University of Osaka facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The University of Osaka

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

The University of Osaka (大阪大学, Ōsaka daigaku), also known as UOsaka or Handai (阪大), is a big research university in Osaka, Japan. It's a national university, meaning it's supported by the government.

This university has a long history, going back to schools from the Edo period (1603-1868). It officially became a university in 1931. Over the years, it grew by joining with other schools. In 2007, it merged with the Osaka University of Foreign Studies, becoming the largest national university in Japan for undergraduate students.

Many famous people have studied or worked at UOsaka. These include Hideki Yukawa, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics, and Osamu Tezuka, a famous manga artist.

History of the University of Osaka

Osaka Imperial University Nakanoshima campus

The University of Osaka's roots go way back to two old schools. One was the Kaitokudō (懐徳堂), a school for local people started in 1724. The other was the Tekijuku (適塾), a school for samurai founded in 1838 by Ogata Kōan. These old schools helped shape the university's focus on both humanities (like history and literature) and sciences.

The modern university began in 1869 as the Osaka Prefectural Medical School. It became the Osaka Prefectural Medical College in 1919. In 1931, this Medical College joined with a new College of Science to form Osaka Imperial University. This was the sixth "imperial university" in Japan. Two years later, the Osaka Technical College joined, becoming the School of Engineering. In 1947, the university's name changed to Osaka University.

After World War II, in 1949, UOsaka merged with two high schools. It then had five main study areas: Science, Medicine, Engineering, Letters (like literature), and Law. Since then, it has added many new departments and research centers. For example, it opened Japan's first School of Engineering Science.

In 2007, UOsaka merged with the Osaka University of Foreign Studies. This made UOsaka one of only two national universities in Japan with a School of Foreign Studies. This merger also made UOsaka the biggest national university in the country.

University Campuses

Osaka University Hall

Medical Building

Minoh Campus

The University of Osaka has three main campuses: Toyonaka, Suita, and Minoh. Each campus focuses on different subjects and activities.

Toyonaka Campus

The Toyonaka campus is where students study subjects like Humanities, Law, Economics, Science, and Engineering Science. It's also where all first-year undergraduate students attend classes. Most sports activities happen here.

Suita Campus

The Suita campus is home to subjects like Human Sciences, Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Engineering. The University of Osaka Hospital is also located on this campus. It's a major center for medical and scientific research.

Minoh Campus

The Minoh campus joined UOsaka in 2007. This campus is where students can study different foreign languages and cultures. It has the School of Foreign Studies and centers for learning Japanese language and culture.

There was also an older campus in downtown Osaka called Nakanoshima. It used to be the main place for the medical faculty. After the medical facilities moved to the Suita campus in 1993, the Nakanoshima campus became a center for public events and adult education classes.

What You Can Study

The University of Osaka has many different schools for students. It has 11 undergraduate schools for students starting their university journey and 15 graduate schools for those who want to continue their studies after their first degree.

Some of the undergraduate schools include:

• Letters (for subjects like literature and history)
• Human Sciences (studying people and society)
• Foreign Studies (learning languages and cultures)
• Law
• Economics
• Science
• Medicine
• Dentistry
• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Engineering
• Engineering Science

UOsaka also has 21 research institutes, 4 libraries, and 2 university hospitals.

English Programs

UOsaka offers some programs taught entirely in English. The School of Human Sciences on the Suita Campus has a four-year undergraduate program in English. This program started in 2011 and focuses on subjects like sociology, anthropology, and psychology. It attracts students from all over the world.

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

University Partnerships

The University of Osaka works with many universities around the world. They have agreements to exchange students and researchers, and to do joint research projects. This means UOsaka students can sometimes study abroad at these partner universities without paying extra tuition to the host school.

As of May 2024, UOsaka has 156 agreements with other universities and 651 agreements between specific departments or schools. Some of their partners include famous universities like Cornell University, Harvard University, and Stanford University in the United States, and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

University Rankings

Overall Rankings

The University of Osaka is known as a top university. It consistently ranks high both in Japan and globally.

• In the 2024 QS World University Rankings, UOsaka was ranked 80th in the world and 3rd in Japan.
• In the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, it was ranked 175th globally.

UOsaka is also a strong research university. It was ranked 2nd in Japan and 22nd worldwide for innovation by Thomson Reuters.

Subject Rankings

UOsaka is especially strong in certain study areas:

• Immunology: 1st in Japan, 4th globally.
• Material Science: 4th in Japan, 15th globally.
• Chemistry: 5th in Japan, 14th globally.

In the Nature Index 2024, which looks at research output in top science journals, UOsaka was ranked 34th globally and 3rd in Japan.

QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024 Subject Global National Arts & Humanities  =195  5 Linguistics  101–150  4–5 Architecture and Built Environment  151–200  5–7 Classics and Ancient History  51–100  3–7 English Language and Literature  201–250  5 History  101–150  4–6 Modern Languages  =76  4 Philosophy  151–200  3 Engineering and Technology  =109  5 Engineering – Chemical  101–150  4–7 Computer Science and Information Systems  =146  4 Engineering – Electrical and Electronic  134  5 Engineering – Mechanical  142  5 Life Sciences & Medicine  =113  3 Biological Sciences  84  3 Dentistry  51–100  2–4 Medicine  =112  3 Pharmacy and Pharmacology  151–200  3–6 Psychology  251–300  4 Natural Sciences  =93  4 Chemistry  58  4 Environmental Sciences  301–350  8–9 Materials Sciences  87  5 Mathematics  151–200  4–7 Physics and Astronomy  =45  4 Social Sciences & Management  =199  6 Accounting and Finance  151–200  3–6 Business and Management Studies  351–400  8 Economics and Econometrics  119  4 Education and Training  251–300  3 Law and Legal Studies  201–250  7–8 Politics  201–250  5–6 Sociology  101–150  3–4 Statistics and Operational Research  151–200  4

THE World University Rankings by Subject 2024 Subject Global National Arts & humanities  401–500  8–9 Business & economics  251–300  3 Clinical & health  80  3 Computer science  126–150  4–5 Engineering  126–150  5–6 Life sciences  =68  3 Physical sciences  176–200  6 Psychology  301–400  4–6 Social sciences  301–400  5–9 ARWU Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023 Subject Global National Natural Sciences Mathematics  201–300  3–5 Physics  151–200  4–5 Chemistry  101–150  5–6 Engineering Mechanical Engineering  201–300  4 Electrical & Electronic Engineering  201–300  2–3 Biomedical Engineering  201–300  3–4 Materials Science & Engineering  201–300  6–8 Nanoscience & Nanotechnology  301–400  5–8 Biotechnology  301–400  5–6 Metallurgical Engineering  51–75  3–4 Life Sciences Biological Sciences  151–200  5 Human Biological Sciences  201–300  4–5 Medical Sciences Clinical Medicine  401–500  4–7 Public Health  301–400  2–4 Dentistry & Oral Sciences  21  1 Medical Technology  301–400  1–6 Social Sciences Political Sciences  301–400  3

How Hard Is It to Get In?

The University of Osaka is one of the most selective universities in Japan. This means it's quite competitive to get accepted. It is usually ranked just after the very top universities in Japan, like the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University.

Sports and Activities

The University of Osaka has regular sports competitions with Nagoya University each year. They also have windsurfing competitions with Kyoto University, Kobe University, and Taiwan's National Sun Yat-sen University.

Famous People from UOsaka

Many notable people have studied or taught at the University of Osaka.

Scientists and Researchers

• 

  Hantaro Nagaoka, 1st President of OU, a pioneer in Japanese physics

• 

  Hideki Yukawa, won the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physics

• 

  Yoichiro Nambu, won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics

• 

  Akira Yoshino, won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

• 

  Hiroshi Ishiguro, known for creating Geminoid robots

• 

  Hidesaburo Hanafusa, a virologist who won the 1982 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research

• 

  Osamu Hayaishi, won the 1986 Wolf Prize in Medicine

• 

  Shizuo Akira, an immunologist who won the 2011 Gairdner Award

• 

  Tadamitsu Kishimoto, 14th President of OU, won the 2009 Crafoord Prize

• 

  Toshio Hirano, 17th President of OU, won the 2009 Crafoord Prize

• 

  Kiyoshi Nagai, a biologist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

• 

  Shimon Sakaguchi, won the 2015 Gairdner Award and 2017 Crafoord Prize

• 

  Pratiwi Sudarmono, an Indonesian microbiologist

• 

  Michio Morishima, co-founder of International Economic Review

• 

  Shizuo Kakutani, a mathematician known for the Kakutani fixed-point theorem

• 

  Jun-iti Nagata, a topologist

• 

  Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda, a Turkish mathematician of Japanese background

• 

  Mohamed Yakub Janabi, Regional Director for the WHO Regional Office for Africa

• Shoichi Sakata, a physicist known for the Sakata model.
• Takeo Matsubara, a physicist at Kyoto University.
• Yoshiaki Arata, a pioneering researcher in nuclear fusion.
• Sonia Contera, a Spanish physicist at the University of Oxford.
• Satoshi Kawata, a scientist in nanotechnology and photonics.
• Tadao Kasami, an information theorist and IEEE Fellow.
• Kilnam Chon, a South Korean computer scientist.
• Li Siguang, a Chinese geologist and politician.
• Yoshio Okamoto, a Japanese chemist who won the 2019 Japan Prize.
• Toshio Yanagida, a Japanese biophysicist.
• Yoshizumi Ishino, a Japanese molecular biologist who discovered the DNA sequence of CRISPR.
• Yusuke Nakamura, a prominent Japanese geneticist and cancer researcher.
• Toru Kumon, a Japanese mathematics educator who developed the Kumon method.

Business and Arts

• 

  Akio Morita, co-founder of Sony

• 

  Masataka Taketsuru, known as the father of Japan's whisky industry

• 

  Osamu Tezuka, a famous Japanese manga artist and animator

• 

  Ryōtarō Shiba, one of the most important writers in modern Japan

• 

  Norihiko Hibino, a Japanese video game composer

• Kunio Nakamura, a businessman who was the president of Panasonic.
• Takamitsu Azuma, an architect and professor at UOsaka.
• Seishi Yokomizo, a novelist who created the detective Kosuke Kindaichi.
• Toshio Masuda, a film director.
• Junzo Shono, a Japanese novelist who won the 1954 Akutagawa Prize.
• Chin Shunshin, a Taiwanese-Japanese novelist.
• Koushun Takami, a journalist and author of Battle Royale.
• Taku Mayumura, a Japanese novelist and science fiction writer.

Politics

• 

  Mitoji Yabunaka, a former Japanese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs

• 

  Heizo Takenaka, a former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications

• 

  Shinji Tarutoko, a former member of the House of Representatives

• Shuzen Tanigawa, a Japanese politician.
• Satoshi Umemura, a Japanese politician.
• Mitsuo Mitani, a Japanese politician.
• Ko Ko Oo, a former Minister of Science and Technology of Burma.
• Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed, a former Secretary-General of SAARC.

See also

In Spanish: Universidad de Osaka para niños