Seoul National University

University (SNU; Korean, 서울대학교, Seoul Daehakgyo, colloquially Seouldae) is a national research university located in Seoul, the capital of Korea. Since its founding in 1946, Seoul National University has been widely considered to be the most prestigious university in the country.

It is located on three campuses: the main campus is in Gwanak and two additional campuses in Daehangno and Suwon. The university comprises sixteen colleges, one graduate school, and nine professional schools. The student body consists of nearly 17,000 undergraduate and 11,000 graduate students. According to data compiled by KEDI, the university spends more on its students per capita than any other university in the country that enrolls at least 10,000 students.

Seoul National University holds a memorandum of understanding with over 700 academic institutions in 40 countries, theWorld Bank, and a general academic exchange program with the University of Pennsylvania. The Graduate School of Business offers dual master's degrees with Duke University, ESSEC Business School, and Peking University, double-degrees with the MIT Sloan School of Management and Yale School of Management,and MBA-, MS-, and PhD-candidate exchange programs with universities in ten countries on four continents. The university's international faculty headcount is 242 or 4% of the total. Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen and Fields Medal recipient Hironaka Heisuke are on the faculty roster.

Pre-establishment

Seoul National University originates from various education institutions which were established by King Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty. Several of them were integrated into various colleges when later Seoul National University was founded.

To modernize the country, Gojong initiated the establishment of modern higher education institutions. By means of the issue of a royal order, the law academy Beopkwan Yangseongso has been founded in 1895. It produced 209 graduates including the later envoy Yi Jun. Hanseong Sabeomhakgyo (established in 1895), a training school for teachers and Euihakkyo (1899), a medical school, are also considered the origins of respected colleges.

After the proclamation of the Empire of Korea in 1897, Gojong, meanwhile emperor, was motivated to create more modern education institutions. In 1899, a medical school was established. This school changed its name several times to Daehan Euiwon Gyoyukbu and Gyeongseong Euihak 150px-Seoul_national_university_emblemJeonmunhakgyo (Gyeongseong Medical College) and finally became College of Medicine of Seoul National University. In 1901, a department for nursing was established, which was the forerunner of the later College of Nursing.

During the Japanese rule, Keijō Imperial University was established as one of Japan's nine imperial universities. After World War II and the independence of Korea, the name of the university was changed from Keijō Teikoku Daigaku (京城帝国大学) to Gyeongseong Daehak (경성대학, 京城大學, Gyeongseong University). The Hanja letters, that were used in the name, were pronounced in the Korean reading and the attribute "imperial" was removed.

Establishment

Seoul National University was founded on August 27, 1946 by merging ten institutions of higher education around the Seoul area. The schools which have been merged were:

• Gyeongseong University (Gyeongseong Daehakgyo, 경성대학)
• Gyeongseong College of Education (Gyeongseong Sabeomhakgyo, 경성사범학교)
• Gyeongseong Women's College of Education (Gyeongseong Yeoja Sabeomhakgyo, 경성여자사범학교)
• Gyeongseong Law College (Gyeongseong Beophak Jeonmunhakgyo, 경성법학전문학교)
• Gyeongseong Industrial College (Gyeongseong Gongeop Jeonmunhakgyo, 경성공업전문학교)
• Gyeongseong Mining College (Gyeongseong Gwangsan Jeonmunhakgyo, 경성광산전문학교)
• Gyeongseong Medical College (Gyeongseong Euihak Jeonmunhakgyo, 경성의학전문학교)
• Suwon Agriculture College (Suwon Nongnim Jeonmunhakgyo, 수원농림전문학교)
• Gyeongseong College of Economics (Gyeongseong Gyeongje Jeonmunhakgyo, 경성경제전문학교)
• Gyeongseong Dentistry College (Gyeongseong Chigwa Euihak Jeonmunhakgyo, 경성치과의학전문학교)

The first president was Harry Bidwell Ansted. For over a year and a half, there was a protest movement by students and professors against the law of the U.S. military government in Korea merging colleges. Finally, 320 professors were fired and more than 4950 students left the school. The university's second president was Lee Choon-ho (이춘호, 李春昊), who served beginning in October 1947.

The College of Law was founded by merging the law department of Kyŏngsŏng University with Kyŏngsŏng Law College. The university absorbed Seoul College of Pharmacy in September 1950, as the College of Pharmacy. This had previously been a private institution.

During the Korean War, the university was occupied by North Korea and Seoul National University Hospital Massacre occurred, then temporarily merged with other universities in South Korea, located in Busan.

Relocation

Originally, the main campus (which embraced the College of Humanities and Sciences and College of Law) was in Dongsung-dong, Jongno. After the construction of a new main campus in Gwanak in February 1975, most colleges of the university relocated to the new Gwanak Campus between 1975 and 1979. Part of the former main campus in Jongno is still used by the College of Medicine, the College of Dentistry and the College of Nursing and is now called Yongon Campus.

In 2012 lawmakers reported that the ruling Saenuri Party, ahead of the December presidential elections, seriously proposed a plan to relocate the university to the newly established special autonomous Sejong City. The move came as part of an overall effort to decentralize the capital's governmental apparatus. Originally the national government had approached the university in 2009 to host the building of a satellite campus. It was reported the following year that the university had considered withdrawing from the Sejong plan.

Campus

Seoul National University occupies two Seoul-based, one-based Pyeong Chang campuses: the Gwanak Campus is situated in 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu; and the Yongon Campus is north of the Han River in Daehangno, Jongno District; and the new Pyeong Chang campus in pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do.

The main campus in Gwanak-gu was established in 1975 by the SNU Comprehensive Plan. At present, there are about 200 buildings, over half of which have been constructed since 1990. The school’s medical, dental and nursing schools, as well as the main branch of Seoul National University Hospital, are on the former site of Gyeongseong University’s medical department at the Yongon Campus. In 2003, the Colleges of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Veterinary Medicine were relocated from Suwon to Gwanak. In 2009, the Pyeong Chang Campus were established with three division: the Institute of Green Bio Science and Technology, the Graduate School of International Agriculture Technology, and the University Animal Farm.

Location

Gwanak Campus, the main campus, is located in the southern part of Seoul. It is served by its own subway station on Line 2. Yeongeon Campus, the medical campus, is on Daehangno (University Street), northeast Seoul. The defunct Suwon Campus, the agricultural campus, also known as the Sangnok Campus (Evergreen Campus), used to be located in Suwon, about 40 km south of Seoul. The agricultural campus moved to Gwanak in Autumn 2004, but some research facilities still remain in Suwon.

New plans

In February 2010 Seoul National initiated a memorandum with the city of Siheung to establish a global campus. Signed with the city's mayor and governor of Gyeonggi for administrative assistance, the university acquired 826 thousand square meters (204 acres) of property in the west-coast economic zone, near the Songdo International Business District, Pyeongtaek harbor, international airport, seaport.

The land acquisition will increase the university's size by 58% over its current 1.4 million square meters (350 acres) to 2.2 million square meters (550 acres) and headcount by an expected 10,000 people or 33% of its current figure. Along with lecture halls and additional liberal arts and graduate courses, the initiative will add a medical complex including a research hospital and training centre, research centre for dentistry and clinical pharmacology, dormitories, apartments, an international middle and high school, and other facilities. Planning to open the international campus in 2014, the university intends to share the initiative with other regional national institutions.

Reputation

A KEDI study found that the university's name-value translates into wages that are on average about 12 percent higher than that of any other Korean university.SNU graduates dominate South Korea's academics, government, politics and business. Approximately one in four Korean university presidents studied for their undergraduate degree at Seoul National. Between 2003 and 2009, more students who graduated from science high schools and received presidential scholarships matriculated at Seoul National University than at eight other leading universities combined. The concentration of SNU graduates in legal, official, and political circles is particularly high. Two-thirds of South Korean judges are SNU graduates, although the country's judicial appointment system is based solely on open competitive examinations. In government, slightly more than half of South Korea's elite career foreign service corps, recruited on the basis of a competitive higher diplomatic service exam, are from SNU. Similarly, among the high-ranking government officials who were recruited by an equally competitive higher civil service exam, SNU graduates take up more than 40 percent. On the political side, four out of seven presidential candidates in 2002 were SNU graduates.

International Rankings

In 2015 Thomson-Reuters ranked Seoul National University as the 31st most innovative institution in the world.QS World University Ranking (2014/15) considered it 31st in the world and 3rd in Asia, whilst it was 4th in the independent regional QS Asian University Rankings (2013). The university was 4th in Asia and 50th in the world by the 2014-15 Times Higher Education World University Rankings when its World Reputation Rankings considered it to be 26th globally. Moreover, ARWU (2013) regarded SNU to be among 101st-150th worldwide and the best in the country.

QS University Subject Rankings (2015): 16th, modern languages; 17th, pharmacy & pharmacology; 19th, architecture, chemical engineering; 21st, materials science, chemistry; 24th, civil & structural engineering; 27th, dentistry, 30th, mechanical engineering; 31st, electrical & electronic engineering; 32nd, sociology; 33rd, business & management studies; 36th, politics & international studies; 41st, law & legal studies, linguistics, physics & astronomy, veterinary science; 42nd, computer science & information systems; 43rd,accounting & finance; 46th, statistics & operational research; 47th, art & design; 48th, medicine; 49th, mathematics; 50th, history &archaeology.

The institute was ranked 20th in publications by a 2008 analysis of data from the Science Citation Index, and the following year ranked 8th in the world in clinical trials. In 2011, the Mines ParisTech : Professional Ranking World Universities reported that Seoul National is ranked 10th in the world in terms of the number of alumni holding CEO positions in Fortune 500 enterprises. Seoul National University also had the third highest number of students who went on to earn Ph.Ds in American institutions in 2006.

Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University (abbreviated THU; Chinese: 清华大学, pinyin: Qīnghuá Dàxué) is a research university located in Beijing, China, and one of the nine members in the elite C9 League of universities. Tsinghua was established in 1911 as "Tsinghua College," and renamed "Tsinghua School" in 1912 and "National Tsinghua University" in 1928. With its motto ofSelf-Discipline and Social Commitment, Tsinghua University describes itself as being dedicated to academic excellence, the well-being of Chinese society and to global development. With strong research and training, Tsinghua University is consistently ranked as one of the top academic institutions in China, alongside Peking University.

In the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion, American Secretary of State John Hay suggested that the US $30 million plus Boxer indemnity paid by China to the United States was excessive. After much negotiation with ambassador Liang Cheng, President Theodore Roosevelt obtained congressional approval in 1909 to reduce the Qing dynasty indemnity payment by US$10.8 million, on the condition that these funds would be used as scholarships for Chinese students to study in the United States. Using this fund, the Tsinghua College (清华学堂; Qīnghuá Xuétáng) was established in Beijing, on 29 April 1911 on the site of a former royal garden, to serve as a preparatory school for students to be sent by the government to study in the United States. The faculty members for sciences were recruited by the YMCA from the United States and its graduates transferred directly to American schools as juniors upon graduation. In 1925, the school established its College Department and started its research institute on Chinese studies.

In 1928, Tsinghua changed its name to National Tsing Hua University (NTHU). During World War II in 1937, Tsinghua University along with Peking University and Nankai University, merged to form Changsha Temporary University in Changsha, and later National Southwestern Associated University in Kunming of Yunnan province. After the war, Tsinghua moved back to Beijing and resumed its operations.

After the communist revolution at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, which led to the creation of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Tsinghua University's then President Mei Yi-Qi, followed by many professors, fled to Taiwan where they established the National Tsing Hua Institute of Nuclear Technology in 1955, which later became National Tsing Hua University of Taiwan.

In 1952, the Chinese government regrouped the country's higher education institutions in an attempt to build a Soviet style system, with individual institutions tending to specialize in a certain field of study. When the Cultural Revolution began in 1966, many university students walked out of the classrooms, and some went on to be part of the Red Guards, resulting in the complete shutdown of the university. It was not until 1978, after the Cultural Revolution had ended, that the university began to take in students again. Even so, Tsinghua University remained in the top tier of schools in China.

Since the 1980s, the university has incorporated a multidisciplinary system. As a result, several schools were re-incorporated. These included the School of Sciences, the School of Economics and Management, the School of Life Sciences, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Tsinghua Law School, the School of Public Policy and Management, and the Academy of Arts and Design.

Present

Most national and international university rankings place Tsinghua amongst the best universities in mainland China .Admission to Tsinghua is extremely competitive. Every year, many applicants scoring the highest in the National College Entrance Examination choose Tsinghua. According to a report in 2008, 215 out of 300 students who placed within the top 10 in the 30 tested provinces and regions chose Tsinghua and 21 out of the 30 top scorers in each province and region chose the university.Admission to Tsinghua's graduate schools is also very competitive, with, for example, only about 16% of MBA applicants admitted each year.

Tsinghua alumni include the current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Paramount Leader Xi Jinping, who graduated with a degree in chemical engineering in 1979, as well as the CPC General Secretary and former Paramount Leader Hu Jintao, who graduated with a degree in hydraulic engineering in 1964. Tsinghua has a reputation for hosting some of the most distinguished guest speakers of any university in the world, with international leaders such as Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Henry Kissinger,Carlos Ghosn, Park Geun-hye, and Henry Paulson, all recently giving lectures to the university community.

As of 2003, Tsinghua University has 12 colleges and 48 departments, 41 research institutes, 35 research centers, and 167 laboratories, including 15 national key laboratories. In September 2006, Peking Union Medical College was renamed to Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, although the Peking Union Medical College and Tsinghua University remain two separate institutions.The university offers 51 bachelor's degree programs, 139 master's degree programs and 107 PhD programs. Recently, Tsinghua has become the first Chinese university to offer a Master of Laws program in American law, through a cooperative venture with the Temple University Beasley School of Law. The university is a member of LAOTSE, an international network of leading universities in Europe and Asia. Each year, the University celebrates the Intellectual Property Summer Institute in cooperation withFranklin Pierce Law Center of Concord, New Hampshire. It has its own editorial, Tsinghua University Press.

Announced in 2013, the Schwarzman Scholars program will consist of 200 scholars to be chosen annually to work towards a one-year master's degree in Public Policy, International Relations, Engineering, Economics & Business. These scholars will live on the university campus at Schwarzman College, a residential college being built specifically for this program.

Academic organisation

As of 2014, Tsinghua University has 19 schools and 55 departments covering a broad range of subjects, including science, engineering, arts and literature, social sciences, medicine.

Department of Mathematical Sciences

Department of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) was established in 1927. As one of the premier Departments of Mathematical Sciencesin China, DMS has produced many famous Chinese mathematicians such as Shiing-Shen Chern and Luogeng Hua.

In 1952, Tsinghua DMS was merged with the Peking University Department of Mathematical Sciences. Then in 1979 it was renamed "Department of Applied Mathematics", and renamed again in 1999 to its current title.

Tsinghua DMS has three institutes at present, the institute of Pure Mathematics which has 27 faculty members, the Institute of Applied Mathematics and Probability and Statistics which has 27 faculty members, and the Institute of Computational Mathematics and Operations Research which has 20 faculty members. There are currently about 400 undergraduate students and 200 graduate students.

School of Journalism and Communication

The Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication (TSJC) was established in April 2002. Its predecessor was Communication Studies in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature and its establishment of coincides with the development of media increasingly influencing world affairs in a time of fast-growing globalization. The school's research fields include International Communication, Film and Television Studies, New Media Studies, Media Operation and Management, and Business Journalism and are based on comprehensive academic research in journalism and communication theories. The objective of the school is to bring full advantage of Tsinghua University's comprehensive academic structure to Chinese and international media, to construct a first-rate discipline in journalism and communication studies, to cultivate talented professionals in the field and to explore advanced concepts in journalism and communication. The school also offers a two-year graduate program in international business journalism, sponsored by Bloomberg L.P. and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), that trains talented students and media professionals from around the globe in financial media and corporate communication.

The school has five research-oriented centers to organize and conduct academic research activities. They are: Center for International Communications Studies, Center for New Media Studies, Center for Film and Television Studies, Center for Media Management Studies and Center for Cultural Industry Studies.

The first and present dean of the school is Fan Jingyi, a notable chief editor of People's Daily during the period of the 1990s.

Graduate School at Shenzhen

The Graduate School at Shenzhen was jointly founded by Tsinghua University and the Shenzhen Municipal Government. The school is directly affiliated with Tsinghua University in Beijing. The campus is located in the University Town of Shenzhen since 18 October 2003. The Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, was jointly founded by Tsinghua University and the Shenzhen Municipal Government for cultivating top level professionals and carrying out scientific and technological innovations.Directly affiliated with Tsinghua University in Beijing, the Graduate School plays an important role in Tsinghua's commitment to achieve international prominence. The new campus is located in the University Town of Shenzhen, set amidst the natural beauty of Xili Lake and the Tanglang Mountain.Following the principle of 'one university, one brand', the two campuses share the same culture and style, as well as the same goal of excellence. The primary goal of the Graduate School is to cultivate professionals with leadership capability, international vision, enterprising spirit and a wide range of knowledge.The Graduate School serves the regional economy and society by developing top quality education, initiating original researches, and facilitating the transfer of high technology to industry.With help from Shenzhen, Tsinghua and other sectors, the new campus continues to develop at a fast pace and is destined for a bright future.

Academic divisions:

• Division of Life Science and Health
• Division of Energy and Environment
• Division of Information Science and Technology
• Division of Logistics and Transportation
• Division of Advanced Manufacturing
• Division of Social Sciences and Management
• Division of Ocean Science and Technology

Tsinghua History Museum

The Tsinghua History Museum covers a construction area of 5,060 m².A collection of old documents, pictures, artworks, maps, graphics, videos and music tells the visitors the history of Tsinghua University. The exhibition also pays tribute to talented people who contributed to the prestige and development of the institution. The use of multimedia is remarkable, inviting visitors of different ages to learn more about Tsinghua.

Research

The scientific and technological research and projects at Tsinghua University are mainly supported by special projects and funding from the national science and technology programs. Together, funding from these programs totals over 20 billion yuan, which funds more than 1400 projects every year for the university. With the prospective increase of state investment in science and technology, research at Tsinghua is to receive more financial support from the state.

Rankings

Tsinghua University has been constantly placed as one of the top two universities in mainland China by most domestic and international rankings, along with Peking University.

Nationally, it had been continuously ranked to be the best in mainland by the Chinese university ranking from 2003 to 2010 and has become the second since then. The Netbig had also regarded it to be the best in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and it was placed at 2nd by the China's Education Center in the same consecutive years.

Tsinghua was regarded as the most reputable Chinese university by Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings (2016) where it was ranked 18th globally.It also topped the newly launched independent regional QS BRICS University Rankings(2013). It was 23rd in the Times Higher Education rankings by subjects (2014–15) for Engineering and Technology, which is its strength. The US News and World Report Best Global University Ranking puts Tsinghua at 59th in 2015 and 4th in Asia.

American University of Beirut (AUB)

The American University of Beirut (AUB) is a private, Christian, and independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. Degrees awarded at the American University of Beirut (AUB) are officially registered with theNew York Board of Regents.

The university is ranked as the number one university in Lebanon and among the top 1250 universities in the world by the QS World University Rankings.

The American University of Beirut is governed by a private, autonomous Board of Trustees and offers programs leading toBachelor's, Master’s, MD, and PhD degrees. It collaborates with many universities around the world, notably with Columbia University, George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Washington, DC; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the University of Paris. The current president is Fadlo R. Khuri, M.D..

The American University of Beirut (AUB) boasts an operating budget of $300 million with an endowment of approximately $500 million. The campus is composed of 64 buildings, including the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC, formerly known as AUH - American University Hospital) (420 beds), 5 libraries, 3 museums and 7 dormitories. Almost one-fifth of AUB's students attended secondary school or university outside of Lebanon before coming to AUB. AUB Graduates reside in approximately 100 countries worldwide. The language of instruction is English.

History

On 23 January 1862, W.M. Thomson proposed to a meeting of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions that a college of higher learning, that would include medical training, should be established in Beirut with Daniel Bliss as its President. On April 24, 1863, while Dr. Daniel Bliss was raising money for the new college in the United States and England, the State of New York granted a charter for the Syrian Protestant College. The college, which was renamed the American University of Beirut in 1920, opened with a class of 16 students on December 3, 1866. Dr. Bliss served as its first president, from 1866 until 1902.

AUB alumni have had a broad and significant impact on the region and the world for many years. For example, 19 AUB alumni were delegates to the signing of the United Nations Charter in 1945 — more than any other university in the world. AUB graduates continue to serve in leadership positions as presidents of their countries, prime ministers, members of parliament, ambassadors, governors of central banks, presidents and deans of colleges and universities, leading academics, businesspeople, scientists, engineers, doctors, teachers, and nurses. They work in governments, the private sector, and in nongovernmental organizations.

During the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) AUB pursued various means to preserve the continuity of studies, including enrollment agreements with universities in the United States.

On March 21, 2008, the Board of Trustees selected Peter Dorman to be AUB's 15th president. He succeeded John Waterbury who was president of AUB from 1998 to 2008. Dorman is an international scholar in the field of Egyptology and formerly chaired theUniversity of Chicago's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.

On March 19, 2015, the Board of Trustees formally approved the nomination of Fadlo R. Khuri, MD, as the next president. He was officially appointed as AUB's 16th president after holding an inauguration ceremony on Monday February 25, 2016.

As of June 2011, the total number of degrees and diplomas awarded totaled 82,032.

Campus

The 61-acre (250,000 m²) American University of Beirut campus is on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on one side and bordering Bliss Street on the other. Based in one of Lebanon’s few geographic locations, AUB’s campus in Ras Beirut consists of 64 buildings, seven dormitories and several libraries. In addition, the university also houses the Charles W. Hostler Student Center, an Archaeological Museum as well as the widely renowned Natural History Museum. Students also benefit from a range of recreational and research facilities, such as the 247 acre research farm and educational complex hosted by the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences' AREC (Agricultural Research and Education Center).

Research

In 2007, the American University of Beirut reintroduced PhD programs. Currently, it offers doctoral programs in the following programs:

• Arab and Middle Eastern History
• Arabic Language and Literature
• Biomedical Sciences
• Cell and Molecular Biology
• Civil Engineering
• Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Theoretical Physics

Research in the American University of Beirut is also carried by 28 centers and institute in a variety of fields

Medical center

The AUB Medical Center (AUBMC) is the private, not-for-profit teaching center of the Faculty of Medicine.The AUB Medical Center (AUBMC), which is accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCIA) on hospital accreditation, includes a 420-bed hospital and offers comprehensive tertiary/quaternary medical care and referral services in a wide range of specialties and medical, nursing and paramedical training programs at undergraduate and post-graduate level. Since 1905, AUB’s medical services have included a nursing school. In 2008, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) invited AUB’s Rafic Hariri School of Nursing to become a full member, making it the first member of the AACN outside the United States. TheAmerican Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program awarded AUBMC its prestigious Magnet designation on June 23, 2009. AUBMC is the first healthcare institution in the Middle East and the third in the world outside the United States to receive this award.

On April 4, 2011, the American University of Beirut (AUB) announced an ambitious plan for the development and implementation of a new AUBMC 2020 Medical Complex. The AUBMC 2020 Medical Complex will lead to the growth of the hospital from an approximately 350-bed institution to a 600-bed medical complex that will also include new adult and pediatric hospitals, the creation of specialized centers of excellence in oncology, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease, amongst others, as well as an expansion in the existing services and buildings. Another component to AUBMC’s growth, will be the recruitment of top-caliber, highly specialized and accomplished faculty, and the creation of a Heart and Vascular Center and a Multiple Sclerosis Center.

University libraries

The university libraries include the Nami Jafet Memorial Library, the Engineering and Architecture Library and the Science and Agriculture Library. The Agricultural Research and Education Center (AREC) in the Beqaa Valley also includes an annex to the Science and Agriculture Library.

The University Libraries are home to a rich collection that consists of:

• 587,778 volumes
• 923 periodical titles, of which 244 are in Arabic.
• 57,679 electronic journals in 206 databases.
• 1,139,340 audiovisual items of all formats, the majority of which are microforms of a substantial number of local and regional journals and newspapers going back to the early 20th century.
• 1,398 manuscripts in “Archives and Special Collections”, some of which have been appraised as museum pieces,
• 7,714 volumes of theses, projects and dissertations going back to 1907,
• 3,940 posters and 1,902 maps, as well as 46,418 photographs, of a unique and historical nature.

Saab Medical Library

The Saab Medical Library (SML) serves the AUB Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences,the Rafic Hariri School of Nursing, in addition to the entire AUB campus.

Although many library resources are accessible remotely from on and off campus, the libraries themselves are equipped with e-classrooms, computer labs, and wireless connectivity. Trained and experienced library staff conduct classes and workshops throughout the year to introduce and train users to take advantage of the libraries’ collections, information resources, and innovative technologies.

Accreditation

Degrees awarded by the American University of Beirut are officially registered with the Ministry of Higher Education in Lebanon and with the Board of Education in the State of New York. AUB was granted institutional accreditation in June 2004 by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The University’s accreditation was most recently reaffirmed in June 2009.

In September 2006, the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) acted to accredit the University’s Graduate Public Health Program in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS).^[11] The AUB Graduate Public Health Program is the first CEPH accredited public health program outside the North American continent.

The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accredited AUB’s Rafic Hariri School of Nursing for five years beginning October 13, 2007.

In April 2009, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) granted the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business (OSB) initial accreditation.AACSB is the leading international accrediting agency for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs in business administration and accounting. Less than five percent of business schools worldwide have earned AACSB International accreditation. AUB's Olayan School of Business is the first business school in Lebanon and the second in the region to receive such accreditation.

The Faculty of Engineering and Architectureat the American University of Beirut received accreditation from the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology(ABET) in July 2010, becoming the first university in Lebanon to receive such an accreditation. The accredited programs include the undergraduate BE degrees in civil engineering, computer and communications engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical engineering. The most important donor of FEA was Mohamad Nasser-Eddine (Major donation on 2 June 2009)

University of Tokyo

The University of Tokyo (東京大学 Tōkyō daigaku), abbreviated as Todai (東大 Tōdai), is a research university located in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The university has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is the first of Japan's National Seven Universities. It ranks as the highest in Asia and 12th in the world according to the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2016. The University of Tokyo is widely considered to be the most prestigious university in Japan.


History

The university was chartered by the Meiji government in 1877 under its current name by amalgamating older government schools for medicine and Western learning. It was renamed "the Imperial University (帝國大學 Teikoku daigaku)" in 1886, and then Tokyo Imperial University (東京帝國大學 Tōkyō teikoku daigaku) in 1897 when the Imperial University system was created. In September 1923, an earthquake and the following fires destroyed about 700,000 volumes of the Imperial University Library. The books lost included the Hoshino Library (星野文庫 Hoshino bunko), a collection of about 10,000 books. The books were the former possessions of Hoshino Hisashi before becoming part of the library of the university and were mainly about Chinese philosophy and history.

In 1947, after Japan's defeat in World War II, it re-assumed its original name. With the start of the new university system in 1949, Todai swallowed up the former First Higher School (today's Komaba campus) and the former Tokyo Higher School, which thenceforth assumed the duty of teaching first- and second-year undergraduates, while the faculties on Hongo main campus took care of third- and fourth-year students.

Although the university was founded during the Meiji period, it has earlier roots in the Astronomy Agency (天文方; 1684), Shoheizaka Study Office (昌平坂学問所; 1797), and the Western Books Translation Agency (蕃書和解御用; 1811). These institutions were government offices established by the 徳川幕府 Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867), and played an important role in the importation and translation of books from Europe.

Kikuchi Dairoku, an important figure in Japanese education, served as president of Tokyo Imperial University.

For the 1964 Summer Olympics, the university hosted the running portion of the modern pentathlon event.

On 20 January 2012, Todai announced that it would shift the beginning of its academic year from April to September to align its calendar with the international standard. The shift would be phased in over five years.But this unilateral announcement by the president was received badly and the university abandoned the plans.

According to the Japan Times, the university had 1,282 professors in February 2012. Of those, 58 were women.

In the fall of 2012 and for the first time, the University of Tokyo started two undergraduate programs entirely taught in English and geared toward international students — Programs in English at Komaba (PEAK) — the International Program on Japan in East Asia and the International Program on Environmental Sciences. In 2014, the School of Science at the University of Tokyo introduced an all-English undergraduate transfer program called Global Science Course (GSC).

Faculties

• Law
• Medicine
• Engineering
• Letters
• Science
• Agriculture
• Economics
• Arts and Sciences
• Education
• Pharmaceutical Sciences

Graduate schools

• Humanities and Sociolog
• Education
• Law and Politics
• Economics
• Arts and Sciences
• Science
• Engineering
• Agricultural and Life Sciences
• Medicine
• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Mathematical Sciences
• Frontier Sciences
• Information Science and Technology
• Interdisciplinary Information Studies
• Public Policy

Research institutes

• Institute of Medical Science
• Earthquake Research Institute
• Institute of Oriental Culture
• Institute of Social Science
• Institute of Industrial Science
• Historiographical Institute
• Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
• Institute for Cosmic Ray Research
• Institute for Solid State Physics
• Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute
• Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology

The University's School of Science and the Earthquake Research Institute are both represented on the national Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction

Ranking

• Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked the University of Tokyo 1st in Asia and 20th in the world in 2012.
• Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked the University of Tokyo 27th in the world in 2013 and 1st in the Asia University ranking in 2013. In 2015, Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked the institution 23rd in the world.It ranks 12th in the world according to the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2016.
• QS World University Rankings in 2011 ranked the University of Tokyo 25th in the world (in 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings parted ways to produce separate rankings). In the 2011 QS Asian University Rankings, which employs a different methodology, the University of Tokyo came 4th
• Global University Ranking ranked the University of Tokyo 3rd in the world and 1st in Asia.
• Human Resources & Labor Review, a human competitiveness index & analysis published in Chasecareer Network, ranked the university 21st internationally and 1st in Asia in 2010.
• Mines ParisTech : Professional Ranking World Universities ranked the University of Tokyo 2nd in the world on the basis of the number of alumni listed among CEOs in the 500 largest worldwide companies.
• Nature Publishing Index (2011) ranked the University of Tokyo 5th in the world in 2011.

Nanyang Technological University

Nanyang Technological University (Abbreviation: NTU) is one of the three largest public and autonomous universities in Singapore.

NTU was inaugurated in 1991, when its predecessor institution, the Nanyang Technological Institute (NTI) merged with theNational Institute of Education (NIE). NTU has since grown to become a full-fledged comprehensive and research-intensive university, with over 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The University is organized into eight colleges and schools. They are the College of Engineering, College of Science, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences,Nanyang Business School, and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine - set up jointly with Imperial College London. NTU is also home to the National Institute of Education, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Interdisciplinary Graduate School, Earth Observatory of Singapore, Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Institute on Asian Consumer Insight, and the College of Professional and Continuing Education.

Despite being a young university, NTU is consistently ranked among the world's best in various college and university rankings. In the 2015 QS World University Rankings, NTU was ranked 13th globally and 2nd in Asia. The University was also ranked 1st in the world in the global young university rankings, according to the QS Top 50 Under 50.TheCollege of Engineering at NTU is also ranked 6th in the world in the 2015 QS World University Rankings by FacultyThe NTU Nanyang MBA is Singapore's No.1 MBA programme having placed 29th worldwide in the 2016 Financial TimesGlobal MBA Rankings and 59th globally (2nd in Asia) by The Economist Intelligence Unit for full-time MBA Rankings in 2015. For 12 consecutive years, Nanyang Business School has been ranked the best in Singapore by The Economist.The university also has 10 Nobel laureates and a Fields Medalist on its panel of international advisers.

The university's main campus covers 200 hectares of land, making it the largest university campus in Singapore. The main campus grounds are located in the south-western part of Singapore just adjacent to the town of Jurong West. NTU also has two other campuses, one in Novena and another at one-north.

Nanyang Technological Institute (1981-1991)

Nanyang Technological Institute (NTI) was set up on 1 August 1981 with a charter to train three-quarters of Singapore’s engineers. When NTI started in 1982, it had a total student population of 582 in three engineering disciplines – civil and structural, electrical and electronic, and mechanical and production engineering. By 1990, the institute’s undergraduate student population had grown to 6,832. The first two graduate students were admitted in 1986. Three engineering schools were added, and the School of Accountancy from the National University of Singapore was transferred to NTI in 1987. A school of applied science was also started. In 1990, the government announced that the Institute of Education would be merged with the College of Physical Education to form the National Institute of Education and that it would be part of the new NTU upon its establishment in 1991.

Despite the similar name, it is not related to Nanyang University ("南大"), the local Chinese-medium tertiary institution which merged with the University of Singapore in 1980 to form the National University of Singapore. NTI was established the following year and took over the former Nanyang University's buildings.

Present form: Nanyang Technological University (1991-present)

In 1991, NTI merged with the National Institute of Education (NIE) to form Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The alumni rolls of the former Nanyang University were transferred to NTU in 1996. NTU became autonomous in 2006 and is today one of the three largest public universities in Singapore

Yunnan Garden Campus

NTU's primary campus is the 200-hectare (2.0 km²; 0.772 sq mi) Yunnan Garden Campus which is situated adjacent to the town ofJurong West. It is the largest university campus on the island of Singapore, housing Singapore's largest on-campus residence infrastructure including 18 halls of residence for undergraduates and two graduate halls.

The campus grounds were originally donated by the Singapore Hokkien Association to Nanyang University, a Chinese-medium university inaugurated in 1953. In 1980, the Government of Singapore merged Nanyang University with the University of Singaporeto form the present-day National University of Singapore. The following year, the Nanyang University grounds were granted to theNanyang Technological Institute, a newly formed English-medium engineering college. In 1991, NTI merged with the National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore's main teaching college, to form the present-day Nanyang Technological University.

The former Nanyang University administration building was beautifully restored into the Chinese Heritage Centre and was gazetted as a national monument in 1998 - now overlooking the historical Yunnan Garden. The Nanyang University Memorial and original Nanyang University Arch were also declared national monuments of Singapore in 1998. The NTU Art & Heritage Museum is an approved public museum under the National Heritage Board’s Approved Museum Scheme; benefactors who donate artworks and artefacts to NTU enjoy double tax deductions. There is a small lake between the Chinese Heritage Centre and Hall of Residence 4 called Nanyang Lake. Only members of NTU Anglers' Club permit holder, the fishing club at NTU, are allowed to fish in this lake.

In 2008, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, one of the world’s largest foundations for entrepreneurship, selected NTU as the first Kauffman campus outside of the US.

The campus also served as the Youth Olympic Village for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010.

Singapore's first eco-business park, CleanTech Park, is situated next to NTU's main campus. It is proposed to be developed in three phases with an estimated completion year of 2030. The park's first multi-tenanted building, CleanTech One, was opened in October 2010. CleanTech One's tenants include those from the public sector (the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI), the Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N), and the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore), as well as from the private sector (DHI Water & Environment, Toray Industries, Silecs International, CIMA Nanotech, Diamond Energy, the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS), Yingli Solar, and Pfizer).

NTU@one-north

NTU@one-north is located at the one-north business park, and is home to the NTU Alumni Clubhouse. It comprises two wings with educational and recreational facilities primarily allowing the university to enhance its delivery of continuing education programmes through the Centre for Continuing Education and Confucius Institute of NTU.

The educational facilities include a 215-seat auditorium, an 80-seat lecture theatre, six 45-seat lecture theatres, twenty-one 18 to 50-seat seminar rooms, three 18 to 27-seat computer rooms and eight 6-seat discussion rooms. Alumni clubhouse facilities include a fun pool, a Chinese restaurant, games arcade, wine bar, lounge, karaoke rooms, games rooms, gymnasium, childcare centre and SPA. The Campus is also home to NTU's Centre for Continuing Education and the Confucius Institute of NTU. Its close proximity to the city means that it is more convenient for alumni to gather and connect with the university.

Novena Campus

A third campus, Novena Campus, is situated close to LKCMedicine’s partner teaching hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital in downtown Novena. The new 20-storey Clinical Sciences Building is expected to be completed in 2016. The CSB will also be home to LKCMedicine researchers, with the laboratories interconnected through collaborative spaces.

Internet learning in campus

The University is connected to the high speed Internet. All the facilities and resources available over the Internet are accessible by anyone on the campus network. The campus network, which links together all computing systems on the campus, is managed by the University's Centre for IT Services.

To supplement the fixed-line campus network, NTU implemented a campus-wide wireless network in 2000. This high-speed wireless network, capable of a transfer rate of up to 11 megabits per second, enables NTU staff and students equipped with mobile devices such as notebooks, PCs and PDAs to access all networked services from practically anywhere on the campus without the need of a hardwired network connection. However services like torrents are still blocked.

NTU provides e-learning services, which is based on BlackBoard technology, provides the framework and eco-system for learning and teaching. Besides providing a repository of lecture recordings, lecture notes, it also facilitates learning activities for collaboration, discussion, assessment and project work.During term time, the usage typically by faculty and students exceeds nine-million page views weekly (Jan 2010).

University Ranking

NTU was named the world's fastest-rising young university by the Times Higher Education in April 2015.NTU has been ranked 13th in the world and 2nd in Asia in the latest 2015 QS World University Rankings.NTU also came in 1st overall in the ranking of young universities for the second consecutive year according to the 2015 QS Top 50 Under 50.In 2011, NTU became the first university in Asia to receive the maximum five stars under the QS Stars evaluation system.

QS World University Rankings

In 2015, NTU's Faculty of Engineering and Technology was ranked 6th in the world and 2nd in Asia by the QS World University Rankings by Faculty 2015. NTU also has a research citation that is among the top four in the world, with its research output being ranked among the top three universities globally in Engineering by Essential Science Indicators of Thomson Reuters. In the 2015 QS World University Rankings by Faculty, NTU is ranked 22nd in the world for Social Sciences and Management, up 11 places from the previous year. This includes the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, National Institute of Education,Nanyang Business School and School of Humanities and Social Sciences. In the field of Natural Sciences, NTU's College of Science jumped 44 spots to rank 15th in the world while Art & Humanities leapt 41 places to emerge 45th globally.

In the recent QS World University Rankings by Subject published on 21 March 2016, NTU had 19 subjects in the world's top 50, with two subjects in the global top 10. It also came in first in Asia in Materials Science.