History of Nara Women's University

Nara Women's Higher Normal School, which was reorganized into the Nara Women's University, was established by the Government of Japan in 1908. initially aimed at training women instructors and teachers for women's normal schools, secondary schools and a kindergartens. The school was raised to full university status by the Law for Establishing National Universities and Schools in 1949 (during the post war educational reforms), and renamed Nara Women's University.

When the university was legally founded in 1949, it had two faculties, the Faculty of Letters and the Faculty of Science and Home Economics. In 1953, the Faculty of Science and Home Economics was reformed and divided into two faculties, the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Home Economics. In 1993, the Faculty of Home Economics was reorganized into the Faculty of Human Life and Environment. The university also has a senior high school, a junior high school, a primary school, and a kindergarten, which are attached to the Faculty of Letters. The Graduate School for the master's course was founded by the Faculty of Home Economics in 1964, by the Faculty of Science in 1965, and by the Faculty of Letters in 1968. The doctoral course was founded by the Faculty of Letters in 1980, and it was reformed and made comprehensive in the newly founded doctoral course, the Graduate School of Human Culture, in the next year.

At present, the university has three faculties and one graduate school. The graduate school consists of three graduate divisions for master's course attached to each faculty, and a graduate school for doctoral course. It houses about 2,000 undergraduate students, and about three 320 graduate students. About 360 faculty and staff members work at the university. In all, the university offers course work leading to a bachelor's degree in 17 programs, master's in 15, and doctoral in 2.

As the name of the university indicates, it is a university for women. No male students are enrolled in the university. In Japan, there are 98 national universities, but this university and Ochanomizu University, located in Tokyo, are the only two national universities which accept female students only. These two universities rank among the leading Japanese institutions of higher women's education with their first rate academic level.

The university is located in Nara City, the ancient capital of Japan, and surrounded by many cultural sites and a beautiful natural environment. On campus, concrete buildings coexist with open green areas and many trees. In this environment, the university has cultivated many female students and sent them out into society since its establishment.

Home page of Nara Women's University
www-admin@nara-wu.ac.jp
Last update 97/6/26