Niigata University (新潟大学 Niigata Daigaku, affectionately known across Japan as Shidai - 新大), with roots tracing back to the establishment of the Niigata Hospital School in 1870 and chartered as a comprehensive national university in 1949, is the largest and most prestigious national higher education institution on the Sea of Japan coast. Located in Niigata City—a major historic port and agricultural-industrial hub of the Hokuriku/Koshin’etsu region—Niigata University educates over 12,300 students across 10 undergraduate faculties and 5 specialized graduate schools. The university is internationally acclaimed for its Brain Research Institute (BRI / 脳研究所)—one of Japan’s leading national joint-usage neuroscience hubs—alongside world-class faculties in Medicine, Dentistry, Engineering, Agriculture, and Creative Studies. Spread across two primary metropolitan campuses—the expansive Ikarashi Main Campus overlooking the Sea of Japan and the historic Asahimachi Medical Campus in downtown Niigata—the institution provides world-leading education under Japan’s statutory national university tuition rate (¥535,800/yr), backed by comprehensive 50% to 100% National Tuition Fee Exemptions, MEXT scholarships, and extensive international exchange programs.

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