Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
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| Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) | |
|---|---|
| 立命館アジア太平洋大学 (Ritsumeikan Ajia Taiheiyō Daigaku) |
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| Motto | Freedom, Peace, and Humanism, International Mutual Understanding and the Creation of the Future of the Asia Pacific |
| Established | April 2000 |
| Type | Private Educational Institute |
| President | KORENAGA Shun (2010-) |
| Students | approximately 5,700 (November, 2011) |
| Location | Beppu, Oita, Japan |
| Website | http://www.apu.ac.jp/ |
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (立命館アジア太平洋大学 Ritsumeikan Ajia Taiheiyō Daigaku), or APU, is a private institution inaugurated April 2000 in Beppu, Ōita, Japan. APU was made possible through the collaboration of three parties from the public and private sectors: Ōita Prefecture, Beppu City and the Ritsumeikan Academy.
As of 1 November 2011, the university has an enrollment of 5,722, including 3,168 domestic, and 2,554 international students originating from 78 countries and regions.[1] Approximately half of the faculty members come from overseas.
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[edit] Location
APU is located at Jumonjibaru in the City of Beppu, Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu. Beppu is geographically closer to Busan (Korea) than Tokyo (Japan).
[edit] Background
Ritsumeikan Asian Pacific University is a member of the greater Ritsumeikan Academy which includes APU, Ritsumeikan University and a number of primary, junior and senior high schools throughout Japan. The Ritsumeikan Charter states that, “Ritsumeikan traces its roots to Prince Saionji's private academy of the same name, established in 1869. It was officially founded in 1900 by his protégé, Kojuro Nakagawa, as the Kyoto Hosei Gakko (Kyoto School of Law and Politics), later to take on the name "Ritsumeikan". The name is derived from a passage in the Jinxin chapter of the Discourses of Mencius, and means "a place to establish one's destiny through cultivating one's mind." Ritsumeikan's founding ideals are "freedom and innovation" and reflecting upon its wartime experience, it committed itself to a core educational philosophy of "peace and democracy" after World War II.[2]
In the early 1990s the concept of creating an international university in the City of Beppu was first raised by the Governor of Ōita Prefecture, Mr Morihiko Hiramatsu with the then Chancellor of the Ritsumeikan Trust in Kyoto, Mr Kawamoto. The university opened at Jumonjibaru, above Beppu City in April 2000.
[edit] University Features
Today the university has an enrollment of around 5,700 students, down from the 2009 figure of 6,162. While half of the students are domestic Japanese, about 45% are international students from 78 countries and regions around the world. This 50-50 balance is a feature unique to APU amongst Japanese universities and APU is second only to Waseda University in terms its number of international students.[3]
APU offers dual language education in English and Japanese in the two undergraduate colleges. The graduate programs are conducted exclusively in English. The current undergraduate programs are conducted in the College of International Management and College of Asia Pacific Studies. Further, specialized post-graduate programs are conducted in the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies and Graduate School of Management. Students are accepted for enrollment and graduate twice a year, once in spring and fall respectively.
APU offers undergraduate studies in subjects including liberal arts, language subjects, and Japanese traditional arts. It also offers Special Lecture subjects, which are added to and may change every semester. Students select their own classes, and are not restricted to classes in their majors. [4] There are two four-month semesters in one academic year. One semester is divided into two quarters lasting for seven weeks. Most of the classes in APU are carried out on a quarter system. [5]
APU has culture weeks of different country, which can help students to learn more about foreign cultures.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Data found at Japan Student Services Organization site [1]
- Crossroads, 2009 University Handbook
- Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University homepage [2]
- Student handbook 2011 undergraduate academic edition [3]
- ^ APU Student Enrollment
- ^ http://www.apu.ac.jp/home/modules/keytopics/index.php?id=282.
- ^ http://www.jasso.go.jp/statistics/intl_student/ref09_02_e.html
- ^ Student Handbook 2011
- ^ Student Handbook 2011
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 33°20′13.97″N 131°28′06.28″E / 33.3372139°N 131.4684111°E
