Baiko Gakuin University(Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan)
Baiko Gakuin University offers Japanese and international students an array of programs in three colleges
The School of (Japanese) Literature, which specializes in Japanese writings.
The School of International Languages and Cultures, which features English, Chinese, and Korean language and literary studies．We also have a Japanese language course for International Students.
The School of Child Development Studies, which trains elementary and pre-school teachers.
BRIEF BACKGROUND OF BAIKO GAKUIN UNIVERSITY
Baiko Gakuin University has a history of almost 140 years, with roots in two Christian denominations: the Dutch Reformed Church of America, which established a mission school in Nagasaki in 1872; and the Presbyterian Church, which had a girls' mission school in Yamaguchi City. In 1914 these schools were combined and relocated to a central location, Shimonoseki, located at the very bottom tip of the main island of Honshu in Japan.The educational complex of Baiko Gakuin now includes a kindergarten, junior high school, high school, university, and graduate school. The university was first established as a private women's college, but it became co-educational in 2001. Though small with about 1,000 students, it has a strong faculty and a good reputation for providing quality education. It is accredited by the Japan University Accreditation Association (Daigaku Kijun Kyokai). Degrees are offered in Japanese Literature, English Literature, Foreign Languages, and Elementary Education. In addition, the university offers a special Japanese language program for non-native speakers within the East Asian Languages division.
Baiko's Japanese literature department includes such prominent professors as Kiyoko Murata, winner of the Akutagawa Prize in 1987 (Japan's most prestigious literary award); Toru Kitagawa, poet and critic; and Yasumasa Sato, a leading literary critic of the nation. The university is also especially known for its English language and literature departments, with a large number of native-English teachers from America and sometimes England and Scotland.
Only a tiny percentage of the student body is Christian, but the school enthusiastically celebrates Christmas with a pageant and also offers daily chapel services for those who wish to attend. Baiko has exchange students from Korea, China, Mongolia, Taiwan and America. Most Baiko students of English spend one term studying in Australia, and several spend one year at exchange universities in America: Texas Woman's University, Indiana State University, and California State University at Fresno.
The school's motto is: "Ut filii lucis ambulate " (Walk as children of the light).
