Sophia University (Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku'';

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private research

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

in Japan. Sophia is one of the three ''Sōkeijōchi'' (早慶上智) private universities, a group of the top three private universities in Japan with the other two being

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowment ...

and

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

, according to the

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

. It is also ranked number 18 in the 2021 Times Japan University Rankings. Founded by the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious pract ...

of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1913, the university has grown from its three original

academic department An academic department is a division of a university or school faculty devoted to a particular academic discipline. This article covers United States usage at the university level. In the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries, universit ...

s of

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

German Literature German literature () comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy and to a less ...

, and

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, natio ...

to 9 undergraduate Faculties and 10 Graduate Schools, with over 13,900 students in total at the moment. Sophia has international students from 77 countries and it has forged agreements with 395 overseas universities in 81 countries to encourage students joining the exchange programs with several other top universities throughout the world. Sophia is a leading institution in globalisation, foreign languages, and literature in Japan. As a prominent institution for research and higher learning in the fields of the

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of s ...

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at t ...

, and

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

s, the university has been selected by the Japanese Ministry of Education to be one of 37 universities to receive funding for its internationalisation efforts through the "

Top Global University Project is a funding project by the Japanese government that began in 2014. The project aims to enhance the globalization of the country's public and private universities so that graduates can "walk into positions of global leadership". The project is s ...

". The university has been ranked as the top third Catholic university in AsiaTop Catholic Universities in the world , 2021 World University Ranking
/ref> Before 1957, the university only admitted male students to degree programmes, but the numbers of male and female students are now more or less equal. Sophia's alumni are referred to as "Sophians", among whom include the 79th

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of S ...

Morihiro Hosokawa is a Japanese politician and noble who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1993 to 1994, leading a coalition government which was the first non- Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) government of Japan since 1955. After a funding scandal in early 1994, h ...

, several politicians represented in the Japanese National Diet, professors at various higher education institutions, and even actors and musicians in the Japanese film and

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

industries.

Origins of the university name

The name of the university is traced to letters of correspondence between two of the three founders of what would become Sophia University, Fr. James Rockliff, SJ and Fr. Hermann Hoffmann, SJ. The Japanese term 上智 ("higher wisdom" or "supreme wisdom", ''Jōchi'') was the equivalent of the Latin word ''sapientia,'' which means wisdom. According to Catholic Church tradition, the term ''sapientia'' refers to the one of the Church's devotional titles for the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

, the Seat of Wisdom. When Joseph Eylenbosch, SJ began teaching Greek at the university in April 1924, he thought that the Japanese term ''jōchi'' was the equivalent of the Greek term σοφία (''sofia''). Afterwards, the students had proposed that the school be known as Sophia University. Fr. Hoffmann, SJ, who was serving as

University President A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

at that time, initially opposed the proposal. However, he soon accepted the idea and submitted the proposal to Rome for the approval. The English language-based, peer-reviewed

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

Monumenta Nipponica ''Monumenta Nipponica'' is a semi-annual academic journal of Japanese studies. Published by Sophia University (Tokyo), it is one of the oldest English-language academic journals in the field of Asian studies, being founded in 1938. Although the jo ...

'', which was first inaugurated in 1938, identified itself as being published by Sophia University. The use of Sophia as the university name then became firmly established in Japan and overseas.

History of the university

Early history

The origins of Sophia University could be traced to 1549 when Saint Francis Xavier, a prominent member and co-founder of the Society of Jesus, arrived in Japan to spread Christianity. In his letters to his fellow Jesuits, he had expressed hopes of establishing a university in Japan. During the so-called Kirishitan period of Japanese history, the Catholic Church had been responsible for establishing and administering educational institutions in Japan called ''Collegios'' and ''Seminarios'', serving as bridges between the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

The establishment of the university only began to take place more than 400 years from St. Francis Xavier's arrival in Japan. In 1903, three Jesuit priests from Europe came to Japan to continue the missionary work of the Church and to help establish Sophia University. One of the founders, Fr. Joseph Dahlmann, SJ from Germany, who had come to Japan via India, had listened to the requests of Catholics in the country, who expressed their desires to construct a Catholic university to serve as the cultural and spiritual base of the Church's missionary operations in Japan. Dahlmann heeded the requests and sent a proposal to the then-

Bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...

, at the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

in Rome. In 1905, Dahlmann was granted a private audience with the Pope, who promised to assign the Society of Jesus to create and administer a Catholic university in Japan. In Dahlmann's

memoirs regarding the encounter with Pius, he recounted that he spoke as follows: "''Habebitis collegium in Japonica, magnam universitatem'' (in English: "You (plural) will have in Japan a college that is a great university".). On that same year, the then-Bishop of

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

in the United States, William H. O'Connell, was appointed by the Pope to serve as a special ambassador of the Vatican to

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

in Japan. O'Connell was also tasked to survey the situation in Japan. When he was granted an audience with Emperor Meiji, he had ascertained the education policy directions of the Japanese Ministry of Education, and reported to officials at the Holy See regarding the possible establishment of a Catholic university in Japan. At the 25th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus in held in Rome in September 1906, Pius X issued a formal written statement to the Jesuits to establish a Catholic university in Japan. Thus, the delegates at the Congregation voted unanimously in favour of the Pope's commands, and the first concrete steps were taken to prepare a university institution in the East.

History of the university after its establishment

Sophia University was founded by

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

s in 1913. It opened with departments of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Literature, Philosophy and Commerce, headed by its founder Fr. Hermann Hoffmann, SJ (1864–1937) as its first official president. In 1932, a small group of Sophia University students refused to salute the war dead at

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, 1894–1895 and 1937–1945 resp ...

in the presence of a

Japanese military The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...

attache, saying it violated their

religious beliefs A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take ...

. The military attache was withdrawn from Sophia as a result of this incident, damaging the university's reputation in the eyes of the government of the

Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

. The

Archbishop of Tokyo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tokyo ( la, Archidioecesis Tokiensis, ja, カトリック東京大司教区) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Japan. It was erected as the Apostolic Vicaria ...

intervened in the standoff by permitting Catholic students to salute the war dead, after which many Sophia students, as well as Hermann Hoffmann himself, participated in rites at Yasukuni. The

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

later issued the ''Pluries Instanterque'' in 1936, which encouraged

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to attend

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The ''honden''Also called (本殿, meanin ...

s as a patriotic gesture; the Vatican re-issued this document after the war in 1951. Sophia University continued to grow as it increased the number of academic departments, faculty members and students, in addition to advancing its international focus by establishing an exchange program. Many of its students studied at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

in the United States as early as 1935. Sophia's junior college was established in 1973, followed by the opening of Sophia Community College in 1976. With the founding of the Faculty of Liberal Arts in 2006, Sophia University presently holds 27 departments in its eight faculties. Its current president is Yoshiaki Terumichi. Toshiaki Koso serves as head of its board of directors. Since 2008, the Global Leadership Program was started for students from four

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

universities in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic ( Jesuits) , academic ...

in the Philippines,

Fu Jen Catholic University Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU, FJCU or Fu Jen; or ) is a private Catholic university in Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1925 in Beijing at the request of Pope Pius XI and re-established in Taiwan in 1961 a ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

, Sogang University in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, and Sophia University in Japan. In 2016 the university reached out to the four Jesuit junior-senior high schools in Japan, joining them in the Sophia College Corporation to help them pass on the Jesuit charism to their lay faculty through workshops and other assistance. These schools are Sophia-Fukuoka, Eiko Gakuen, Hiroshima Gakuin, and Rokko School.

Campuses

Sophia's main campus at

Yotsuya is a neighborhood in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It is a former ward (四谷区 ''Yotsuya-ku'') in the now-defunct Tokyo City. In 1947, when the 35 wards of Tokyo were reorganized into 23, it was merged with Ushigome ward of Tokyo City and Yo ...

is urban, consisting of roughly 25 large, modern buildings in the center of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

. The majority of Sophia's 10,000 undergraduate students spend nearly all their time here. The faculties of Humanities, Law, Foreign Studies, Economics, Liberal Arts, and Science and Technology have their home here, as do the main library, cafeteria, gymnasium, chapel, bookstore, and offices. In April 2006, the Faculty of Comparative Culture, which had been located at the smaller Ichigaya campus, moved to the main Yotsuya campus and changed its name to the Faculty of Liberal Arts. Nearly all of Sophia's foreign exchange and international students study at the FLA. The Tokyo office of the Council on International Educational Exchange, the student exchange organisation, which oversees roughly half of the international students, is also based on the main Yotsuya Campus. The Shakujii (

) campus houses the Faculty of Theology. The

Hadano is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 163,787 and a population density of 1600 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hadano is located in the foothills of the ...

campus in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

is home to the Sophia Junior College, as well as a number of seminar halls and athletics complexes.

List of campuses

* Yotsuya Campus (

Chiyoda Ward is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.Profi ...

Tokyo Prefecture Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

) * Mejiro Seibo Campus (

Shinjuku Ward is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administrati ...

, Tokyo Prefecture) * Shakuji Campus ( Nerima Ward, Tokyo Prefecture) * Hadano Campus ( Hadano City,

) * Osaka Satellite Campus ( Osaka City,

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nar ...

)

International cooperation

Sophia University has international partnership agreements with 396 institutions in 81 countries. Some of Sophia's partner universities include

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hon ...

, and LMU Munich. It also maintains nine overseas bases serving as liaisons between the Sophia School Corporation and overseas localities. *

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Office (ルクセンブルクオフィス) * ASEAN Hub Centre in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

(ASEANハブセンター) *

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Liaison Offices in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

(中国連絡処) *

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

Office (ケルンオフィス) *

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Office (ロスアンゼルスオフィス) *

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Office (ニューヨークオフィス）

Sophia School Corporation

Established in 1911, the Sophia School Corporation (学校法人上智学院, ''Gakko Hojin Jochi Gakuin'') is a public interest corporation established under the Private School Act (Act no. 270 of 1945) for the purpose of establishing a private school. The Sophia School Corporation serves as the operator of Sophia University and other Jesuit-affiliated schools in Japan, managing a total of seven schools. It was established in 1951.

Academics

The university has nine undergraduate faculties with 29 departments as well as 10 graduate schools with 25 programmes. With over 14,021 students as of 2017, the university provides academic opportunities for students from Japan and overseas to study in Japan. Sophia also possesses a wide-variety of English-taught academic programmes such as those provided by the Faculty of Liberal Arts (FLA). English programmes are also provided by the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) through two programmes and the Green Science Program, provided by the Department of Materials and Life Sciences, and the Green Engineering Program, provided by the Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Sophia University Yotsuya Campus3

Undergraduate faculties and programmes

* Faculty of Liberal Arts * Sophia Program for Sustainable Futures * Faculty of Economics * Faculty of Science and Technology * Faculty of Foreign Studies * Faculty of Law * Faculty of Human Sciences * Faculty of Global Studies * Faculty of Theology * Faculty of Humanities

Academic programmes taught in English

In addition to most courses of study taught almost entirely in Japanese, Sophia has a variety of academic programmes and courses taught in English. The Faculty of Liberal Arts (FLA), the Green Science and Engineering courses in the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), and the Sophia Program for Sustainable Futures (SPSF).

= Courses taught in the Faculty of Liberal Arts

= * International Business and Economics (IBE) * Comparative Culture * Social Studies

= English courses taught in the Faculty of Science and Technology

= * Green Science programme (offered by the Department of Materials and Life Sciences) * Green Engineering programme (offered by the Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences)

= Courses taught in the Sophia Program for Sustainable Futures

= Graduate schools and programmes

= * Graduate School of Science and Technology * Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies * Graduate School of Economics * Graduate School of Human Sciences * Graduate School of Law * Graduate School of Theology * Graduate School of Applied Religious Studies * Graduate School of Humanities * Graduate School of Global Studies * Graduate School of Languages and Linguistics

University academic research

Sophia University is a comprehensive research university with 9 undergraduate faculties with 10 graduate schools located on a single campus in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Leading higher education institutions in Japan toward globalisation and academic research, the university provides a strong international network of scholarship, attracting researchers and students from overseas to study in Japan. As a research institution, the university established the Sophia Research Organisation (SRO) in April 2005 in order to promote and facilitate interdisciplinary and organisational research activities. The SRO possesses two research divisions: the Research Institutes Division and the Project Research Division. The university also has affiliated Research Organisations. Simultaneously, Sophia's Centre for Research Promotion and Support provides additional support to general research activities and strengthens the a three-way collaboration initiative among industries, government, and academia. The Intellectual Property Rights Committee, established in 2005, ensures smooth collaborative support among the three individual groups and examines the inventions and intellectual properties of the researchers affiliated with Sophia University. To assist with academic research and learning, Sophia currently has a total of 3 libraries and an affiliated library, possessing in total more than 11.5 million books and 12,570 journal titles.

Sophia University libraries

* Sophia University Central Library（上智大学中央図書館） * Law School Library（法科大学院図書室） * Mejiro Seibo Campus Library（目白聖母キャンパス図書室）

Affiliated library

* Kirishitan Bunko Library（キリシタン文庫）

Student life

Student housing and dormitories

Sophia University has student housing options and dormitories scattered throughout Tokyo. These university dormitories provide facilities and spaces for students to undertake study and research activities. Events and various programmes are also organised by students and housing staff for the benefit of the housing community all year round. List of Student Dormitories: * Sophia Soshigaya International House (Male/Female) * Sophia-Arrupe International Residence (Male/Female * Sophia Edogawa Men's Dormitory (Male) Sophia University has a group of designated and recommended dormitories, which are owned and operated by various private housing companies. List of Designated Dormitories Owned by Private Companies: * Sophia Higashi Nakano Dormitory (Female) (Nakano Ward, Tokyo) * Sophia Kasai International House (Female) ( Edogawa Ward, Tokyo) * Student House Luxlass (Male/Female) (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo) Sophia University, Yotsuya Campus, Tokyo, Japan

Sophia University, Yotsuya Campus, Tokyo, Japan

Academic rankings

There are several rankings below related to Sophia University.

University rankings

Japanese university rankings

According to the Times Higher Education 2021 Japan University Rankings, Sophia University is ranked 18th in the nation. Sophia is the fourth largest liberal arts university in the country.

Global/regional university rankings

According to the 2021 QS World University Rankings, Sophia University is ranked 801–1000. In the 2021 QS rankings, Sophia was 181st in Asia and the 28th in Japan. Its 2021 Times Higher Education Impact Ranking, which assesses universities against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), is 601–800.

Alumni rankings

Alumni of Sophia have good employment prospects in Japanese industries. According to the Weekly Economist's 2010 rankings and the

PRESIDENT President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

's article on 2006/10/16, graduates from Sophia have the eighth best employment rate in 400 major companies, and the average graduate salary is the sixth best in Japan.

Popularity and selectivity

Admission to Sophia is highly selective and competitive. As such it is considered one of the top private universities along with

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowment ...

and

. Typical acceptance rate is 5%. Its entrance difficulty is considered one of the toughest along with Waseda and Keio among 730 private universities.

Overseas partner institutions

Sophia University has student and academic exchange agreements with 387 overseas partner universities in 81 countries and regions as of June 2021. List of External University Agreements and Affiliations: * Association of Southeast and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASEACCU) * Comprehensive Agreement on Cooperation with Kwansei Gakuin University * Global 5 University Collaboration Agreement (with Waseda University,

Akita International University , or AIU, is a public university located in Akita City, Akita Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2004 and modeled on American liberal arts colleges, AIU is one of the few universities in Japan offering all of its courses in English. It has curre ...

International Christian University is a non-denominational private university located in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, commonly known as ICU. With the efforts of Prince Takamatsu, General Douglas MacArthur, and BOJ President Hisato Ichimada, ICU was established in 1949 as the first ...

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University , commonly referred to as APU, is a university in Japan. Ritsumeikan APU was established in April 2000 in Beppu, Ōita, Japan. APU was created through the collaboration of three parties from the public and private sectors: Ōita Prefecture, Be ...

) * Comprehensive Agreement on Cooperation with International Christian University * Member of the Catholic University Institute for Christian Culture

Notable faculty

* Father

Peter Milward Father Peter Milward, SJ (12 October 1925 – 16 August 2017) was a Jesuit priest and literary scholar. He was emeritus professor of English Literature at Sophia University in Tokyo and a leading figure in scholarship on English Renaissance lite ...

, SJ,

emeritus professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

* Gregory Clark, former professor of economics; currently a ''

Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'' contributor *

Kuniko Inoguchi is a Japanese political scientist and politician. She served as Japan's first Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs from 2005 to 2006, and is currently a member of the House of Councillors representing Chiba Prefecture for the ...

, former professor of law, and Permanent Representative of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

* Jun-ichi Nishizawa, electronic engineer, inventor and specially-appointed professor; * Sadako Ogata, former professor of political science, and former

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

; currently serving as President of the

Japan International Cooperation Agency The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...

Notable alumni

Politics

, 79th Prime Minister of Japan *

Toshitsugu Saito is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Fuji, Shizuoka and graduate of Sophia University, he attended Waseda University for graduate stud ...

, 65th and 66th Japanese Defence Minister * Koichiro Genba, former Japanese Foreign Minister *

Seiko Noda is a Japanese politician who served as Minister-in-charge of Measures against Declining Birthrate from October 2021 to August 2022. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, she previously served as Minister for Internal Affairs and Communicat ...

, former Minister-in-charge of Measures against Declining Birthrate *

, Japan's first Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs *

Takuya Hirai Takuya Hirai is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Takamatsu, Kagawa and graduate of Sophia University he was elected to the House ...

, former Minister for Digital Transformation * Carlos Holmes Trujilo, former Foreign Minister and Defence Minister of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

* Rizal Ramli, former Finance Minister of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

Yukari Sato is a Japanese economist and politician of the Liberal Democratic Party. Early life and education A native of Setagaya, Tokyo, Satō received a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Columbia University, a master's degree in internation ...

, economist and LDP Member of the House of Representatives * Shoichi Kondo, DPJ Member of the House of Representatives and former Senior Vice Minister for the Environment *

Li Linsi Li Linsi (; 1896 – 1970); birth name Li Jiaxiang (), was a modern Chinese educator, diplomat and scholar, who has been recognized as one of the key figures in modern Chinese cultural and diplomatic history. Hailed as China's Mahatma Gandhi, ...

, Chinese diplomat, educator, diplomatic consultant to

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

Mukhriz Mahathir Dato' Seri Utama Mukhriz bin Tun Dr. Mahathir ( Jawi: مخرج بن محاضر; born 25 November 1964) is a Malaysian politician who twice served as the 11th and 13th Menteri Besar of Kedah from May 2013 to February 2016 and again from May ...

, 11th Menteri Besar of Kedah,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

, 15th

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of ...

Academia

* Ruben Habito, associate professor at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , p ...

* Yuya Kiuchi, sport and pop culture scholar at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

* Fidel Nemenzo, mathematician, chancellor of

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

Junko Shigemitsu Junko Shigemitsu (born 1949) is a Japanese-American physicist known for her use of lattice gauge theory and lattice QCD to calculate predicted values for decay constants and other physical quantities. She is a professor emerita of physics at Ohio ...

, theoretical physicist, emerita professor at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pub ...

* Kyouichi Tachikawa, historian * Takayuki Tatsumi, American literature scholar at

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowment ...

Dominique Turpin Dominique V. Turpin (born 12 January 1957, in Tours), a marketing professor at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) with research interests in brand management, marketing strategy and communications. He spent his childhoo ...

, Dean & President of IMD, Switzerland *

Shōichi Watanabe was an English scholar and one of Japan’s cultural critics. He is known for ultranationalist historical negationism. He was born in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture. A graduate of Sophia University, where he obtained his Master’s degree, he co ...

, English scholar

Business

Hassan Jameel Hassan Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel"BRJ creates thousa ...

, President and Vice Chairman of

Abdul Latif Jameel Abdul Latif Jameel is a family-owned diversified business founded in Saudi Arabia in 1945 by the late Sheikh Abdul Latif Jameel (1909–1993). Operating across 7 core business sectors, Abdul Latif Jameel has a presence in over 30 countries across ...

* Johnny Kitagawa, founder and CEO of Johnny & Associates *

Shawn Layden Shawn Layden (born June 25, 1961) is an American businessman and was the Chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios. Previously, he served as the president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America (SIEA), executive vice president and COO of So ...

, President & CEO of

Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...

America *

Peer Schneider ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa di ...

, co-founder and SVP/Publisher at IGN Entertainment *Shuzo Shiota, CEO and president of Polygon Pictures

Media and literature

* Jake Adelstein, journalist, consultant, and author of ''

Tokyo Vice ''Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan'' is a 2009 memoir by Jake Adelstein of his years living in Tokyo as the first non-Japanese reporter working for one of Japan's largest newspapers, '' Yomiuri Shinbun''. It was publ ...

'' *

Beni Arashiro is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as simply Beni (stylized as BENI). She was initially best known fo ...

, singer *Yoshitaka Asama, screenwriter and film director * Vernon Grant, first American cartoonist to introduce

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

concepts to English-language readers * Boyé Lafayette De Mente, author on Japanese culture ('54) * Desiree Lim, Malaysian-born Canadian independent film director, producer, and screenwriter * Kōichi Mashimo, anime director, founder of studio

Bee Train , commonly referred to simply as Bee Train, is a Japanese animation studio founded by Kōichi Mashimo in 1997. Since their involvement with '' Noir'', '' .hack//Sign'', and ''Madlax'' (among other series) they have a strong following in the yuri ...

*Yuriko Nishiyama,

writer, including '' Harlem Beat'' * Maureen Wartski, author, including ''A Boat to Nowhere'' and ''Yuri's Brush with Magic'' * Robert Whiting, author on Japanese culture, including ''The Chrysanthemum and the Bat'' and ''You Gotta Have Wa'' about Japanese baseball * Yūki Yamato, Japanese screenwriter and director *

Tadatoshi Fujimaki is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of sports manga ''Kuroko's Basketball'' and golf-based '' Robot × LaserBeam'', both serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''. Biography Fujimaki attended Tokyo Metropolitan Toyama High Schoo ...

, Manga artist and creator of ''Kuroko's Basketball''

Others

* Agnes Chan, singer and ambassador of the Japan Committee for

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

Kurara Chibana is a Japanese humanitarian, actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Japan 2006 and competed at Miss Universe 2006 where she finished as the first runner-up. Miss Universe 2006 Chibana is known for her pa ...

, Miss Japan 2006 and first Runner-up at

Miss Universe 2006 Miss Universe 2006 was the 55th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States on July 23, 2006. At the end of the event, Natalie Glebova of Canada crowned Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico as Mi ...

* Tina Chow, model and jewellery designer * Bruce Frantzis, Taoist Master, USA *

Yū Hayami is a Japanese singer and tarento. In 2011, the Japanese music television program '' Music Station'' listed her as the 50th all-time best-selling idol in Japan, with 2,850,000 records sold. Childhood and education Hayami was born in Atami, ...

, actress, singer *

Sumire Uesaka is a Japanese voice actress and singer associated with Voice Kit. She won the Best Rookie Actress at the 10th Seiyu Awards. She made her singing debut in April 2013 under King Records. Life and career Uesaka became a regular on the web radio ...

, anime voice actress * Carrie Ann Inaba, American dancer, choreographer, actress, and singer *

Hisashi Inoue was a leading Japanese playwright and writer of comic fiction. From 1961 to 1986, he used the pen name of Uchiyama Hisashi. Early life Inoue was born in what is now part of Kawanishi in Yamagata Prefecture, where his father was a pharmacis ...

, author * Maiko Itai, Miss Universe Japan 2010 winner *

Crystal Kay is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actress and radio host. After releasing her first single, " Eternal Memories" (1999), Crystal Kay gained fame for her third studio album, '' Almost Seventeen'' (2002), which debuted at number 2 on the Japanese ...

, singer *

Stephen Kim Sou-hwan Stephen (often rendered as Latin Stephanus) Kim Sou-hwan (; May 8, 1922 – February 16, 2009) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the former archbishop of Seoul, South Korea. Having been an iconic figure in South Korea's bloody a ...

, Korean Roman Catholic cardinal and

Archbishop of Seoul The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Seoul ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Seulensis'', ko, 서울대교구) is a Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church comprising the metropolitan area of Seoul ...

* Peter Shirayanagi, Japanese Roman Catholic cardinal and

*Saori Kumi, author *

Alan Merrill Alan Merrill (born Allan Preston Sachs; February 19, 1951 – March 29, 2020) was an American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. In the early 1970s, he was one of the few resident foreigners to achieve pop star status in Japan. He was the write ...

, a 1960s Group Sounds pioneer '' gaijin tarento'' and later composer of the classic song " I Love Rock N Roll" *Osamu Mizutani, high school teacher, famous for his book "Yomawari Sensei" and his efforts to redress delinquents * Father Adolfo Nicolás, S.J.,

Superior General of the Society of Jesus The superior general of the Society of Jesus is the leader of the Society of Jesus, the Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position sometimes carries the nickname of the Black Po ...

* Hikaru Nishida, actress, Japanese

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

* Judy Ongg, singer/actor *

Zomahoun Idossou Rufin Zomahoun Idossou Rufin (born June 15, 1964), popularly known as Zomahon (ゾマホン), is a Beninese foreign personality (''gaijin tarento'' and diplomat) in Japan. He is currently the Ambassador of the Republic of Benin to Japan and the forme ...

, a '' gaijin tarento'', philanthropist and diplomat who has been Benin's Ambassador to Japan and the Philippines * Emyli, singer *

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...

, Japanese-American actor most famous for his role as ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

s Mr. Sulu *

Tadashi Yamamoto Tadashi Yamamoto CBE (March 11, 1936 – April 15, 2012) was one of Japan's leading internationalists and a pioneering proponent of efforts to strengthen nongovernmental ties between Japan and the United States as well as between Japan and ...

, Founder of the Japan Center for International Exchange and the

Shimoda Conference Shimoda Conference (previously Japanese-American Assembly) was a series of unofficial dialogues between representatives of the United States and Japan that first began in 1967 and continued every 2–4 years until 1994. In 2011, representatives from ...

* Michelle van Eimeren, Miss Universe Australia 1994

References

External links

Sophia University Homepage

Sophia University Old Homepage

Sophia University Faculty of Liberal Arts (FLA) Homepage (English only)Sophia University Faculty of Economics Homepage (Japanese and English)Sophia University Graduate School of Global Studies (Japanese and English)Sophia University Faculty/Graduate School of Science and Technology (Japanese and English)
{{Authority control 1913 establishments in Japan Christianity in Tokyo Educational institutions established in 1913 Jesuit universities and colleges Private universities and colleges in Japan Catholic universities and colleges in Japan Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia Universities and colleges in Tokyo

Origins of the university name

History of the university

Early history

History of the university after its establishment

Campuses

List of campuses

International cooperation

Sophia School Corporation

Academics

Undergraduate faculties and programmes

Academic programmes taught in English

= Courses taught in the Faculty of Liberal Arts

= English courses taught in the Faculty of Science and Technology

= Courses taught in the Sophia Program for Sustainable Futures

= Graduate schools and programmes

University academic research

Sophia University libraries

Affiliated library

Student life

Student housing and dormitories

Academic rankings

University rankings

Japanese university rankings

Global/regional university rankings

Alumni rankings

Popularity and selectivity

Overseas partner institutions

Notable faculty

Notable alumni

Politics

Academia

Business

Media and literature

Others

See also

References

External links