Okayama University was originally founded as the Medical Training Place (å»å¦é¤¨, Igakkan) in 1870 by Okayama-Han. After the abolition of the han system, it became the Okayama Prefectural Medical School (岡山çå»å¦æ ¡) in 1880. In 1888 it was merged into a national school, the Third Higher Middle School (第ä¸é«çä¸å¦æ ¡, Daisan kÅtÅ chÅ«gakkÅ)[3] to constitute the Medical Faculty. The Medical Faculty became an independent school in 1901 and was renamed Okayama Medical Speciality School (岡山å»å¦å°éå¦æ ¡, Okayama igaku semmon gakkÅ),[4] a four-year medical school for men ages 17â21 or above. In 1922, the school was chartered as Okayama Medical College (岡山å»ç§å¤§å¦, Okayama ika daigaku), a four-year medical college for men ages 19â23 or above.
In 1949, after World War II, the college was merged with other national and public colleges in Okayama Prefecture to establish Okayama University, under Japan's new education system. The predecessors of the university were:
Okayama Medical College, the Sixth Higher School (第å é«çå¦æ ¡, Dairoku kÅtÅ gakkÅ; established in 1900)
Okayama Normal School (岡山師ç¯å¦æ ¡, Okayama shihan gakkÅ; founded in 1874)
Okayama Youth's Normal School (岡山é年師ç¯å¦æ ¡, Okayama seinen shihan gakkÅ; founded in 1922)
Okayama (Prefectural) Agricultural College (岡山農æ¥å°éå¦æ ¡, Okayama nÅgyÅ semmon gakkÅ; established in 1946)
The new campus (Tsushima Campus) was the former camp of the Imperial Japanese Army (the 17th Division). After occupation army left the camp in 1947, the students of the Sixth Higher School (whose buildings were burnt in the war) guarded the camp, residing in the former military barracks. Later, the camp became their campus. The faculties of Okayama University, except the Medical School, were gradually relocated to Tsushima Campus.
The university at first had five faculties: Law and Letters, Education, Science, Agriculture and Medicine. The latter history of the university is as follows:
Later reorganized into the Institute for Agricultural and Biological Sciences (in 1953) and then the Research Institute for Bioresources (in 1988).
1960: the Faculty of Engineering was established.
1967: Professor Jun Kobayashi (analytic chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture) announced the cause of Itai-itai disease as cadmium poisoning. Itai-itai disease (meaning "ouch ouch" disease in Japanese), was a severe pain disease affecting Toyama Prefecture as a result of mining over the course of 1,500 years.
1976: the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences was established.
1979: the Dental School was established (in Shikata Campus).
1980: the Faculty of Law and Letters was divided into three faculties: Letters, Law and Economics.
1994: the Faculty of Environmental Science and Technology was established.
Okayama University badgeOkayama University Communication Symbol
Academics
Faculty of Letters
Faculty of Education
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Economics
Faculty of Science
Medical School
Dental School
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Faculty of Engineering
Faculty of Environmental Science and Technology
Faculty of Agriculture
Matching Program Course
Discovery Program for Global Learners (English-medium program)
Graduate schools
Graduate School of Education (Master's courses/Professional Degree Course)
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences (Master's/Doctoral)
Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology (Master's/Doctoral)
Entrance Gate of the Okayama University of ScienceGraduate School of Health Sciences (Master's/Doctoral)
Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science (Master's/Doctoral)
Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences (Master's/Doctoral)
