Ochanomizu University was founded in 1875 as Tokyo Women's Normal School, Japan's first institution of higher education for women, and, as Women's Higher Normal School and Tokyo Women's Higher Normal School, we have had several different incarnations while pioneering education for women. One of those incarnations, in 1949, was Ochanomizu University, which was brought under the new education system through the dedicated efforts of our predecessors after WWII. This year, our university celebrates 140 years of history. During these years, the university has forged a new path in education for women, for the sake of our students' desire to study and serve society. A great number of graduates have demonstrated excellence while dedicating themselves to many disciplines in academic research, education, industry, government, and the media. Their efforts have created opportunities and broadened the field for the women who have followed them.
When becoming an incorporated national university in 2004, Ochanomizu University adopted the slogan, "A place where all women who are motivated to learn can realize their earnest dreams." We charted a course toward global women's education while aiming to support the dreams of all women across the world, including those in developing countries who wish to study but cannot; we share mutual understanding with people of diverse cultures and different values; we reap the benefits of supportive competition; and, we have resolved to be a university that is able to contribute to its own growth. Furthermore, we have created educational systems with distinct features, such as Liberal Arts Education and Leadership Education, and we have provided a "place of study" for young women to grow into people who are able to contribute to the community, further themselves, and learn what they are meant to do in society.
At present, the world surrounding us is undergoing great transformations, the social environment is changing on a global scale, and the values and foundations of people's lifestyles are being shaken. Amidst this context, universities are called upon to provide education and research to help students find a path for creating a rich future for themselves and gaining the skills to solve the challenges they face. Ochanomizu University provides diverse education and research in science, technology, the humanities, and the arts, including programs for examining and supporting people's existence in society, studying the workings and structures of life, understanding natural phenomena and substances, and preserving the health and well being of people's lifestyles. Through this education and research, we continue our on-going efforts to bestow broad intelligence and keen imagination, endow students with responsibility as members of society, and create a rich future for Japan and the world while fostering women with excellence.
Furthermore, in a society with increasing globalization, it is more and more important to experience complexity and diversity, reassess ourselves and the world from a multi-faceted perspective, and engage in dialogue and real world activity that brings deep understanding of people with different values and ways of thinking. It is vital for the young people who will shoulder the responsibility of the next generation to prepare for an unpredictable future, transcend national boundaries, deepen ties with peers across the world, and engage in spirited competition based on relationships of trust. It is our university's desire to strengthen our initiatives so that women of diverse values can study and live together, improve themselves, and foster skills for active involvement as truly global citizens.
Ochanomizu University will continue to fulfill its role as an institution with 140 years of history and tradition. We will strive to foster women who will lead society and fashion the coming era as we work to help our graduates inspire those around them and their society to have hope and courage for the future.
| Name | Kimiko Murofushi |
|---|---|
| Official position | President |
| Specialized field | cellular biology, biochemistry, science education |
| Career |
|
| Message to Prospective Students |
Our university was founded in 1875 as Japan's first institution of higher education for women. Over the course of 140 years, the university has produced talented women who are active in diverse fields from education to research and development, industry, government, and the media. I believe that this result is the fruit of dedicated work by our many graduates and earnest educational effort by our faculty. My goal is to continue this tradition and move forward while creating an academic environment that allows all of its participants to kindle their hopes for the future as we foster women who will lead society and mold the coming era. Furthermore, it is my hope that our ties with education and research institutions inside and outside Japan, with government agencies, with our primary and secondary school, with our community, and with our alumni association will help make this university an organization that contributes to building a society that cultivates the bright dreams of us all. |
“Ochanomizu University will support all women, regardless of age or nationality, in protecting their individual dignity and rights, freely developing their unique qualities and capabilities, and pursuing persolearning so as to satisfy their intellectual appetites.”
As a pioneer of women's education in Japan, Ochanomizu University offers programs that will develop women capable of being opinion leaders in politics, economics, academia, culture, and other fields on the international
stage.
Cutting-edge research and development based on new ways of thinking is a unique feature of research at Ochanomizu University.
Ochanomizu University‘s undergraduate courses offer highly specialized education in small class sizes. We have in place a free learning environment that protects the individual dignity and rights of women so as to develop women capable of contributing to the realization of a gender-equal society and to the empowerment of women around the world.
Graduate research promotes a variety of projects, the outcomes of which are deeply reflected in undergraduate courses. We pursue evolutions in the university‘s curricula through their link to cutting-edge research in the graduate school.
The globalization of society in the 21st century is giving rise to concurrent trends in knowledge and technology: specialization and diversification. That is, the knowledge that students acquire must be specialized or it will be useless, and at the same time it must be communicable to
people with different national and cultural backgrounds.
In the past, the university offered liberal arts as a
preliminary step to specialized education. Whereas at present, we are required to foster in students communication and negotiation skills, a cross-disciplinary viewpoint, and the ability to make judgments in response to change so as to support and enable full utilization of highly specialized education.
Ochanomizu University‘s 21st century liberal arts education aims to build on the foundation of knowledge itself, or the general (liberal) skills (arts) that students can use throughout their lifetime.
The new system enables students to freely combine “core programs,” “specialty programs,” “subprograms,” and “interdisciplinary programs” so as to acquire, in addition to the in-depth knowledge required of them in the past, the knowledge and skills suited to their needs.
Tokyo Women's Normal School, Japan‘s first institute of higher education for women and the predecessor of Ochanomizu University, opens in Ochanomizu, Tokyo (now Yushima, Bunkyo-ku)
The school produces its first graduating class of 15 students
School buildings are destroyed by fire during the Great Kanto Earthquake
The school moves into new buildings at the present location (Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku)
Ochanomizu University is established as a women‘s university with a Faculty of Letters, a Faculty of Science and Home Economics
Graduate School of Home Economics (master's program) is established
Graduate School of Humanities and Science (doctoral program) is established
Faculty of Home Economics is reorganized into the Faculty of Human Life and Environmental Sciences.
Master's research courses in humanities, science, and home economics are reorganized into the Graduate School of Humanities and Science (master's program with 6 divisions).
According to the National University Corporation Law, Ochanomizu University becomes a national university corporation.
Strengthening Education and Research through Reorganization of the Graduate School.
| Undergraduate | Freshmen | Sophomores | Juniors | Seniors | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty of Letters and Education | 213 | 215 | 226 | 275 | 929 |
| Faculty of Science | 134 | 129 | 133 | 156 | 552 |
| Faculty of Human Life and Environmental Sciences | 137 | 135 | 142 | 167 | 581 |
| Total | 484 | 479 | 501 | 598 | 2062 |
（Numbers include foreign students. As of May 2012）
| Graduate | 1st Year | 2nd Year | 3rd Year | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master's Program | 221 | 308 | - | 529 |
| Doctoral Program | 74 | 101 | 229 | 404 |
| Total | 295 | 409 | 229 | 933 |
（Numbers include foreign students. As of May 2012）
| Grand Total | Number of Students |
|---|---|
| Grand Total | 2995 |
（Numbers include foreign students. As of May 2012）
| Administration Office | Number of Staff |
|---|---|
| Administration Office | 101 |
| Faculty Staff | Number of Staff |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate Courses | 2 |
| Graduate Courses | 198 |
| Educational Affairs Department | 20 |
| On-Campus Research Facilities | 45 |
| Educational Staff (Attached Schools) | Number of Staff |
|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 10 |
| Elementary School | 30 |
| Junior High School | 25 |
| Senior High School | 25 |
| Izumi Daycare Center | 4 |
（The Graduate School faculty are also responsible for teaching classes in the Undergraduate Faculties. As of May 2012）
Ochanomizu University Homepage Steering Committee
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