a school called Kaitokudō opened for local people. Later, in 1838, Ogata Kōan started Tekijuku. This school taught Western studies to samurai. The university's focus on humanities comes from Kaitokudō. Its science and engineering roots come from Tekijuku.

The modern university began in 1869. It was first a medical school in Osaka City. In 1919, it became the Osaka Prefectural Medical College. Then, in 1931, it joined with a new science college. This created Osaka Imperial University. It was Japan's sixth imperial university. Two years later, an engineering college joined too. In 1947, its name changed to Osaka University.

After World War II, Japan changed its education system. Osaka University merged with other schools in 1949. It then had five main study areas: Science, Medicine, Engineering, Letters, and Law. Over time, new departments and research centers were added. This included the first School of Engineering Science in Japan.

In 2007, Osaka University merged with the Osaka University of Foreign Studies. This made Osaka University the largest national university in Japan. It also became one of only two national universities with a School of Foreign Studies.

University Campuses

Osaka University has three main campuses. They are in Toyonaka, Suita, and Minoh.

Toyonaka Campus

Osaka University Hall

The Toyonaka campus is where students study subjects like Humanities, Law, Economics, Science, and Engineering Science. It also has graduate schools for international policy and language. All new students usually start their first year of classes here. Most sports activities happen on this campus.

Suita Campus

Medical Building

The Suita campus is home to departments like Human Sciences, Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Engineering. The Osaka University Hospital is also on this campus. This campus is a big center for research in many science fields.

Minoh Campus

The Minoh campus joined Osaka University in 2007. This happened when it merged with the Osaka University of Foreign Studies. This campus focuses on foreign languages and cultures. It has the School of Foreign Studies and a center for Japanese language.

There was also an older campus in downtown Osaka called Nakanoshima. It used to be for the medical faculty. In 1993, the hospital moved to the Suita campus. Now, the Nakanoshima Center is used for meetings and adult education classes.

How the University is Organized

Osaka University has 11 undergraduate schools. These are for students getting their first degree. It also has 15 graduate schools for advanced studies. These schools cover many subjects. Some examples are Letters, Human Sciences, Foreign Studies, Law, Economics, Science, Medicine, Dentistry, and Engineering.

The university also has 21 research institutes. These are places where scientists and scholars do important research. There are also 4 libraries and 2 university hospitals.

Osaka University has offices in other countries too. These are in San Francisco, Groningen, Bangkok, and Shanghai. They help with education and research around the world.

English Study Programs

Osaka University offers some programs taught completely in English. One is a four-year undergraduate program in Human Sciences. It started in 2011. This program helps students from all over the world study subjects like sociology, psychology, and education. It focuses on solving problems and understanding different cultures.

There's also an English program for graduate students. It's called Global Japanese Studies.

Working with Other Universities

Osaka University has agreements with many universities worldwide. These agreements help students and researchers visit and study in other countries. Students can sometimes take classes at these partner universities for up to a year without paying extra tuition. As of May 2024, Osaka University has 156 agreements with other universities. It also has 651 agreements between its different departments and those of other schools.

Some of the famous universities Osaka University works with include:

In the United States: Cornell University, Harvard University, Stanford University, and the California Institute of Technology.
In Canada: McGill University, the University of Toronto, and the University of British Columbia.
In Asia: Seoul National University (South Korea), Peking University (China), National University of Singapore, and National Taiwan University.
In Europe: the University of Groningen (Netherlands), the University of Bologna (Italy), and the University of Oxford (UK).

University Rankings

Osaka University is known as a very good university. It often ranks high in Japan and around the world.

In 2024, the QS World University Rankings placed Osaka University 80th globally. It was the 3rd best in Japan. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings put it at 175th globally.

For research, Osaka University is also highly ranked. It is considered the 2nd most innovative university in Japan. It is also strong in specific subjects. For example, it ranks very high in immunology, material science, and chemistry. It also gets a lot of funding for research and has many patents.

Being Accepted to Osaka University

Osaka University is one of the hardest universities to get into in Japan. It is usually ranked just after the very top universities, the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University.

Sports at Osaka University

Osaka University has sports competitions with other universities. For example, it has regular athletics competitions with Nagoya University. It also has windsurfing competitions with Kyoto University, Kobe University, and National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan.

Famous People from Osaka University

Many important people have studied or worked at Osaka University.

Scientists

Hantaro Nagaoka, first President of OU, a pioneer in Japanese physics
Hideki Yukawa, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949
Yoichiro Nambu, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2008
Akira Yoshino, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019
Hiroshi Ishiguro, known for creating Geminoid robots
Tadamitsu Kishimoto, 14th President of OU, won the Crafoord Prize in 2009
Toshio Hirano, 17th President of OU, won the Crafoord Prize in 2009
Kiyoshi Nagai, a biologist
Shimon Sakaguchi, won the Gairdner Award and Crafoord Prize
Pratiwi Sudarmono, an Indonesian microbiologist
Michio Morishima, an economist
Shizuo Kakutani, a mathematician
Jun-iti Nagata, a topologist
Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda, a Turkish mathematician

Shoichi Sakata, a physicist
Hidesaburo Hanafusa, a virologist who won the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
Osamu Hayaishi, won the Wolf Prize in Medicine
Shizuo Akira, an immunologist
Yoshio Okamoto, a chemist
Yoshizumi Ishino, a molecular biologist who discovered CRISPR
Yusuke Nakamura, a geneticist and cancer researcher
Toru Kumon, who developed the Kumon method of learning