Yokohama National University

About Yokohama National University

Yokohama National University (横浜国立大学 - Yokohama Kokuritsu Daigaku, colloquially known as YNU or Yokodai - 横大), tracing its historic origins to the founding of Kanagawa Normal School in 1876 and chartered under the National School Establishment Law in 1949, is one of Japan’s most prestigious and forward-looking national research universities. Situated on a scenic, verdant 45-hectare hilltop parkland campus in Tokiwadai (Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama), YNU is the only national university in Kanagawa Prefecture, located just 30 minutes from central Tokyo and adjacent to Japan’s premier international maritime port. YNU was established around four foundational philosophies: "Be Active" (practical learning), "Be Innovative" (intellectual enterprise), "Be Open" (inclusive social dialogue), and "Be Global" (international engagement). Across its 5 undergraduate colleges and 5 integrated graduate schools, YNU has earned global renown for its engineering sciences—specifically naval architecture, marine and ocean engineering, mechanical engineering, advanced materials, and structural engineering—as well as its pioneer College of Economics (tracing back to the 1923 Yokohama Higher Commercial School) and College of Business Administration. In 2017, YNU established Japan’s first College of Urban Sciences and Graduate School of Urban Innovation (IUI), integrating civil engineering, architecture, urban management, and environmental risk sciences to address 21st-century global urbanization challenges. Educating more than 10,000 students, including over 1,000 international scholars from more than 75 countries, YNU offers prominent English-taught degree programs, including the World Bank-sponsored Infrastructure Management Program (IMP), the Special Graduate Program in Urban Innovation, and Engineering Science tracks, supported by full national tuition waiver frameworks and prime access to Greater Tokyo’s industrial and research powerhouses.