Gakushūin University (学習院大学, Gakushūin Daigaku) is a private university in Mejiro, Toshima, Tokyo.
The Gakushūin ('Peers' School') was established during the Meiji period to educate the children of the Japanese nobility, but at that time the institution had only primary and secondary education departments. The university was established after World War II as tertiary component of the reorganised and privatised Gakushūin School Corporation.
The university is still noted for its royal connections, with most of the members of the present Imperial Family among its alumni.
Contents
Faculties
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Economics
Faculty of International Social Sciences
Faculty of Letters
Faculty of Science
Graduate School of Law
Graduate School of Political Science
Graduate School of Economics
Graduate School of Business Administration
Graduate School of Humanities
Graduate School of Science and Technology
Law School
The university provides a range of Japanese-language classes for foreign students. Although designed for Japanese students, approximately 60 classes are held in English, mainly in the Faculty of International Social Sciences. Each year the university admits approximately 80 foreign students (including short-term exchange students) of high academic and social standing to study in each faculty and graduate school.
Academic rankings
General rankings
The university was ranked 72nd in 2010 (63rd in 2009, 78th in 2008) in the Truly Strong Universities ranking issued by Toyo Keizai.
QS World University Rankings ranked Gakushuin University as 161st in Asia in 2010.
Research performance
Japanese national universities generally have higher standards of research than private universities. However, Gakushuin is one of the few private universities which competes with the top national universities. According to Quacquarelli Symonds, Gakushuin is the 6th-best research university in Japan and the 9th-best in Asia in terms of citations per paper.
Gakushuin is the highest-ranked Japanese university in the Nature Index measurement of research output quality.
Graduate school rankings
Gakushuin Law School was 24th in 2009 and 25th in 2010 in Japan on the basis of the number of its successful candidates for bar examination.
Alumni rankings
According to Yomiuri Weekly's 2008 rankings, alumni of Gakushuin have the 3rd best graduate prospectives among Japanese universities. Gakushuin was top in the rankings of the Finance and Tourism industries.
École des Mines de Paris ranked Gakushuin University as 92nd in the world in 2010 in terms of the number of alumni listed among CEOs in the 500 largest worldwide companies.
Popularity and selectivity
Gakushuin had 7.58 applicants per place (13,765/1,815) in the 2011 undergraduate admissions. Its entrance exams are also selective.
Notable alumni
Imperial House of Japan
Emperor Akihito - 125th Emperor of Japan
Emperor Naruhito - 126th Emperor of Japan, eldest son and heir of Emperor Akihito
Fumihito, Prince Akishino - younger son of Emperor Akihito
Kiko, Princess Akishino - wife of the Prince Akishino
Sayako, Princess Nori - daughter of Emperor Akihito
Masahito, Prince Hitachi - brother of Emperor Akihito
Atsuko, Princess Yori - sister of Emperor Akihito
Prince Tomohito of Mikasa - son of the Prince Mikasa
Princess Akiko of Mikasa - daughter of Prince Tomohito
Princess Yōko of Mikasa - daughter of Prince Tomohito
Yoshihito, Prince Katsura - son of the Prince Mikasa
Norihito, Prince Takamado - son of the Prince Mikasa
Princess Noriko of Takamado - daughter of the Prince Takamado
Princess Yasuko of Mikasa - daughter of the Prince Mikasa
Princess Masako of Mikasa - daughter of the Prince Mikasa
Aiko, Princess Toshi - daughter of Emperor Naruhito
House of Yi
Politics
Tarō Asō, former Prime Minister of Japan and current Vice President of LDP
Michihiko Kano, former Minister of Agriculture
Yoshinobu Shimamura, former Minister and Diet Representative
Hisaoki Kamei, Diet Representative
Akiko Kamei, Diet Representative
Keiko Nagaoka, Diet Representative
Yasuko Ikenobo, former Diet Representative
Arts and entertainment
Hayao Miyazaki, director, animator, and mangaka
Yoko Ono, singer and songwriter
Yukio Ozaki, Japanese-born American ceramicist
Yukio Mishima, novelist
Shiono Nanami, novelist
Marina Inoue, voice actress
Tetsuya Kakihara, voice actor
Hiroyuki Namba, musician
Akiko Kobayashi, singer
Akira Yoshimura, author
Yoshiki Tanaka, author
Yoshihiko Funazaki, author
Kuniko Asagi, TV presenter
Mona Yamamoto, TV announcer
Satomi Ton, author
Toshiyuki Hosokawa, actor
Kiyoshi Kodama, TV personality
Yūka Sugai, singer, former member of Sakurazaka46
Others
Ryosuke Mizumachi, basketball player
Yoshiki Kuroda, urban designer
Tokugawa Tsunenari, head of Tokugawa clan
Yuki Kawauchi, runner