Kyushu University (九州大学, Kyūshū Daigaku), abbreviated to Kyudai (九大, Kyūdai), is a public research university located in Fukuoka, Japan, on the island of Kyushu.

Founded in 1911 as the fourth Imperial University in Japan, it has been recognised as a leading institution of higher education and research in Kyushu, Japan, and beyond.

The history of the university began a few decades before its founding when the medical school of the Fukuoka Domain (福岡藩 Fukuoka han) was established in 1867, the final year of the Edo period. The school was reorganised as the Fukuoka Medical College of Kyoto Imperial University in 1903. It became independent as Kyushu Imperial University in 1911.

In 1867, the Fukuoka Domain established a medical school called Sanshikan in Tenjin, Fukuoka. Although closed in 1872, its affiliated hospital continued operating and evolved over time. By 1879, it became part of the Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka Medical School, later continuing as the Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka Hospital.^[5]

The push for an imperial university in Kyushu led to the establishment of Fukuoka Medical College in 1903 as a branch of Kyoto Imperial University. Financial challenges delayed further development until the Furukawa Zaibatsu's donation in 1906 facilitated the establishment of Kyushu Imperial University in 1911, with Kenjiro Yamakawa, former president of the University of Tokyo, as its first president.^[6]

Kyushu University dates its medical faculty's founding to 1903 and the university's establishment to 1911. In 1947, it was renamed Kyushu University, and in 1949, it expanded by incorporating several local educational institutions.

On July 3, 2009, Kyushu University was chosen for the “Global 30 (G30) Project”.^[7]

Kyushu University's incumbent president is Tatsuro Ishibashi, who was elected in 2020 and is expected to serve until September 2026. ^[8]

The university has 16 faculties, 11 undergraduate schools, and 18 graduate schools.^[9][10]

• Faculty of Humanities
• Faculty of Social and Cultural Studies
• Faculty of Human-Environment Studies
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Economics
• Faculty of Languages and Cultures
• Faculty of Sciences
• Faculty of Mathematics
• Faculty of Medical Sciences
• Faculty of Dental Science
• Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Faculty of Engineering
• Faculty of Engineering Sciences
• Faculty of Design
• Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering
• Faculty of Agriculture

Kyushu University Hospital, with historical roots in the 1867 Sanseikan established by the Kuroda Clan, evolved significantly over time. Initially a clinic for a medical institution, it became affiliated with the Fukuoka Prefectural Medical School in 1879. In 1903, it became associated with the newly formed Fukuoka Medical College, a branch of Kyoto Imperial University. The establishment of Kyushu Imperial University in 1911 brought the hospital under its Faculty of Medicine. Post-World War II reforms in 1947 led to its rebranding as the Kyushu University Faculty of Medical Sciences Affiliated Hospital, incorporating various departments, including dental science. The hospital underwent further transformations, merging in 2003 with hospitals from the Faculty of Dental Science and Medical Institute of Bioregulation to form the current Kyushu University Hospital.

The hospital's history also includes a dark chapter in 1945, involving fatal and torturous medical experiments including live dissection on American POWs by the university's medical faculty, resulting in war crimes convictions.^[11][12][13]

• National Seven Universities
• Campus of Kyushu University
• Kyushu Institute of Design
• Kyoto University
• Maidashi kyudai byoin mae
• IBM/Google Cloud Computing University Initiative
• Experimentation on American POWs