Ehime University was established in 1949 as part of Japan’s higher education reform following the end of the Second World War.
It started with just three departments: the Faculty of Humanities and Science (formed from the former Matsuyama National High School), the Faculty for Education (consolidated from the Ehime Prefectural Teachers School and the Ehime Prefectural Youth Teachers School), and the Faculty for Engineering (formed from the Ehime Prefectural Niihama Technical School).
Today the university has six faculties as well as five graduate schools, and is home to students studying at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
It also has an Asia-Africa Centre which promotes research cooperation with universities in Mozambique, Nepal and Indonesia, and a Centre for International Education, which offer Japanese language and cultural courses to international students.
Ehime University aims to become a "beacon of learning" for the Kansai region in the south of Japan, and to do this there are four aims that the university wants to achieve. The institution wants to retain the relationship between the university and the Kansai region, to become a global voice for the region, to contribute to worldwide research and to become a student-centred university.
In line with Japanese government initiatives, the university also cooperates with Matsuyama Minami High School, which is a "Super Science High School", meaning it prioritises science, technology and maths and therefore receives extra funding.
Ehime University is also home to a number of world-class research centres, including the Centre for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES) and the Geodynamics Research Centre (GRC).
