A private institution located in Japan’s second largest urban centre, a historic economic hub once known as the "Manchester of the Orient", Osaka Jogakuin University is one of the 13 Japanese members of the Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia.
While a new university, having been founded in 2004, it can trace its origins to a girls’ school founded in 1884. Over time this was joined by a junior high school in 1947 and a junior college, focused on English-language provision, in 1968.
It shares its Tamgo campus with the school and junior college and remains a small institution, with just over 650 students, plus a further 250 in the junior college, in 2018 – aimed at producing "Women with rich and free communication skills operating across borders, who actively contribute to society".
Courses are based on "Three Pillars" – Christian Education, Human Rights and English. The four-year degree in English and international studies includes modules on communication, international collaboration and business while students on the Women’s Global Leadership programme have a full year of study abroad. A common programme in "Self-Awareness" draws on insights from philosophy, education, psychology and sociology, while all students take English and a second language.
In its early days the university benefitted from government funding for English-language teaching, and it rapidly developed a reputation for technological innovation in teaching. In 2004 it pioneered the use of iPods, using them to provide every student with faculty-developed English language materials, and in 2012 became the first Japanese university to issue students with iPads.
