Waseda University

Waseda’s culture and traditions have evolved over more than a century, but its founding principles remain firm, and the Waseda spirit lives in the hearts of over 500,000 alumni. Here we present the changing, the unchanged, the little-known and the lovable about Waseda.

On Waseda University’s 30th anniversary in October 1913, President Shigenobu Okuma proclaimed its newly adopted Mission Statement.

As the fundamental statement of its educational policy, the mission was drafted by Sanae Takata, Shoyo Tsubouchi, Kenkichi Ichijima, Kazutami Ukita, Yasukuni Matsudaira and their colleagues, and approved by Okuma before its presentation at the anniversary celebration.

In 1937 a monument inscribed with the mission statement, in calligraphy by Hisoka Maejima, was installed near the main gate.

Waseda University holds as its founding principles the preservation of the independence of scholarship, the promotion of the practical application of scholarship, and the fostering of good citizens.

Holding the independence of scholarship as a central principle, Waseda University pledges to contribute to the scholarship of the world by regarding freedom of research as essential and devoting itself constantly to original research.

Holding the practical application of scholarship as a central principle, Waseda University pledges to contribute to the progress of the times by establishing a path for the practical use of scholarship as well as pursuing theoretical research for its own sake.

Holding the fostering of good citizens as a central principle, Waseda University pledges to cultivate people of character who can respect individuality, develop themselves and their families, benefit the nation and society, and be active in the world at large.

Independence of Learning is tightly connected with the outsider’s spirit and a critical mind. Waseda University has promoted scientific education and research without bending to authority or temporal fashion, in order to produce independent modern citizens.

In the historical context, academic enterprises had to be useful for construction of the modern nation-state of Japan which was underway at that time. So the founding principle of Practical Utilization of Knowledge focuses not on shallow pragmatism but the spirit of progressivism.

The University was established with a focus on educating the common people, and cultivating Good Citizenship is one of the three founding principles. In today’s context of globalization it also means Good Global Citizenship. The founding principles and the Waseda Spirit which has grown from them are our legacy and the culture which we embrace.

The transformation to a global and borderless world is gaining momentum every year, touching every sector of society, and universities are no exception. Labels such as domestic and foreign lose their meaning, as universities throughout the world face increasingly fierce competition in their pursuit of the highest-quality education and research.

Since its foundation, Waseda University has been sensitive to changes in society while maintaining its core principles. We have fearlessly taken on a variety of challenges and tirelessly pursued innovation. Waseda has been built by our many predecessors and their bold endeavors embodying the founding spirit. However, as we face this era of massive change, I see it as the mission and duty of today’s Waseda to go further building on this tradition.

Our vision is to lead in global education and research. The motto Best Education, Best Research, Best Community, represents our collective aim to achieve world-class results in all our pursuits. I believe that now is the time to press forward with Waseda’s traditional enterprising spirit to address the many challenges the world now faces.

The blueprint for this program is the Waseda Vision 150 strategic plan, which sets up goals and initiatives for the period up to Waseda’s 150th anniversary in 2032. In the education sphere, we have already implemented the Quarter system and established the Global Education Center and the Center for Higher Education Studies; in the research sphere we have established the URA (University Research Administrator) position at the Center for Research Strategy; in finance, we have stimulated higher levels of donations and yielded healthier financial results overall.

These efforts have been recognized and boosted by Waseda’s selection as a top class institution in the national Super Global University program. Amid an international trend of opening up universities to the world and emphasizing dynamic thinking, the program provides grants and other support for our goal to break into the top 100 of the world university rankings and produce 100,000 global leaders over a ten-year period.

The entire university worked as a team to achieve these results in the first stage of our undertaking. Now, looking ahead, I have set out the following policies for stage two, aiming for Waseda, the Best.