The primary setting of My Hero Academia is UA, a school designed to mold top students into potentially the best heroes Japan has to offer. Its reputation is renowned, with many of the top heroes from the country, including All Might, formerly studying at the school. Needless to say, the Department of Heroes is the most famous department of UA; however, there are three other departments: general education, support and management. These departments are also impressive and deserve more recognition, as they set their students up for success and still contribute to the world of heroes in unique ways.
Department of General Education
Not everyone passes the the entrance exam for the Hero Department, and as is brought up during the Sports Festival Arc, some students are at an unfair disadvantage depending on their Quirk, regardless of how powerful their Quirk is or how promising their hero potential is. This is exactly the case for Hitoshi Shinso, who impresses nearly everyone during the festival.
Instead of being in the Hero Department, he is in the General Education Department, which is home to other students who didn't pass the entrance exam; however, they still had immense potential, so they were admitted into UA. Along with being the top hero school, UA is an excellent school in general, so this department delivers its students a stellar education while the teachers prepare them for college and other pursuits beyond hero work.
That being said, these students do have a chance to transfer into the Hero Department of UA, which Hitoshi is currently trying to do. While the entrance exam may not fit every aspiring hero, the General Education Department and UA's teachers allow the students who still want to become heroes a chance to transfer.
Department of Support
While UA is great for those who want to become heroes, there are more roles to the pro hero industry beyond those fighting the bad guys. One essential role is that of those who develop the gear heroes use, and students who want that responsibility are welcomed in the Department of Support. Support items are crucial for heroes. For instance, Denki Kaminari uses his sharpshooter gear to help control the direction of his electricity, Katsuki Bakugo uses grenadier bracers to store his nitroglycerin-like sweat for larger explosions and Izuku Midoriya uses iron soles and air force gloves to improve his fighting style.
These are all essentials for heroes, so the Department of Support is as important as the Department of Heroes itself. While a hero is not defined by their gear and should be able to adjust to a situation if their equipment is damaged, the students from this department are finding new ways to protect more civilians and the heroes themselves through the support items they develop.
The student fans are probably most familiar with from this department is Mei Hatsume, the mastermind behind Deku's equipment. Like Hitoshi, she impressed many during the Sports Festival, but she is not trying to advance to the Department of Heroes -- something often reserved for the Department of General Education. During the tournament, she wanted to show off her equipment. Without students like her, future heroes could struggle greatly when using their Quirks or facing certain foes.
Department of Management
The third and final department is the Department of Management, and it might be the most overlooked because there is not a student yet who has taken on a serious recurring role like Hitoshi and Mei have done. They also did not participate in the Sports Festival like the other departments did, instead watching from the stands. That's not to say they were not doing anything during the festivities, it's just their work is not seen in the field; it's behind the scenes.
Given the strict rules in place to be a pro hero, it's unsurprising that there are countless people working in more bureaucratic positions. For instance, there is the Hero Public Safety Commision, who oversee exactly how this system is run, from the president to the man running the provisional hero license exam. Along with them, there are likely plenty of other positions that fall under management, whether that is working directly in a specific hero agency or helping maintain the order of the industry at large.
Department of Management is not as glamorous as other departments at UA; however, it is essential. Students from this department are crucial for the future of pro heroes, as they could be the ones to implement whether the current system -- which is on unstable grounds after All Might's retirement and the rise of the League of Villains -- stays in place or if changes must be made.
