Founding The university was founded in 1886 (
Meiji 19) as Sendai Theological Seminary by
Oshikawa Masayoshi (1850–1928), one of Japan's first
Protestants, and Protestant missionary
William Edwin Hoy. Oshikawa, an ex-
samurai in
Matsuyama became the seminary's first president. In 1891, the school was renamed and a course for non-Christian students was added.
Pre-war development and wartime The first president Oshikawa resigned in 1901 and was succeeded by
David Bowman Schneder (1857–1938). In 1904, college courses were added and authorized by the
Specialized School Order. The college at first had two Departments:
Letters,
Theology. In 1918, Normal School and the Department of
Commerce were added. In 1926, the main building (still used today) was built in Tsuchitoi Campus. Schneder left the college due to age, but even in his last days he had strong faith and gave the sermon titled
"I am not ashamed of the gospel" (1936, the 50th anniversary of the school). During
World War II, the college was virtually forced to stop functioning and was established instead (1944–1947). Due to the
Sendai air-raid on July 10, 1945, the college lost the buildings of old Sendai Theological Seminary and normal school. File:東北學院神学部専門部(旧仙台神学校).jpg|Department of Theology,Tohoku Gakuin College (Old Sendai Theological Seminary) File:North Japan College 東北學院普通部 1905(明治38年)2.jpg| Recitation Hall, Tohoku Gakuin Normal School in 1905 File:東北學院専門部校舎大正15年.jpg|Main Building, Tohoku Gakuin College in 1926
Post-war growth After the war, following education reforms in Japan, it was reorganized to the status of a university and established Faculty of Letters and Economics in 1949. During the 1960s, Tohoku Gakuin University grew into a comprehensive university with 4 faculties and graduate school. In 1962, Faculty of Engineering opened on
Tagajo campus, where was used for a
United States Army base, Camp Loper from 1945 to 1954. In 1964, Faculty of Letters and Economics was divided into Faculty and Letters and Faculty of Economics. Faculty of Law was established in 1965. During the 1980s, the university expanded its campus in the suburb of Sendai City. In 1988, Izumi campus opened in the northern part of Sendai City, and established Faculty of Liberal Arts.
21st century However, during the 2000s, the university changed the development policy to bring the facilities at outer campuses back to Tsuchitoi main campus. In 2023, Itsutsubashi campus opened near Tsuchitoi campus and Tagajo campus was abolished. At the same time, instead of Faculty of Liberal Arts, four faculties including Faculty of Regional Studies, Faculty of Informatics, Faculty of Human Sciences and Faculty of International Studies were established. ==Campus==