1999: The school renamed the Department of Social Education within the School of Education as the Department of Lifelong Education, and opened a graduate school with the Correspondence Division (the first certified program); additionally, it installed the Jodo Buddhism Program, Buddhist Studies Program, Buddhist Culture Program, Japanese History Program, Oriental History Program, Chinese Literature Program, and the British and American Literature Program within the Graduate School of Literature (M.A.), the Lifelong Education Program within the Graduate School of Education (M.A.), and the Social Welfare Program within the Graduate School of Social Welfare (MA).
1999年　教育学部社会教育学科を生涯学習学科に改称、通信制大学院(全国で最初の正規課程)を開設、文学研究科浄土学専攻、仏教学専攻、仏教文化専攻、日本史学専攻、東洋史学専攻、中国文学専攻、英米文学専攻(修士課程)、教育学研究科生涯教育専攻(修士課程)、社会学研究科社会福祉学専攻(修士課程)開設。