Kyushu University

Founded in 1911, Kyushu University is a leading research-oriented institute of higher education in Fukuoka, which is historically renowned as Japan’s gateway to Asia for profound cultural and economic interactions due to its geographical proximity to continental Asia. 

The University celebrated its first centennial anniversary in 2011 and is taking bold steps forward into its second century. With an enrollment of nearly 20,000 students and the number of faculty at almost 2,000, it is comprised of 12 undergraduate schools, 18 graduate school, 17 faculties, 5 research institutes, and a hospital, as well as over 50 affiliated research centers. With a brand-new mega-campus, Kyushu University is determined to become a world-class hub for excellence in research and education. In line with our persistent efforts to provide a platform to create dialogue and collaboration, multiple activities will be conducted in the coming year and beyond.

In the QS World University Rankings 2024, Kyushu University is ranked 164th, holding a position around the top 10% of 1,498 higher education institutions from more than 100 countries and domestically placed 6th.

For additional information about Kyushu University, visit our website (https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/).

The university is located in Fukuoka, one of the most desirable cities to live in Japan. 

If you would like to know additional information about Fukuoka, please check these websites below.

・Japan National Tourism website https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kyushu/fukuoka/

・Fukuoka Facts http://facts.city.fukuoka.lg.jp/en/data/favorite-place/index.php

Vision

Kyushu University Vision 2030 outlines our path to transform Kyushu University into a “university that drives social change with integrative knowledge.” Developed in parallel with our application to become a Designated National University Corporation, this ten-year vision was crafted based on numerous discussions across the university, including many with the young faculty members who will lead us into the future.

Universities are selected as Designated National University Corporations by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) with the expectation that they will boost their research and education capabilities to compete at the highest level in the world, and Kyushu University received this designation in November 2021.

Since its onset, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted our lives and restricted our everyday activities, and its tremendous economic and social costs have yet to be fully grasped. Kyushu University must contribute to the restructuring of society to be more sustainable in this new era with and beyond COVID-19. We will draw upon our substantial research achievements and knowledge accumulated over our history to play a leading role in providing solutions to difficult problems posed by this rapidly changing landscape, rise to the next level, and become a true driving force toward the development of a sustainable society that prioritizes people’s well-being.

Kyushu University’s vision of itself in 2030 is one of a university that attracts excellent researchers, accelerates research and innovation that lead to new value creation, and uses integrative knowledge that fuses the entire spectrum of knowledge—from the natural sciences to the humanities and social sciences and even design—to solve social problems and forge new social and economic systems. In short, a university that drives social change with integrative knowledge.

To accomplish this, Kyushu University must become a hub for global talent circulation and establish itself as a world-class knowledge platform that attracts superb talent and citizens' interests and creates new value through integrative knowledge. We will build this platform on curiosity-driven basic research, the cutting-edge research that these endeavors in turn spur, and education that cultivates inquisitive minds in students so that they can create the future.

Furthermore, we will make Kyushu University into the core of an innovation ecosystem capable of self-sustained growth by extending this wave of integrative-knowledge-driven reform in social and economic systems from Fukuoka outward to Asia and the world, reinvesting these achievements to further expand and develop the university’s research and education resources.

In conclusion, we are committed to Kyushu University Vision 2030 to further build upon the knowledge accumulated through our history and transform into an institute of higher education that offers and advances world-class research and education that appeal to students and researchers everywhere.