Address: 1-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, 565-0871 Osaka, Osaka, Japan
Physics & Chemistry, Engineering (Mechanical; Electrical; Materials), Life Sciences
Osaka University, founded in 1931 as one of the Imperial Universities (with roots to 1838), is a leading comprehensive research university in Japan, with strong programs in science, engineering, medicine, and humanities.
Osaka University, or Handai, is a national university with roots reaching back to 1838. That year the physician Ogata Koan opened Tekijuku, a school of Dutch learning in Osaka, and an Osaka medical school was founded in 1869. It became the sixth Imperial University in 1931. Today it has about 23,000 students and 6,500 staff, and around one student in ten comes from abroad. The main campuses are at Suita, Toyonaka and Minoh, north of the city, and the university absorbed Osaka University of Foreign Studies in 2007.
Tekijuku trained many leaders of the Meiji era, among them Fukuzawa Yukichi, the founder of Keio. The university has kept this tradition of Western learning and medical science. Hideki Yukawa predicted the meson while a lecturer at Osaka in the 1930s, work that led to his Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949. The manga artist Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy, trained as a doctor at the university before becoming a cartoonist.
Osaka is well known for immunology. The Immunology Frontier Research Center, IFReC, brings together biologists and imaging experts to study immune cells, and researchers have made major advances in the understanding of regulatory T cells. The university is also known for robotics, where Hiroshi Ishiguro has built humanoid androids, and for nanoscience, laser engineering and materials science. Its hospital and the school of medicine have a long reputation in clinical research.
Admission relies on a national common test and the university’s own examination. National universities charge standard tuition set by the government, roughly in the range of five to six hundred thousand yen a year, plus an entrance fee. Check the current tariff. Osaka offers a growing number of programmes in English, and the Japanese government scholarship supports international students.
Osaka is a lively city known for its food, and living costs are lower than in Tokyo. The Suita campus is reached by monorail and subway from the centre.
Domains taught:
Aerospace, AI and Machine Learning, Astroscience, Automation, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Ecology and Sustainability, Electrical and Electronics, Engineering, Fluid Dynamics, Food Science, Industrial Design, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Marine Science, Materials, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Microbiology and Genetics, Nanotechnologies, Optics, Physics, Process Control, Robotics, Signal Processing, Software Engineering, Statistics, Structural Engineering, Telecommunications, Thermodynamics, Transportations
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Member of RU11, AEARU, APRU. Strong industry collaborations in the Kansai region (electronics, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing).
Osaka Metropolitan University is the closest domestic counterpart for astroscience, marine science and aerospace; it covers agriculture and quality as well, and is slightly smaller, at about 16,000 students against roughly 23,000 here.
UTokyo works in much the same fields, chiefly astroscience, marine science and aerospace, and it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and covers geotechnics as well.
On content, Tokyo Tech and this institution are close, as both teach astroscience, aerospace and bioinformatics; it is smaller, enrolling about 10,000 students against roughly 23,000 here, and is also a public institution.
Kyodai shares the core fields of this institution, namely astroscience, aerospace and food science; it is also a public institution, and runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes.
Tokyo University of Science shares the core fields of this institution, namely astroscience, aerospace and food science; it covers geotechnics and project management as well, and is slightly smaller, at about 20,000 students against roughly 23,000 here.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg in Germany is the nearest foreign match on astroscience, aerospace and food science; it is also a public institution, and teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral.
Seen from abroad, Warsaw University of Technology (Poland) is a close relative on subject matter, since aerospace, transportations and bioinformatics are central to both, and it covers metrology and quality as well, and is slightly larger, at about 32,000 students against roughly 23,000 here.
Abroad, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen (Germany) covers astroscience, aerospace and food science in a comparable way, and it is slightly larger, at about 26,000 students against roughly 23,000 here, and is also a public institution.
Università di Pisa brings a Italy setting to the same core fields, astroscience, marine science and aerospace, and it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral, and covers geotechnics and project management as well.
Students considering a move abroad can look at Universität Basel in Switzerland, where astroscience, bioinformatics and nanotechnologies also form the core, and it is also a public institution, and teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Where is Osaka University?
The main campuses are at Suita, Toyonaka and Minoh, north of Osaka, Japan.
How old is it?
Its roots go back to the Tekijuku school of 1838. It became an Imperial University in 1931.
How large is it?
About 23,000 students and 6,500 staff.
What was Tekijuku?
A school of Dutch learning opened by the physician Ogata Koan in Osaka in 1838.
Which Nobel laureate is linked to it?
Hideki Yukawa predicted the meson while a lecturer at Osaka.
Which cartoonist studied there?
Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy, trained as a doctor at the university.
What is it known for?
Immunology, robotics, nanoscience, laser engineering and medicine.
What is IFReC?
The Immunology Frontier Research Center, which studies immune cells.
How do you enter?
Through a national common test and the university's own examination.
What does it cost?
National universities charge standard tuition set by the government, roughly five to six hundred thousand yen a year, plus an entrance fee. Check the current tariff.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, Robotics, Sustainable Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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