Kobe College

Kobe College
神戸女学院大学
Motto	Love thy God, love thy neighbor
Established	Founded 1873, Chartered 1948
Type	Private
President	Sonoko Harada
Academic staff	84 full-time, 321 part-time
Undergraduates	2,635
Postgraduates	96
Location	Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan
Campus	Suburban, 35 acres (0.1 km²)
Endowment	US$-- (JP¥--])
Mascot	None
Website	www.kobe-c.ac.jp

Kobe College (神戸女学院大学, Kobe jogakuin daigaku), abbreviated to KC, is a private non-sectarian liberal arts college located in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan. Chartered in 1948, it is the first women's college with university status in West Japan.

Campus

Kobe College was built by William Merrell Vories, who was born in 1880 in Kansas. He was a Christian missionary, who came to Japan to proselytize and sell Mentholatum. He constructed many of the modern university buildings used by Kobe college, as well as many other famous buildings including Daimaru at Shinsaibashi, Osaka and Kwansei Gakuin University.

Location

Kobe College was originally located on Yamamoto Street in Kobe, Japan. But it is now located in Okadayama City, Nishinomiya on the Hankyu Train Line. When Kobe College moved to the present Okadayama campus in 1933, Dr. William Merrell Vories, the leader of the Omi Mission and renowned architect, designed the original buildings in accordance with a key principle

an architect's happiness lies in building beautiful buildings and bringing happiness to their users.

The architectural design of Kobe College campus reflects this belief.

The southern Mediterranean style buildings with ivory colored walls and bronze-colored tile roofs were reputed to be the most magnificent in the country. Moreover, the main, original buildings managed to withstand the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995 with far less damage than many recently built structures.

Kobe College is located in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture. Take a 15 minute-Hankyu train ride from both Osaka and Sannomiya (Kobe) to Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station. Transfer at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi to a train bound for Takarazuka and get off at Mondo-Yakujin, the first stop. From Mondo-Yakujin Station, Kobe College is approximately ten minutes on foot.

Characteristics

Roofs: Kobe College’s roofs are unique in color and shape. Therefore, it was very difficult to repair the roof tiles after the Great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe.

Floors: Similarly, unlike most Japanese universities, the floors are of many of the buildings are made of cut marble. This is because the architect believed the marble floors would absorb heat better in the summertime. Further, the edges of the floors have a curved shape to them. This design was used because Vories believed curved floors were easier to clean.

History

Since its foundation in 1875, Kobe College continues to provide a well-balanced education for women based on Christian principles. This is expressed in the school badge and color designed in 1885 by E.M. Brown, the third college president. The motif of the school badge is the honewort which expresses harmony of "body," "spirit," and "soul." The school color is dark blue which expresses "peace" and "truth."

History of Kobe College's name

1873: Eliza Talcott and Julia Dudley, two American missionaries, opened a private school at Hanaakuma-mura, Kobe.

1875: The two missionaries founded "Jogakkou" (English name is "Kobe Girls' School"),the so-called "Kobe Home", a boarding school for young women at Yamamoto Dori (Street),Kobe.

     Ms.Talcott was first president, Ms.Dudley was boarding masterhousemaster. Number of students was 26 people (3 boarders, 23 commuter)at that time.
     This school is the beginning of today's Kobe College now. The first president was Eiza Talcott.

1879: Kobe Home was renamed Kobe Girls' School; the following year it was organized along a five-year (high school) curriculum, unique at that time. 　　　The school changed its name to "Eiwa-jogakkou."

1885: A one-year college division was established.

1891: A three-year curriculum in the college division initiated full-scale, higher education for women.

1894: Kobe Girls' School was renamed Kobe College.

1906: A Department of Music was founded.

1909: A four-year higher education division was founded.

1919: The higher education division was granted a permit to use the term "daigaku" (university) in its Japanese name.

Kobe College Library

1933: A library main building was designed by William Merrell Vories.

1972: Historical materials room started.

1984: A new library building is ground the fourth floor / building of basement the second floor.

1998: The seeing and hearing center (AV library) was built.

2005: An alumnae library was established. It gathers books by alumnae. Pictures are exhibited, too.

Kobe College graduate school

1965: A graduate course was established with two specialties: English literature and sociology.

1989:　English literature specialty was installed.

2002:　A course was established in comparison culturology specialty in last part of doctor.

Students

There are 2,624 students in Kobe College and 624 of them are freshmen. Kobe College has five departments: English, general culture, music, psychology, and Biosphere Sciences. Students, especially those who belong to general culture department, can learn a wide range of subjects in the first two years to find their interests and decide what to study in the next two years. At Kobe College, students can study in small classes; they can focus on their study and the relationship between students and teachers can be much closer.

Most of the students are from the Kansai area; however, there are some students who are from western Japan or other parts of Japan. Many of the student who aren't from Kansai stay in apartments along the Hankyu Line. Kobe College provides a dormitory for the students, therefore they can stay there for less pay compared with an apartment.

Kobe College has accepted international students: Over 10 international students are studying at the college this year. Some of them are accepted as an exchange students from universities in Australia and the United States. Some students from Kobe College are sent over to these universities every year.

Students are required to get 124 credits over four years to complete the course. While they focus on studying, they enjoy other activities outside of school: for example, a part-time job, sports, lessons and group activities.

The rate of employment at popular companies is the highest among women’s colleges in Kansai. The rate of employment in 2006 was 98.1%. Psychology students had 100% employment.

External links

• www.kobe-c.ac.jp