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HISTORY CHART (1549-2008)

HISTORY CHART (1549-2008)

The origin of Sophia University can be traced back to more than 450 years ago when the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier came to Japan in 1549 to spread Christianity in Japan. The actual foundation of the university began In 1908, when three Jesuit priests arrived in Japan in response to a request from the Roman Pontiff at that time, Pope Pius X. Five years later, in 1913, they opened the first Catholic university in Japan on this Kioi site where Sophia still stands.
The university will celebrate its centennial in 2013.

1549	St. Francis Xavier arrived in Japan. In letters to Rome, Xavier wrote about his high regard for the human qualities of the Japanese people, and about his hopes to found a university in the Japanese capital. These hopes were fulfilled with the foundation of Sophia University.
1906	Pope Pius X makes a request and the Society of Jesus accepts it. The Pope asks the Society of Jesus to found a tertiary-level educational institution in Japan, and the Jesuits agree to do so.
1908	Three members of the Society of Jesus arrive in Japan to prepare for the establishment of a university.
1911	The legal person Jochi Gakuin is established. The name Jochi is taken from the Japanese text of the Catholic prayer called The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. One of the titles given to Mary in this litany is 'Seat of Wisdom'. The Japanese word used for wisdom is Jochi.
1912	Land is purchased in Kojimachi for educational uses.
1913	Sophia University is opened under the Japanese law regulating special schools.. It includes departments of philosophy, German literature, and commerce. Fr. Hermann Hoffmann assumes office as the first president. The school pin is designed.
1918	The first graduation ceremony is held. Nine students graduate.
1920	Saint Aloysius Juku is opened. It is the predecessor of the Men's Dormitory.
1928	Sophia is reorganized as a university under the Japanese law regulating universities. The Faculty of Humanities contains the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Humanities; the Department of Commerce is established under the Faculty of Commerce.
1931	The Faculty of Commerce is re-organized. It now includes a Department of Economics and a Department of Commerce.
1932	A specialized section (for night classes) is opened. This includes an economics department, a commerce department, a law department, and a journalism department. The construction of Building 1 is completed.
1933	The school flag is designed. About this time, the school song is written.
1935	The Yatsugatake mountain hut is opened. A system for overseas study is introduced. The first exchange student is sent to Georgetown University (U.S.A.).
1937	Professor Hermann Heuvers assumes office as the second president. The Kulturheim is opened for public lectures and discussion meetings. In these, explanations about European history and cultural developments were provided. After the war, these activities were continued in the programs of public lectures administered by the university.
1940	Professor Yachita Tsuchihashi assumes office as the third president.
1942	The Department of History was added to the Faculty of Humanities.
1946	Professor Naojiroo Murakami of the Faculty of Humanities assumes office as the fourth president. Public lectures were started; these are the predecessors of the programs of the Center for Extension Programs.
1948	The university is reorganized as Sophia University under the new Japanese educational system. The University has five departments in the Faculty of Humanities (philosophy, German literature, English literature, history, and journalism) and two departments in the Faculty of Economics (economics and commerce).
1949	The International Division is started. Courses are offered in the evening directed at English-speaking students, mostly non-Japanese.
1950	The sports fields at Sanadabori are opened. The student association, a student self-governing organization was founded.
1951	Jochi Gakuin becomes an academic legal person under the law for private universities. Graduate programs at the Master's level are started.
1952	The Department of Education is added to the Faculty of Humanities.
1953	Professor Takashi Oizumi of the Faculty of Humanities assumes office as the fifth president.
1955	The Department of Foreign Languages is added to the Faculty of Humanities. Graduate programs at the doctoral level begins.
1956	Construction of Sophia House (Jochi Kaikan) is completed.
1957	The Faculty of Law is established with Department of Law. The admission of female students is approved. Four women transfer students are admitted.
1958	The Faculty of Foreign Languages is established. It consists of five departments: English language, German language, French language, Spanish language, and Russian language. The Faculty of Theology is established with the Department of theology.
1959	The Department of Japanese Literature is added to the Faculty of Humanities.
1960	Construction is completed for the Faculty of Theology building at the Kamishakujii Campus.
1961	Meisen Women's Dormitory is opened.
1962	The Faculty of Science and Technology is established. It consists of four departments: mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, physics, and chemistry.
1963	Events to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the university are held. The Hoodaiji Mountain Hut is finished.
1964	The Department of Portuguese is added to the Faculty of Foreign Languages.
1965	The Department of Mathematics is added to the Faculty of Science and Technology.
1966	The Department of French Literature and the Department of Sociology are added to the Faculty of Humanities. Evening courses specializing in social welfare are started at Sophia. These are the predecessors of the School of Social Welfare. An admission system to accept first-year students by recommendation is established.
1967	An Office for Electronic Computing Machines is opened. This is now called the Media Center. Large-scale computers are installed on the campus.
1968	Professor Mikao Moriya of the Faculty of Science and Technology assumes office as the sixth president. The general-purpose sports facilities are opened on the Hadano Campus.
1971	Admissions systems for returnees and for foreign students are established.
1973	The Sophia Junior College is founded.
1975	The Department of Japanese Language and Japanese Culture is added to the Faculty of Foreign Languages. Professor Joseph (Guiseppe) Pittau of the Faculty of Law assumes office as the seventh president.
1976	The Departments of Psychology and of Social Welfare are added to the Faculty of Humanities. Sophia Community College begins. This marks the beginning of the efforts to offer courses that are open to the public.
1977	The Department of Japanese Language and Japanese Culture in the Faculty of Foreign Languages changes its name to the Department of Comparative Culture.
1980	The Department of International Legal Studies is added to the Faculty of Law. The construction of Hoffmann Hall is completed. Enoki Women's Dormitory is acquired.
1981	Professor Mutsuo Yanase of the Faculty of Science and Technology assumes office as the eighth president.
1984	Professor Tomosuke Hashiguchi of the Faculty of Humanities assumes office as the ninth president. The building that houses the central library and the research institutes is opened. The building for research offices of professors is completed on the Ichigaya Campus.
1987	Professor Masao Tsuchida of the Faculty of Humanities assumes office as the tenth president. The Faculty of Comparative Culture is established. It includes two departments: the Department of Comparative Culture and the Department of Japanese Language and Japanese Culture.
1988	Ceremonies are held to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of Sophia University.
1992	Construction of Sophia Kioizaka Building and the Building No. 11 are completed
1993	Professor Keiji Otani of the Faculty of Humanities assumes office as the eleventh president.
1994	A center for research on the legal problems of the global environment is added to the Faculty of Law.
1997	The Department of Legal Studies of the Global Environment is added to the Faculty of Law. The construction of the Sophia Karuizawa Seminar House is completed.
1999	Professor William Currie of the Faculty of Comparative Culture assumes office as the twelfth president.
2004	Juris Doctor Program (Law School) is established.
2005	Professor Yoshiaki Ishizawa of the Faculty of Foreign Languages assumes office as the thirteenth president. The Faculty of Human Sciences is established. It consists of four departments: education, psychology, sociology, and social services. Graduate Division of Global Environmental Studies is established.
2006	Faculty of Comparative Culture is changed to Faculty of Liberal Arts. Graduate School in Foreign Studies (Graduate Programs in; International Relations, Area Studies, and Comparative Culture) is changed to Graduate School in Global Studies. It has 3 graduate programs; international relations, area studies, and global studies.
2007	Graduate School in Economics changed its programs from Economics(M.A.), Economic Systems and Organizations to Economics(M.A. and Ph.D.) and Management(M.A. and Ph.D.) Graduate Programs (M.A.) in Education and Sociology under Graduate School of Humanities are terminated. The construction of the Building No. 12 is completed.
2008	Faculty of Science and Technology(Department of; Mechanical Engineering, Electric and Electronics Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry) are changed to Faculty of Science and Technology(Department of; Materials and Life Sciences, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Information and Communication Sciences). Graduate School in Science and Technology ( Graduate Programs in; Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, and Biological Science) are changed to Graduate School in Science and Technology (Graduate Programs in Science and Technology(M.A. and Ph.D.)).

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