Sophia University

Sophia University, (Japanese: 上智大学, Jōchi Daigaku; Latin: Universitas Sedis Sapientiae) is a private research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1913, Sophia is one of the three Sōkeijōchi (早慶上智) universities, a prestigious grouping which consists of the top three private universities in Japan alongside Keio University and Waseda University. Founded by the Jesuits, the university is affiliated with the Catholic Church. As of 2023, the University has 12,080 undergraduate students and 1,357 postgraduate students. The university has 9 undergraduate faculties and 10 graduate schools, with over 13,900 students in total. Sophia University has consistently ranked as the top Catholic university in Asia. Sophia University is a highly globalised university with international students from 77 countries and exchange agreements with 400 universities in 81 countries. The university attracts many students from across Japan and abroad. As of 2022, foreign students constituted approximately 9% of the student body. Sophia's alumni are commonly referred to as "Sophians", among whom include the 79th Prime Minister of Japan, Morihiro Hosokawa, several politicians represented in the Japanese National Diet, several foreign statesmen including, Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Mukhriz Mahathir, Li Linsi, many prominent business figures, including Hassan Jameel, and a number of actors and musicians in the Japanese film and music 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 one of the Church's devotional titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Seat of Wisdom.