The Faculty of International Studies
The University of International Studies
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Established in 1990, Toyama University of International Studies (Toyama Kokusai Daigaku) is a relatively small private university with a student body of about 1000.There are two main faculties: the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, which will start afresh as the Faculty of International Studies (kokusai kyouyou Gakubu) in 2004, and the Faculty of Regional Science (Chiiki Gakubu). There is a total of 64 full-time faculty members between the two faculties as well as 69 part-time lecturers. |
| The majority of students come from within Toyama Prefecture, while our International Students mostly come from China and Russia, though there have also been students from Korea, the United States, and Bangla Desh. In addition, many of the university's Japanese students have been abroad through participation in our Semester Abroad programs at Portland State University in the United States and Lewes College in England, as well as in our short summer programs at Southern Oregon University (U.S.), LaTrobe University (Australia), Irkutsk University (Russia), and Beijing XXXXX (China). |
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| As you
can see from the map to the right, Toyama is located on the Sea of
Japan coast of Honshu island. Although it is essentially equidistant
from Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo, in terms of ground travel time it is
closest to Osaka, which is a 3 hour 15 minute express train trip
(Tokyo is approximately 3 hours 45 minutes away by a combination of
express and bullet trains; Nagoya is approximately 4 and a half hours
by express train). Toyama is served by Toyama International Airport which provides direct air service to Tokyo Haneda Airport as well as other locations within Japan. There are also three international routes: Dalian (China), Seoul, and Vladivostok. |
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As you might be able to discern from the satellite photo, Toyama University of International Studies is located in the foothills of the Tateyama Mountains providing it with a pleasant envionment and beautiful setting. The university can be easily reached by direct bus service from Toyama Station, taking about forty minutes for the complete trip, and also has ample parking for those wishing to drive to the campus. Also, as this area has little in the way of traffic, it is a bicycle friendly area, though many students prefer to park their bikes at the community center at the bottom of the hill and then walk up the final leg. |
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The Faculty of International Studies has started in April 2004 to meet the demands of these times in which the pace of globalization is increasing, even at the community level, and solutions to overcoming cultural, political, religious, and economic disparities between countries as well as between people are sought.
Our goal is to develop a truly international perspective in our students by providing them with practical language and computer management abilities so as to meet these social needs. At the same time we seek to produce competent communicators who are not only able to fully express themselves but also to better understand others at both cultural and linguistic level.
Our interdisciplinary curriculum has four practical courses to meet these objectives: English Communication, Chinese Communication, International Exchange, and Human Understanding. We are striving to develop a new type of research and education environment which will contribute to producing leaders who are capable of actively participating in 21st century society. |