University of Shizuoka - Overview

Overview

The Japanese name of the university is Shizuoka Kenritsu Daigaku (静岡県立大学), which translates, literally, the "Prefectural University of Shizuoka." Since the English version of the Japanese term for province (prefecture) is unfamiliar to many English speakers, the university's name was simplified to the "University of Shizuoka." This leads to some confusion, in English at least, since another nearby national university has a very similar name in English (that institution is Shizuoka University (静岡大学)).

The University of Shizuoka is located in the prefectural capital of Shizuoka. The Yada main campus is near Kusanagi Station on the JR Tōkaidō Main Line, six minutes from Shizuoka Station. It is roughly half-way between the town centers of the former cities of Shimizu and Shizuoka (which were merged to form a single city in 2003). It forms an important part of a major cultural and educational complex which also includes the Shizuoka Prefectural Library and the Shizuoka Prefectural Art Museum.

The University of Shizuoka was created through the amalgamation of three former public colleges in 1986 and was expanded to comprise five colleges. These are the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, the Faculty of International Relations, the School of Administration and Informatics and the School of Nursing. In addition to the undergraduate programs offered in the various departments of these colleges, the university also maintains graduate schools in each of the five colleges, as well as a variety of research institutes, inter-disciplinary centers and other research centers. The university also operates a two-year junior college, which is on a separate campus from the main university.