Located in Saitama prefecture, Surugadai University was founded in 1987 on the cornerstone of “caring education.” According to the school, “True education cannot be achieved without love for each student, love for comrades, and love for the journey of self-discovery.”

GMI POST met with Surugadai President Kazuhiro Omori and Vice President Changmyeong Park to find out how the university has grown over the last 36 years.
“We work on the philosophy that respects the dream and the individuality of each student and work together with them,” Omori explained.
Surugadai University provides its 4,200 students the chance to study abroad as well as welcome those students who want to study in Japan, recognizing the many benefits of an overseas education.
“Surugadai University has two programs for foreign students. One is long term, which lasts between six months to one year, while the short term program is about a month. For Japanese students going abroad for the long-term program, the university pays for their tuition fee and airfare. We also provide them with a scholarship,” he added.
While the number of international students went down during the pandemic, the university wants to expand its study abroad programs in the future.
“We are trying to increase the number of places our students can go. Although we are a relatively small university, we do have many partner universities in the U.S., the UK, Philippines, France, China, and Korea. We’re also working with another school in Taiwan. We also want to increase the number of foreign students that come to the university by offering our programs at a low cost,” Omori said about its other plans for internationalization.
Surugadai University strives to facilitate a seamless transition and provide an authentic global education experience by fostering interaction between foreign students and the local community, encouraging participation in festivals and cultural events. By doing so, it hopes to enhance students' understanding of the local culture and enable them to maximize their overall experience.