Top Global University Initiative (plus Global 30 and Go Global Japan)
The Top Global University initiative (スーパーグローバル大学創成支援 Sūpā gurōbaru daigaku sōsei shien?) will run from 2014 to 2023. Funded by the Japanese government, the project aims to advance the internationalization of Japanese universities so that graduates can “walk into positions of global leadership.” The project also aims to attract more foreign faculty and students, while also placing more Japanese universities at the top of global rankings. Top Global (also referred to as “Super Global”) is administered by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
The Top Global initiative builds on MEXT’s 2009-14 Global 30 program, which supported 13 universities in creating English-medium undergraduate programs. It also builds on MEXT’s 2011 Re-Inventing Japan program aimed at increasing collaboration with Southeast Asian universities and certain other parts of the world, and MEXT’s 2012 Go Global project which supported universities in global human resource development.
The Top Global initiative’s budget is ¥7.7 billion ($US 77 million). Funds can be used to hire international or internationally-educated faculty, establish internationally-oriented undergraduate curricula for undergraduate degree programs, and student support.
There are two levels of Top Global funding:
- Type A—(Top Type) For universities with potential to be ranked in the top 100 in world university rankings. Each Type A university will receive ¥420 million ($US 4.2 million) annually.
- Type B—(Global Traction Type) For international initiatives in specific faculties or schools of the university. Each Type B university will receive ¥170 million ($US 1.7 million) annually.
In September 2014, 37 universities were selected for the Top Global University program.
Type A
- National Universities
- Private Universities
Type B (Global Traction Type)
- National Universities
- Prefectural Universities
- Private Universities
View more information on the Top Global University program »
Universities Selected for MEXT’s Global 30 Program (2009-14)
This program helped universities develop English-medium courses and other resources to attract and support international students at Japanese universities. View more information »
- Tohoku University
- University of Tsukuba
- University of Tokyo
- Nagoya University
- Kyoto University
- Osaka University
- Kyushu University
- Keio University
- Sophia University
- Meiji University
- Waseda University
- Doshisha University
- Ritsumeikan University
Universities selected for MEXT’s Go Global Japan Program (2012)
This program provided support for developing educational structures to strengthen and promote the global capabilities of Japanese students. View more information »
Type A: All-university Programs (that run throughout the university)
- Hokkaido University
- Tohoku University
- Chiba University
- Ochanomizu University
- Akita International University
- International Christian University
- Chuo University
- Waseda University
- Doshisha University
- Kwansei Gakuin University
- Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.
Type B: Special type (that run in particular departments and schools)
- University of Tsukuba
- Saitama University
- Tokyo Medical and Dental University
- Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Hitotsubashi University
- Niigata University
- University of Fukui
- Kobe University
- Tottori University
- Yamaguchi University
- Kyushu University
- Nagasaki University
- Aichi Prefectural University
- Yamaguchi Prefectural University
- The University of Kitakyushu
- Maebashi Kyoai Gakuen College
- Kanda University of International Studies
- Asia University
- Kyorin University
- Shibaura Institute of Technology
- Sophia University
- Showa Women’s University
- Soka University
- Toyo University
- Hosei University
- Musashino Art University
- Meiji University
- Aichi University
- Kyoto Sangyo University
- Ritsumeikan University