, abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university located in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As the only university in Japan bearing the name of a former Japanese province, it bears the name "Shinshu" (alternative name for Shinano Province), and is firmly rooted in the many regions of Nagano Prefecture. It was the 18th ranked higher education institution in Japan. The University has several campuses; Matsumoto, Nagano, Ueda and Minami-Minowa. Nagano Prefecture is located in the center of Japan, a region blessed with traditional culture that is kept alive at many places throughout the prefecture such as Zenkoji, Matsumoto Castle, Ueda Castle. The school was founded in 1873 and it was established as a university in 1949, at which time the following institutions were subsumed into it; Nagano Normal School (established in 1873), Ueda Textile College (1910), Nagano Youths Normal School (1918), Matsumoto High School (1919), Nagano Technical College (1943), Matsumoto Medical College (1944), and Nagano Prefectural College of Agriculture and Forestry (1945). History Shinshu University traces its roots back to 1873 when it was a temporary normal school. The university was chartered by the Showa government in 1949 under a new Japanese education system reforming older system, merging seven institutions of higher education within Nagano Prefecture which includes Nagano Normal School (, Nagano shihan gakkō) established in 1873, Ueda Textile College (, Ueda senni semmon gakkō) established in 1910, Nagano Youths Normal School (, Nagano seinen shihan gakkō) established in 1918, Matsumoto Higher School (, Matsumoto kōtō gakkō) established in 1919, Nagano Technical College (, Nagano kōgyō semmon gakkō) established in 1943, Matsumoto Medical College (, Matsumoto ika daigaku) established in 1944, and Nagano Prefectural College of Agriculture and Forestry (, Nagano kenritsu nōrin semmon gakkō) established in 1945. In 2004 Shinshu University became a National University Corporation under the National University Corporation Act. Academics Shinshu University is a comprehensive national university having 8 faculties and 8 graduate schools. A wide range of education and research is carried out on the campuses at Matsumoto, Nagano, Ueda and Minami-Minowa with a total number of staff of 1,179 and a total number of students of about 10,970 (including about 329 foreign students). Organic collaboration between the various departments is carried out utilizing the advantages of a comprehensive university, to achieve world level advanced and innovative education and research. Rankings In September 2005, the university chair decided not to participate in national