Three Campuses

Kanazawa University, also known colloquially as Kindai, is a public university located in the city of Kanazawa. Kanazawa University was established in 1949 and by fostering the academic and holistic interests of many students and researchers and since then has built a strong history.

Kakuma Campus
Kanazawa University: Kakuma Campus (North). By Genppy [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons
Kanazawa University has three campuses that are sprawled out over a total land area of about 2.65 million square meters: Kakuma campus, Takara-machi campus, and Tsuruma campus. Kakuma campus is regarded as the main campus, and Takara-machi and Tsuruma are sometimes regarded as the same campus because of their close proximity. Across these three campuses are housed three colleges (College of Human and Social Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, and College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences), seven graduate schools, and other functional institutions such as the University Hospital and the Cancer Research Institute.

Kanazawa University Hospital
Kanazawa University Hospital. By Hirorinmasa [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

Internationalization

As a university in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Kanazawa University provides its students with the opportunity to live in a richly academic and collegiate environment. With 19 institutions of higher education within it, Ishikawa Prefecture has the 2nd highest number of higher education institutions per capita, only after Kyoto. Moreover, the city of Kanazawa allows international students to both enjoy Japanese city life and the beauty of the Japanese geography. Kanazawa city is rich in culture and heritage but is also luckily surrounded by stunning mountains and ocean.

Kanazawa Kenrokuen
Scenes in Kanazawa: Kanazawa Kenrokuen. By Oilstreet [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY 2.5], from Wikimedia Commons
Of further interest to international students is the fact that as of 2018, there are 632 international students out of a total of 10,227 students on the Kanazawa campuses. Kanazawa University aims to have a global presence, and the university has made efforts to help international students assimilate to life on campus and life in Japan in general.

For example, some accommodations for international students are aimed at helping international students develop strong networks among other international students as well as Japanese students. The Kanazawa University Student Dormitories – “Sakigake” and “Hokumei” are share house-type dormitories where Japanese and international students live together, and therefore have many opportunities to interact. Other types of accommodations for international students exist, for example the Kanazawa University International House is a dormitory that is exclusively for international students and foreign researchers.

Kanazawa University makes efforts to help international students better understand Japanese culture, and assimilate more efficiently in Japan by providing opportunities for international students to attend extracurricular activities involving Japanese culture. For example, in the 2018 Autumn Semester the Kanazawa University School of International Education hosted Tea Ceremony and Flower Arrangement classes for international students.

Other examples of support given to international students on campus include the Kanazawa University Integrated Japanese Language Program, which aims to help international students assimilate better into university life and life in Japan.

Featured Image is ‘Kanazawa University’ from Danko Georgiev MD [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kanazawa_uni_1.jpg