International Christian University

History

ICU was founded in 1949. With an emphasis on reconciliation and peace, ICU was envisaged as a "University of Tomorrow", a place where Japanese and international students would live together and learn to serve the needs of an emerging, more interconnected world. When students enter ICU they sign the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights^[2] and they are challenged to commit themselves to help bring about social justice and world peace. Due to this commitment to human rights, Eleanor Roosevelt delivered ICU's first convocation address.

According to JICUF (Japan ICU Foundation),

Concerted fundraising campaigns were initiated in both Japan and in North America. Hisato Ichimada, the Governor of the Bank of Japan who was Buddhist, headed the Japan campaign that raised the funds necessary to purchase a large tract of land for the university. The Honorary Chair of the US fundraising campaign was General Douglas MacArthur, and the North American public responded with generous contributions as well.^[3]

The third son of the Emperor Taishō, a younger brother of the Emperor Shōwa and an uncle of the Emperor Akihito Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu officiated the Honorary President of the Preparatory Committee for founding ICU.

Undergraduate programs

Students choose one or two majors as single major, double major or major/minor. Over 30 majors are being offered as of 2022.^[10]

• American Studies
• Anthropology
• Arts and Archaeology
• Asian Studies
• Biology
• Business
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Development Studies
• Economics
• Education
• Environmental Studies
• Gender and Sexuality Studies
• Global Studies
• International Relations
• Japan Studies
• Language Education
• Law
• Linguistics
• Literature
• Mathematics
• Media, Communication and Culture
• Music
• Peace Studies
• Philosophy and Religion
• Physics
• Politics
• Psychology
• Public Policy
• Sociology

Graduate programs

Graduate programs at the university include:^[11]

• Master of Arts in Education
  • Concentrations: Education, Psychology, or Language Education
• Master of Arts in Public Administration or Master of Arts in International Relations
• Master of Arts in Social and Cultural Analysis
• Master of Arts in Media and Language
• Master of Arts in Public Economics
• Master of Arts in Peace Studies
• Master of Arts in Comparative Culture
  • Concentrations: Japanese Culture Studies or Transcultural Studies
• Master of Arts in Natural Sciences
  • Concentrations: Mathematics and Information Science, Material Science, or Life Science

Bilingual academics

The languages of instruction at ICU are Japanese and English. Around 30% of all courses are offered in English, the rest in Japanese or in both languages.^[12]

Prospective students without prior Japanese language knowledge are able to apply under a documentary screening process, instead of undergoing the entrance exams held in Japanese. These students are required to have college level English proficiency and subsequently take ICU Japanese Language Programs (JLP) courses to gain bilingualism and eventually take courses taught in Japanese.^[13]

Under the policy of bilingualism of ICU curriculum, students take language courses for their non-dominant language in their freshman and sophomore year (Depending on the student's language requirements, English for Liberal Arts or Japanese Language Programs).^[14]

Each campus department staffs employees with strong command in both languages. Student resources, ICU websites, and campus bulletin boards are in both Japanese and English to accommodate students from any language background.^[15]

Trimester system

The academic year is divided into trimesters of approximately eleven weeks each with each course lasting one trimester term. This allows for a dynamic learning experience, one where students can design their own curricula as their interests change and develop.

Japan ICU Foundation

The Japan ICU Foundation (JICUF)^[16] was incorporated in New York State on November 23, 1948, and helped to establish ICU in 1953. Today, the foundation maintains two non-profit corporations: The Japan ICU Foundation, Inc. and the JICUF Endowment, Inc.

The Japan ICU Foundation supports ICU in a variety of ways, including providing scholarships, running a faculty exchange program, providing funding for international programs and projects and helping to fund new buildings on campus. The Foundation has offices in New York City. The current Executive Director of JICUF is Paul Hastings.^[17]

Demographics

As of 2011, ICU had 2851 undergraduates studying in the College of Liberal Arts, with 1041 male students and 1810 female students. The ICU Graduate School had 150 students, with 64 men and 86 women. 90.5% of ICU's undergraduate and graduate students are Japanese citizens, and the remainder represent 44 countries. Many returnee Japanese students that have lived overseas, also known as kikokushijo (帰国子女), make up the student body.^[18]

The majority of ICU students live off-campus, either at home with their families or in apartments. As of 2010, about 600 students were living on campus.

International Education Exchange Programs

More than half of the students participate in study abroad programs during their time at ICU. The percentage of students who study abroad through ICU programs before they graduate is 55.5% (in 2014). Students who come from abroad to study at ICU on a year-long exchange program are referred to as OYRs (One Year Regulars).

ICU Dining Hall

The ICU Dining Hall, also known as Gakki (ガッキ), is the official cafeteria of International Christian University. Rebuilt in 2010, Gakki is a public, self-service cafeteria and is one of the newest buildings on campus.

Student clubs/circles

ICU students are known for their remarkable energy and initiative in creating a kaleidoscope of student-led and student-managed co-curricular activities. There are about 100 student-led clubs and organizations in the arts, sports, academic and social fields. New clubs are formed as student interest dictates, and most ICU students participate in one or more of these organizations.

After graduation

As of 2016, 95.3% of ICU undergraduate alumni (students seeking employment) land a job right after graduation.^[19] ICU students have found employment in a wide range of industries, particularly with global companies.

Over 20% of students go on to graduate school overseas and in Japan. Domestic and Overseas Universities include: International Christian University, University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Hitotsubashi University, University of Oxford, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of London, and Harvard University.

General rankings

In 2019, ICU was ranked 11th among all universities in Japan, and 1st among private universities by Times Higher Education and Benesse.^[29] QS World University Rankings ranked ICU as 174th in Asia in 2016.^[30] Forbes made a list of top 10 liberal arts colleges in Asia including ICU that was based on the 2014 QS University rankings for Asia.^[31]

Alumni rankings

According to the Weekly Economist's (Shūkan ekonomisuto [ja]) 2010 rankings and the (PRESIDENT inc. [ja]) article on 2006/10/16, graduates from ICU have the 24th best employment rate in 400 major companies, and their average graduate salary is the 4th best in Japan.^[32][33][34]

Popularity and selectivity

ICU is one of the most selective universities in Japan. Its entrance difficulty is usually considered one of the top among 730 private universities. National and public universities use different kinds of exams. Thus it's only comparable between universities in the same category, e.g., Yoyogi seminar [ja] published Hensachi (the indication showing the entrance difficulties by prep schools) rankings.^[35] Japanese journalist Kiyoshi Shimano [ja] ranks its entrance difficulty as SA (most selective/out of 11 scales) in Japan, which includes only four private universities and 11 national universities.^[36]