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 Doshisha University stands as
a living testament to the courage of the human spirit-- the
desire to seek and share the finest knowledge available. The
story of Doshisha University is inextricably bound up in the
story of Joseph Hardy Neesima, a young samurai, who at the age
of 21 stowed away on a ship bound for America to realize his
dream of a Western education. In 1864, it was illegal for
Japanese citizens to travel abroad, and if he were caught,
Neesima would have had to pay for his dream with his
life.
Neesima became the first Japanese citizen to
obtain an academic degree overseas-- attending Phillips
Academy and Amherst College. He returned to Japan convinced of
the necessity of establishing an institution of higher
learning that was based on the Western ideals and Christian
moral teachings. Thus, in 1875 he founded Doshisha Eigakko
(Doshisha Academy).
Today, Neesima's legacy lives on in the many
ways. Doshisha University promotes international understanding
and interaction through scholarship and exchange study
programs.
 As one of Japan's most highly
esteemed educational institutions, Doshisha offers students a
wide-ranging liberal arts education as well as studies in
business and science. Doshisha has respected facilities in
Theology, Letters, Social Studies, Law, Economics, Commerce,
Policy Studies, Culture and Information Science and
Engineering.
Located in the heart of Kyoto, Doshisha
University occupies three separate campuses and is home to
over 24,000 students engaged in both undergraduate and
graduate study. The original campus is located directly across
from the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, and is renowned for its
many buildings of both historic and architectural
significance. Students at the Kyotanabe campus enjoy an
educational setting that is rare in densely populated urban
Japan-- a spacious campus rich in natural beauty that offers a
tranquil environment especially constructive to
learning.
In keeping with the school's international
origins, Doshisha University has a long tradition of
cross-cultural learning. From 1951 through 1987 Doshisha
University was a co-sponsor of the Kyoto American Studies
Seminar. And in 1972 Doshisha University initiated the
Associated Kyoto Program (AKP). Every September, this program
brings over 40 students to Kyoto for a junior year abroad from
15 liberal arts colleges across the United States, including
Amherst, Bates, Bucknell, Carleton, Colby, Connecticut,
Middlebury, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, Pomona, Smith, Wellesley,
Wesleyan, Whitman and Williams.
 AKP students work under the
guidance of a directing professor, and have an opportunity to
pursue their Japanese studies not only through intensive
academic involvement on campus, but in the daily human
connections made with their Japanese host families in the
home-stay program.
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This highly successful program has encouraged
further contacts with foreign universities, most notably in
1993 when the University of Tübingen in Germany founded its
Japanese Language Center on campus. This center is, in
essence, a German counterpart to the AKP program, with about
twenty students participating each semester. There are also
students from major universities across Asia. In fact, in
2005, approximately 390 international students are attending
Doshisha University.
Doshisha University has recently established its
own program for international students. The Center for
Japanese Language opened in the spring of 1999. Operating on
the semester system, the period of the program is one year
long and its maximum enrollment is 90 students. This program
is intended for non-Japanese students who are planning to
study at Doshisha University or other universities in Japan as
well as for students from foreign universities with which we
have exchange agreements. The Center offers intensive Japanese
language courses (20 hours per week) and unique content
courses.
Just as Doshisha University welcomes
international students and scholars, Doshisha's Japanese
students as well as professors from each of the Faculties are
encouraged to take every opportunity to study
overseas.
In all these ways, Doshisha University continues
to work to fulfill our founder's dream of providing a truly
international education within the context of Christian
principles. Even now, in the new millennium, the vision of
Joseph Hardy Neesima, and its realization, remains an
inspiration to all our students. |
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