Hokkaido University

Hokkaido University (HU) was founded in 1876 as Sapporo Agricultural College, the first modern academic institute in Japan. HU currently has 12 undergraduate schools and 21 graduate schools. We are also a research-intensive university and  have 24 research center or institutions.

We have declared and cultivated our basic philosophies of education and research, namely “Frontier Spirit”, “Global Perspectives”, “All-round Education” and “Practical Learning.”

In order to meet the demands of society and to move ahead as a National University Corporation, HU　formulates a long term goal for developing the basis of knowledge creation, knowledge dissemination and knowledge application in the new century, with our newly acquired freedom, while reconfirming our basic philosophies and recognizing our accountability to society.

HU educates new generations of societal leaders with insight and a broad outlook through its liberal arts educational programs and with problem-solving abilities through its specialized educational programs.

In addition, we established a new organization, “the Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education (GI-CoRE)“, as a faculty organization that brings together world-class teaching staff from around the world and within the University.

Under this framework, HU has been promoting cutting-edge research in fields such as quantum medical science and engineering; zoonosis control; food, land and water resources; soft matter; big data and cybersecurity; and arctic research.

HU is the Japan’s only research institute specializing in natural science in the cryosphere. “Institute of Low Temperature Science” and “Arctic Research Center” are our unique reserch centers. 
Also, we promote Slavic research and indigenous studies. Our “Slavic-Eurasian Research Center” is the only research center to study the Slavic-Eurasian region in Japan and is a world-leading facility. We have also established “Center for Ainu & Indigenous Studies” as Japan’s only national research institution specializing in studies on the Ainu and other indigenous peoples.

To subscribe to the Hokkaido University Times E-Newsletter, see here.