The University of Tokyo is set to open a new department in September 2027.

All classes in the five-year bachelor's and master's degree program, “UTokyo College of Design”, will be taught in English.

It is the university’s first new faculty in nearly 70 years since it established the department of pharmaceutical sciences.

Professor Miles Pennington is scheduled to be the head of the new faculty.

It will be the first time since the founding of the university that a foreign national will serve as dean.

All students, including exchange students, will live in dormitories during their first year of study with the aim of having a better understanding of different cultures.

They will develop their own research themes based on the various fields of knowledge they gain in their first year of study.

The move comes as the university’s ranking in the world, according to Times Higher Education, continues to fall each year. 

The University of Tokyo currently ranks 28th place in the world.

It fell from the top in Asia in 2016.