Outline

Founder

Founder
Mary E. Kidder(1834–1910)

Born in a small town in Vermont, USA, Mary E. Kidder devoted her life to missionary work and education as a missionary for the Reformed Churches. In 1869 (2nd year of the Meiji Era), Mary came to Japan on the recommendation of S. R. Brown, a pioneering missionary in Japan, and founded Ferris Jyogakuin in the following year. She was just 36 years old. Her numerous letters with deep passion about women's education in Japan have been published as "The Letters of Mary E. Kidder."

School Crest

The Ferris University school crest is a shield emblazoned with an intertwined "F" and "S" standing for "Ferris Seminary," the school's original name. The shield is a symbol of the strength of the faith that will protect us from the storms of the world (Ephesians 6:16). The three colors of white, yellow, and red represent faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

School Song

The verse composed in celebration of the completed University building in 1929 after the Great Earthquake occurred was originally sung to the melody of a hymn. The present song came into existence in 1950 (25th year of the Showa Era) to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the school.
Of all collected lyrics from people who were connected to the University, the lyrics written by Hanabusa Yasuko were selected. Hanabusa Yasuko was a teacher of Japanese who had attended Ferris and Tokyo Woman's Christian University before returning to Ferris as a teacher of Japanese.
The melody, meanwhile, was composed under the guidance of Dan Ikuma, a lecturer at Ferris. These were combined to produce a rich expressive work.

Number of Students and Faculty Members

The Number of Registered Students

(May 1, 2023)

Total	Undergraduates	Graduates	Total
Total	2,104	28	2,132

Undergraduate

Faculty	Department	1st year	2nd year	3rd year	4th year	Total
Faculty of Letters	Department of English Language and Literature	71	65	88	104	328
	Department of Japanese Language and Literature	80	81	93	108	362
	Department of Communication Studies	95	105	95	119	414
Faculty of Global and Intercultural Studies	Department of Global and Intercultural Studies	155	133	194	237	719
College of Music	Department of Musical Arts	65	51	80	83	279
College of Music	Department of Performing Arts	-	-	-	2	2

※The College of Music was re-organized and the Department of Performing Arts ceased accepting new students when it merged into the Department of Musical Arts.

Graduate Schools

Graduate School	Graduate Program		1st year	2nd year	3rd year	4th year	Total
Graduate School of Humanities	Graduate Program in English Language and Literature	Master	2	2	-	-	4
	Graduate Program in Japanese Language and Literature		0	1	-	-	1
	Graduate Program in Communication Studies		3	1	-	-	4
	Graduate Program in English Language and Literature	Doctor	0	0	1	-	1
	Graduate Program in Japanese Language and Literature		1	0	1	-	2
	Graduate Program in Communication Studies		1	0	0	-	1
Graduate School of Global and Intercultural Studies	Graduate Program in Global and Intercultural Studies	Master	5	1	-	-	6
Graduate School of Global and Intercultural Studies	Graduate Program in Global and Intercultural Studies	Doctor	0	0	0	0	0
Graduate School of Music	Graduate Program in Musical Arts	Master	7	0	-	-	7
Graduate School of Music	Graduate Program in Performing Arts	Master	-	2	-	-	2

The Number of Tenured Faculty