Kobe Shoin Women's University

Main campus, with the chapel at left.

Kobe Shoin Women's University (神戸松蔭女子学院大学 Kōbe Shōin Joshi Gakuin Daigaku) is a small, all-women's university located in Nada Ward of Kobe, in western Japan. It was founded by missionaries of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) in 1892 and maintains an affiliation with Nippon Sei Ko Kai (the Anglican Communion in Japan), although students and staff may be of any religion. The university is a four-year university with annual enrollment of about 2,400 students. Additionally, the university has a graduate school.

Campus

Students at Kobe Shoin Women's University wearing modern armor for naginata sparring, minus helmet.

The university's main campus is located in the northeast part of Kobe, near Hankyu Rokko station, at the foot of Mount Rokkō. The university features several outdoor tennis courts, a historic chapel equipped with a pipe organ imported from France in 1983, and "English Island" where students can practice their English skills with foreign staff, at any time throughout the day, outside regular class time. A separate building (located to the south, near JR's Rokkōmichi Station), known in English as the Japan Study Center and in Japanese as the Conference Center (会館; kaikan) hosts meetings, foreign students, and a small English-language library on separate floors.

Departments

There are two overarching faculties, each containing multiple departments. The Faculty of Liberal Arts comprises the following departments: English Department (English Professional studies program and Global Communications program); Department of Japanese Language and Culture (Modern Japanese Language program and Japanese Culture program); and the Department of Liberal Arts. The Faculty of Human Science consists of: Psychology Department; Department of Lifestyle Studies (Urban Life Studies course, and Nutrition course); Department of Child Development; and Department of Fashion and Housing Design. The Graduate school offers research degree courses, leading to the qualification of doctorate, in the subject areas of language and linguistics, and psychology. Specifically, there is the Linguistics Science Program, the English Linguistics Program, the Japanese Language and Literature Program, and the Psychology program.

Study abroad programs

The university maintains study abroad relationships with the following institutions:

• Beijing Foreign Studies University, China
• University of Adelaide, Australia
• University of Auckland, New Zealand
• University of Chichester, United Kingdom
• University of Delaware, United States
• University of London, United Kingdom
• York St John University, United Kingdom

Unlike members of its own matriculated student body, foreign students studying in programs hosted by Kobe Shoin Women's University may be either male or female, and are housed off-campus in a dormitory specifically for foreign students.

Access

The university is approximately 1km north of Rokkō Station on Hankyu Railway's Kobe Line, which connects Osaka and Kobe cities. Regular buses go to the university from Rokko station.

Unions

Some staff at Kobe Shoin Women's University are represented by the General Union, a member of the National Union of General Workers (NUGW), which is itself a member of the National Trade Union Council (Zenrokyo).^[1]

References

1. General Union website Kobe Shoin Women's University Retrieved on June 6, 2012

External links

• Official website (Japanese)

Other Images

• 

  Main campus, seen from the Japan Study Center

Coordinates: 34°43′38.4″N 135°13′46.5″E / 34.727333°N 135.229583°E