Sophia Institution, better known by its Japanese name (Jichi Daigaku), is a private research university in Japan that focuses on interdisciplinary research. According to the Times Higher Education, Sophia is one of three famous Skeijchi private institutions, a group of the top three private universities in Japan, with the other two being Keio University and Waseda University. The other two are Keio University and Waseda University. It is also placed 18th in the Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings for 2021. The University of Notre Dame, founded in 1913 by the Roman Catholic religious order of the Society of Jesus, has grown from its three original academic departments of philosophy, German literature, and commerce to nine undergraduate faculties and ten graduate schools, with a total enrollment of over 13,900 students at the present time.
Since its founding, Sophia has seen remarkable expansion and has become well-known for its cultural variety. In reality, the University has played a key role in the internationalisation of Japanese higher education institutions. It offers lessons in both English and Japanese in order to accommodate students from all over the world, including China, Korea, and Europe. With overseas students from 77 countries as well as agreements with 298 overseas universities in 59 countries, it hopes to attract students from other top universities around the world, such as Georgetown University, Yale University, The University of Georgia (at Athens), Sogang (South Korea), Hong Kong (China), and Cologne (Germany) to participate in exchange programmes.
Sophia has also acquired national recognition as Japan's preeminent institution in the fields of globalisation, foreign languages, and literature. The University of Tokyo has been selected by the Japanese Ministry of Education to be one of 37 universities that will receive funding for their internationalisation efforts through the "Top Global Class Project." The University is a prominent institution for research as well as higher learning in the fields of science, humanities, and natural sciences.
Sophia is also well-known for its research accomplishments, which are nationally recognised. There are a number of institutions and centres that support Sophia's aims of achieving excellence in research, and they are listed below. In addition to the Sophia Asia Centre for Research and Human Development, the Institute of International Relations, and the Institute of Media, Culture, and Journalism are also part of the university's research infrastructure. Additionally, Sophia is well-known for its preservation and preservation of centuries-old documents, which date back to the time of Christian persecutions in Japan between 1617 and 1632 and which were written by Catholic missionaries. Sophia also publishes research publications, the most well-known of which is the Monumenta Nipponica.
Prior to 1957, the institution solely allowed male students to its degree programmes; however, the numbers of male and female students are currently almost equal, if not somewhat higher. Alumnae of Sophia University are referred to as "Sophians," but they include the 79th Prime Minister of Japan, Morihiro Hosokawa, as well as several politicians who have served in the Japanese National Diet, professors at various higher education institutions, and even actors and musicians who have worked in the Japanese film and music industry.