Ritsumeikan University

Ritsumeikan University

立命館大学
Former names	Kyoto Hosei School
Motto	自由と清新
Motto in English	Freedom and Innovation
Type	Private
Established	1900; 124 years ago (1900) (chartered in 1922)
Founder	Kojuro Nakagawa
Academic affiliations	APSIA, INU, Global 30, Kansai Big 6
President	Yoshio Nakatani
Academic staff	1,395
Students	36,825
Undergraduates	33,094
Postgraduates	3,731
Location	Kyoto (Kyoto), Kusatsu (Shiga), Ibaraki (Osaka), Osaka (Osaka), Chiyoda (Tokyo) , Japan 35°01′57″N 135°43′26″E / 35.0326°N 135.7240°E / 35.0326; 135.7240
Campus	5 campuses in urban areas
Colours	Crimson and white
Nickname	Ritsumeikan Panthers
Mascot	Panthera pardus
Website	Official website
As of May 2022[1]

Ritsumeikan University (立命館大学, Ritsumeikan Daigaku, abbreviated to Rits and 立命 Ritsumei) is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. In addition to its main campus in Kyoto, the university also has satellite campuses in Ibaraki, Osaka and Kusatsu, Shiga.

Today, Ritsumeikan University is known as one of Western Japan's most prestigious universities, part of the "Kan-Kan-Do-Rits" 関関同立 (Kwansei Gakuin University, Kansai University, Doshisha University, and Ritsumeikan University) abbreviation that refers to the four leading private universities in the Keihanshin region.

Ritsumeikan University is renowned for its Social Sciences, particularly International Relations (IR), as well as its Science & Engineering departments, with the Graduate School of International Relations being the only Japanese member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs. Ritsumeikan University has exchange programs with schools throughout the world, including The University of British Columbia, The University of Melbourne, The University of Sydney, University of Hong Kong, King's College London and The University of Manchester. Ritsumeikan also currently offers a dual bachelor's degree program and dual master's degree program in collaboration with American University and Australian National University.^[2]