Ritsumeikan University (立命館大学 Ritsumeikan Daigaku?, abbreviated to Rits and 立命 Ritsumei) is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, tracing its roots to 1869. With the Kinugasa Campus(KIC) in Kyoto, and Kyoto Prefecture. the university also has a satellite called Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC).
Today, the university is known as one of the four leading private universities in western Japan. KAN-KAN-DO-RITS 関関同立 (Kwansei Gakuin University, Kansai University, Doshisha University, and Ritsumeikan University) is the abbreviation that many people refer to when talking about the four leading private universities in the region (of 20 million people). The school is one of the top universities in Japan, and it is especially well known for its International Relations programme which has been ranked as first place in Japan. Moreover, in today’s newspaper, it is listed as the ‘top private university in Japan for policy science’. It has exchange programmes with many schools throughout the world, including The University of British Columbia, The University of Melbourne, The University of Sydney, University of Hong Kong and King's College London. The school also has a dual bachelor's degree program and dual masters' degree programme offered in collaboration with American University, and a dual bachelor's degree programme offered in collaboration with The University of British Columbia. It has a relatively strong network of alumni in Kansai region and has produced a number of CEOs in Japanese companies as well as politicians.
Ritsumeikan University Panthers is a very strong collegiate football team in Japan and won three national champions, seven collegiate champions, and nine conference champions.