Sōka University

Soka University (創価大学, Sōka Daigaku), abbreviated as Sodai (創大) is an elite private university in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. In 2014, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) designated Soka University as one of Japan's Super Global Universities. The university has 8 faculties with a total of around 8,000 students, 400 of whom are international students.

History

Soka University opened to undergraduate students in 1971, with its graduate school opening in 1975. Since the school's founding, more than 50,000 students have graduated from Soka University.

Soka University of America is a related school founded in 2001, located in Aliso Viejo, California, which offers both graduate and undergraduate degrees.

Educational philosophy

Soka University's educational philosophy was established by Tsunesaburō Makiguchi, the first president of the Soka Gakkai (then called the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, or Value-creating Education Society), who had worked as the principal of an elementary school in Japan. Makiguchi published the book "The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy" based on his belief that the purpose of education is the students' happiness, and emphasized humanistic education. This educational philosophy was shared by his successor, Jōsei Toda, who had served as an elementary school teacher. Toda's successor, Daisaku Ikeda, describes his goal as carrying out the dreams of Makiguchi and Toda.

Soka University of America

Coordinates: 33°33′17″N 117°44′07″W / 33.554722°N 117.735361°W / 33.554722; -117.735361

Soka University of America (SUA) is a four-year liberal arts university located in Aliso Viejo, California, United States. The university's mission is to "foster a steady stream of global citizens committed to living a contributive life," with an emphasis on principles of pacifism, human rights, and the creative coexistence of nature and humanity. It has a graduate and an undergraduate program.

A much larger and older sister school, Soka University of Japan, is located in Hachiōji, Tokyo. SUA encompasses both a four-year liberal arts college and a graduate school offering a Master's program in Educational Leadership and Societal Change. SUA hosts the Pacific Basin Research Center and the academic journal Annals of Scholarship. The school is noted for being in the top three in terms of first-year student happiness in the United States as measured by retention rates.

History and philosophy