Kansai is the proper name of the large region where it is located, which includes the cities of Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe.

Gaidai is a contraction of Gaikokugo Daigaku, which literally means "foreign language university".

The Hotani Campus was established in 1984 and currently houses the Department of International Communication and a Confucius Institute.

Gotenyama Campus - Global Town officially opened on April 1, 2018 and had a dedication ceremony on June 9, 2018.

The university is also known for the collaborative effort in the formulation of the Genki Series, books used by dozens of schools to teach Japanese.

The Asian Studies Program is located in the Center for International Education at the Nakamiya Campus.

While Seminar House 3 is an apartment style dormitory with students sharing common living quarters and kitchens while sleeping in 4 separate rooms.

The newest dorm, built in 2018 on the Gotenyama campus, is called GLOBAL COMMONS 結 -YUI-.

In 2023, a homecoming for alumni of the program was held for the first time on campus to celebrate the 50 years of its existence.

The program takes place at Kansai Gaidai’s Nakamiya campus and lasts from June to July.

The current schedule also includes several cultural activities where students can get on-hand experience of what they have learned about in class.

It is an international community which comes together in Kansai Gaidai's ICC building once a month to discuss TED videos and how the ideas relate to all of us.