Dokkyo University

Dokkyo University (獨協大学) is a private university in Sōka, Saitama, Japan, which is a liberal, co-educational institution noted for its language education programs and international exchanges. The university was founded in 1964, its roots can be traced back as early as 1881. Undergraduate admissions are selective, with an admission rate ranging from 30–40%.

History
The name "Dokkyo" is the Japanese-style dual kanji-based abbreviation of Verein für deutsche Wissenschaften, or German Studies Society (獨逸學協會). What was to become today's Dokkyo University was founded on 18 September 1881 by various people, among them scholars Nishi Amane and Katō Hiroyuki, diplomats Inoue Kaoru and Aoki Shūzō and statesmen Shinagawa Yajirō and Katsura Tarō as Verein für deutsche Wissenschaften, or German Studies Society (獨逸學協會) The first chancellor was Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa.

It developed into Schule des Vereins für deutsche Wissenschaften, or German Studies Society School (獨逸學協會學校) in 1883, which opened its doors exclusively to boys in line with the custom at the time. They also founded a highly prestigious law school to study Japan's first constitution The Constitution of the Great Empire of Japan, modeled after the Prussian one with criminal codes also modeled after the German ones, but the elite law division was absorbed by the Imperial University of Tokyo Faculty of Law in 1895.

The school went through a minor negative campaign due to World War I, when Japan sided with the British Empire against the German Empire from August 1914 to November 1918, but the majority of the Japanese public was either pro-German or neutral despite Japan's position in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. The 1920s saw its heyday when the school sent the highest number of boys into the nation's top Daiichi Kōtō Gakkō (第一高等学校) ("High School No.1") in Tokyo, popularly known as "Ichikō", which is today's Liberal Arts campus of the University of Tokyo. The collapse of the two great empires of Germany and Japan in 1945, however, rendered the elite school into a mere boys' high school of middle rank.

During the early 1960s Dokkyo School's graduate and former Education Minister Amano Teiyū (天野貞祐) was invited to found the University with money from the school and local governments. They started their first lectures on a higher education level in April 1964.

Facilities
The university is located in Sōka, Saitama, around 30 minutes from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. The facilities are arranged on a campus-styled property and include the Central, East and West buildings, a Student Center, Library and Research Center, a University Sports Ground and various gardens and additional buildings.

The campus is situated next to the Denu river and can be accessed via the East, West, South or Ground Gate.

The Teiyu Amano Memorial Stadium, home of the university's baseball team, is located off-campus in Koshigaya.



Schools

 * Dokkyo Medical University

Undergraduate

 * Faculty of Foreign languages
 * Department of German
 * Department of English
 * Department of French
 * Faculty of International Liberal Arts
 * Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
 * Faculty of Economics
 * Department of Economics
 * Department of Management science
 * Faculty of Law
 * Department of Law
 * Department of International Legal Studies
 * Department of Policy studies (since 2008)

Postgraduate

 * Graduate schools
 * Graduate School of Law
 * Graduate School of Foreign Languages
 * Graduate School of Economics
 * Dokkyo Law School

International exchanges
The university has an International Center, an overseas study program and various exchange agreements with universities worldwide. It also offers a Japanese Language and Culture Program for exchange students.

Exchange agreements
The university maintains student and academic exchange programs with various national and international universities.



Rankings
In 2018 Dokkyo University was ranked among the top 100 universities in Japan (86th) by Times Higher Education (THE).

Athletics
Dokkyo offers a variety of athletic programs. The university's baseball team has been competing in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area University Baseball League since 1967.

Alumni
Notable alumni from Dokkyo university include:


 * Jun Enomoto, Japanese football player
 * Hiroki Kamemoto, Japanese musician
 * Rie Furuse, Japanese singer
 * Katsuko Nishimoto, Japanese politician
 * Atsuko Okamoto, Japanese actress
 * Koichiro Okuma, Japanese martial artist
 * Tomorowo Taguchi, Japanese actor
 * Sōichirō Takashima, Japanese politician
 * Toru Toida, Japanese politician
 * Yumi Yoshiyuki, Japanese film director