Setsunan University

Setsunan is a private university in Osaka, Japan. The university plays host to 8,200 students and employs 312 academic staff.

Studies take place at Setsunan’s two campuses in the cities of Hirakata and, further down the banks of the Yodo river, Neyagawa. Both are located in the north-east of Osaka prefecture and are about 20 minutes apart from one another by car.

Hirakata, which has a population of over 400,000, is best known for Hirakata Park, an amusement park with dozens of rides set among a hilly landscape. Neyagawa is a smaller city, with around 240,000 residents and is largely a suburb of central Osaka.

The university has 13 departments across its seven faculties: science and engineering, foreign studies, business administration, pharmaceutical sciences, law, economics and nursing. Students looking for activities outside their studies can try out one of the 37 sports clubs or 25 other extracurricular groups that are active at the university.

Setsunan has exchange programmes with 26 universities worldwide, including Soas, University of London in the UK and the University of Washington in the United States. There is a satellite office of the university in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, where prospective students can enquire about Setsunan’s courses.

The university has four research institutes, three of which are dedicated to the local area. These include the Regional Medical Research Center, which contributes to medical care in the region, and the Yodo River Research Center.

The university also has a Centre for Educational Innovation, which performs quality assurance on its courses and helps develop the programmes of study on offer. This includes, for example, the training of teaching assistants and running educational workshops for staff members.