Kumamoto Gakuen University
# Kumamoto Gakuen University

32°48′N 130°43′E﻿ / ﻿32.800°N 130.717°E﻿ / 32.800; 130.717

Kumamoto Gakuen University (熊本学園大学, Kumamoto Gakuen daigaku) called Gakuendai (学園大) or Shōdai (商大), is a private Japanese university in Kumamoto, Japan. It was established in 1942, at which time Eastern Language Vocational College (東洋語学専門学校 Tōyō Gengo Senmon Gakkō) was subsumed into it. It was renamed Kumamoto Language Vocational College (熊本言語専門学校 Kumamoto Gengo Senmon Gakkō) in 1945, and was made into Kumamoto Commerce University (熊本商科大学 Kumamoto shōka daigaku) in 1954. It acquired its current name, Kumamoto Gakuen University, in 1994. At present, the university has 4 faculties with 11 departments.

The university also has an affiliated senior high school, located immediately adjacent to the campus. While the high school is recognized as one of the best in the prefecture, the reputation of the university itself is as a second-rank institution.

## Faculties and graduate schools

### Faculties

* the Faculty of Commercial Science(in English)
   * Commercial Science (main)
   * Business
   * Hospitality Management
   * Commercial Science (minor)
* the Faculty of Economics(in English)
   * Economics
   * International Economics
   * Legal Economics
* the Faculty of Foreign Languages(in English)
   * English
   * East Asian Studies
* the Faculty of Social Welfare(in English)
   * Social Welfare (main)
   * Social Work and Environmental Design
   * Child welfare environmental subject
   * Social Welfare (minor)

### Graduate schools

* Commercial Science(in Japanese)
   * Commercial Science
* Business Management(in Japanese)
   * Business Management
* Economics(in Japanese)
   * Economics
* International Culture(in Japanese)
   * majoring International Culture
* Social Welfare(in Japanese)
   * Social Welfare
   * Social Work and Environmental Design

## Points of interest

The Open Research Center for Minamata Studies: this center carries out research into Minamata disease. Masazumi Harada is the head of this center.

## Partner institutions

Partner Institutions KGU has signed agreements with 18 different partner institutions in the 9 countries listed below.

### United States

* Montana State University home page is here
* The University of Montana
* Carroll College (Montana)
* University of the Incarnate Word
* University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire

### United Kingdom

* Liverpool John Moores University Archived 2023-03-01 at the Wayback Machine
* University of Central Lancashire

### New Zealand

* Unitec New Zealand

### Australia

* La Trobe University

### Canada

* Saint Mary's University
* Carleton University

### Republic of Korea

* Daejeon University

### People's Republic of China

* Shenzhen University
* Renmin University of China (Beijing)
* Beijing International Studies University
* Guangxi Normal University (Guilin)
* Beijing Language and Culture University

### Kingdom of Thailand

* Chulalongkorn University

### Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

* Vietnam National University Hanoi
