Shiga University


Shiga University, or Shigadai is a national university in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It has campuses at the cities of Ōtsu and Hikone.
The predecessor of the current school, the Shiga College of Education, was founded in 1943, from the Shiga Normal School. Then in 1949 three colleges – Shiga College of Education, Shiga Teachers Training College, and Hikone College of Economics – were combined into one institution and it was chartered as a university.

Faculties

Shiga University has two faculties, the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Economics. Each faculty
has a graduate school.
The Faculty of Education consists of three departments:
  1. Department of School Teachers' Training,
which aims to develop teachers with attractive personality as well as practical leadership to
respond productively to the new school education;
  1. Department of Environment Education, which
aims to enhance understanding of current environmental systems and problems and encourage students to
create new ways to solve problems they are facing.
The Faculty of Economics consists of six departments. All disciplines of Economics aim to develop specialists in economics with a global perspective and a problem solving ability capable of responding to the needs of a global information society.
The Graduate School of Education aims to develop teachers' expertise and practical
capabilities so they can meet the diversified demands of the times; the Graduate School of Education is
also designed to provide training for in-service teachers to improve their abilities.
The Graduate School of Economics has the Master's Course and the Doctoral Course. The Master's Course
aims to develop specialists in the field economics with an international perspective. The Doctoral Course
aims to train an international "Risk Manager" who is capable of performing risk analysis as well as risk
management for economy or business administration.

History

The Otsu campus of Shiga University has its origin in the establishment of Shiga Normal School in Otsu in 1874. This school was reorganized as the Shiga College of Education in 1943. Upon the founding of Shiga University in May, 1949, the Shiga College of Education and the Shiga Teachers Training College were brought together as the Faculty of Liberal Arts.
The Hikone campus has its origin in the establishment of the Hikone Commercial College in 1922. This college was reorganized in 1944 as the Hikone College of Economics. At the time Shiga University was founded in May, 1949, the college had become the Faculty of Economics.
The administrative offices of the university are located on the Hikone campus.
The following table shows the development and reorganization of Shiga University since its foundation in 1949:
YearDevelopments
1949In accordance with National School Establishment Law, Shiga University is founded as a coeducational national university, consisting of the Faculty of Liberal Arts in Otsu, and the Faculty of Economics in Hikone.Both the Main Library on the Hikone campus and the Branch Library of Faculty of Liberal Arts on the Otsu campus are established.
1951An elementary school and a junior high school, attached to the Faculty of Liberal Arts, are established.
1953The Junior College of Economics is established and offers evening courses in Business Administration.
1955A kindergarten attached to the Faculty of Liberal Arts is established.Post-graduate courses in Accounting and Business Administration are established.
1957The Library of the Faculty of Economics is established.
1963The four-year Faculty of Liberal Arts course is divided into two courses: the Elementary School Teachers Course and the Junior High School Teachers Course.
1966The Faculty of Liberal Arts is renamed the Faculty of Education.The Branch Library of the Faculty of Liberal Arts is renamed the Library of the Faculty of Education.A certificate course in Pedagogy is established.
1967A Special Education Teachers Course is established. The Economic History and Archival Museum of the Faculty of Economics is renamed the Faculty of Economics Archival Museum.
1972The Department of Management Science of the Faculty of Economics is estab-lished.
1973The Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration in the Faculty of Economics is established.The post-graduate courses in Economics are abolished.
1974The course for Kindergarten Teachers in the Faculty of Education is established.
1975A provisional course in Special Education is established. Business Management and Business Information Processing are added to the Junior College of Business Administration curriculum.
1976The Research Center for Lake Science in the Faculty of Education is renamed the Research Institute for Lake Science.
1977The Department of Accounting in the Faculty of Economics is established.
1978The Health and Medical Services Center, and the Shiga University Attached Special School for the Mentally Handicapped are established.
1981A certificate course in Special Education is established.The provisional course for Special Education Teachers is abolished.
1985The University Computer Center, providing computer services to university faculty, staff and students, is established.
1990The Information Science Course in the Faculty of Education is established. The Department of Information Processing and Management in the Faculty of Economics is established in accordance with the reorganization of the Faculty.
1991The Graduate School of Education is established, and grants degrees in School Education, Special Education and Subject Studies The post-graduate course in Pedagogy is abolished. The Department of Finance in the Faculty of Economics is established. The Computer Center is renamed the Center for Information Processing.
1992The Center for Teacher In-Service Training in the Faculty of Education is estab-lished.
1993In accordance with the National School Establishment Law, the Junior College of Economics is abolished in March, 1996. At the same time, the Faculty of Economics established a Course for Workers in the Evening program. Then, the Departments of Management and Accounting in the Faculty of Economics are reorganized and renamed the Department of Business Administration and the Department of Accounting. The Department of Social Systems in the Faculty of Economics is established. Also, the Joint Research Center in the Faculty of Economics is established.
1994In accordance with the National School Establishment Law, the Research Center for Lifelong Learning is established.
1995The Research Institute for Lake Science is reorganized and renamed the Center for Environmental Education and Lake Science.
1997The Faculty of Education is reorganized. The following courses are abolished: Junior High School Teachers, Special Education Teachers, and Kindergarten Teachers, and they are reorganized as Department of Education.
1999Education of the Mentally Handicapped in the Certificate Course in Special Education is renamed Education of the Mentally Retarded.
2000The Faculty of Education is reorganized. The Department of Information Science is reorganized and renamed the Department of Information Sciences and Education. The Department of Environmental Education is newly established. The Faculty of Education now consists of three Departments: the Department of Education, the Department of Information Science and Education and the Department of Environmental Education. The Center for Teacher In-Service Training in the Faculty of Education is reorgan-ized and renamed Center for Educational Research and Practice. 2000 The branch library of the Faculty of Economics is abolished. 2001 The Joint Research Center has changed to the ministerial ordinance facilities.
2001The Global Finance Course in the Graduate School of Economics is instituted.
2001The International Students Center is established.
2002The Center for Community Partnership is established.
2003The Research Center for Sustainability and Environment is established.
A 'Risk Research in Economics and Management' curriculum is established as a doctoral program, the first of its kind among social science programs in Japan.
2004Center for Risk Research is established.
2006International Students Center is reorganized and renamed Shiga University International.
2012Research Center for Cooperation with Society is established amalgamating the Research Center for Lifelong Learning, the Joint Research Center and the Center for Community Partnership．