Yokohama City University

is a public university, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2013, YCU has two faculties with a total of around 4,850 students, 111 of whom are foreign. YCU also has four campuses (Kanazawa-Hakkei, Fukuura, Maioka and Tsurumi) and two hospitals (YCU Hospital and YCU Medical Center). YCU is a member of the Port-City University League (PUL), and a core member of the Japanese University Network in the Bay Area (JUNBA). In 2017, YCU has been ranked #16th among "world's best small universities" in 2016-2017 (Times Higher Education), ranked at 23rd among life sciences institutes in Japan (Nature Index 2016). History From Yokohama School of Commerce to Yokohama City University The predecessor of YCU, the , was founded in 1882, initially maintained by an association of local merchants. In 1888, the school was renamed , a five-year school for boys (ages 14–19 or above). In 1917, Yokohama Commercial School was municipalized and in 1921 it became a seven-year commercial school (for ages 12–19 or above). The Ministry of Education urged the school to shorten the curriculum by two years, as Japanese Commercial School Regulations (1921) did not specify a seven-year course for commercial schools. In 1924, it became a five-year school with a two-year specialized course. In 1928, the specialized course became the . In 1949, it was renamed Yokohama City Economics College and reorganized into Yokohama City University under Japan's new educational system. From Juzen Hospital to Yokohama City University Another predecessor of YCU was founded in 1874 as . This hospital was municipalized in 1891. In 1944, ) was established, and Juzen Hospital became a college hospital. In 1947, after World War II, the medical college became , a municipal university. Its three-year preparatory course was established in 1947, and the four-year main course was established in 1949. In 1952, the medical school was merged with Yokohama City University.