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Hokkaido University

北海道大学
Motto	少年よ、大志を抱け (Boys, Be Ambitious)
Type	Public (National)
Established	Founded September 1876, Chartered April 1, 1918
Endowment	JP¥92.297 billion (US$821 million)
President	Toyoharu Nawa
Administrative staff	6,250
Undergraduates	11,153
Postgraduates	9,128
Location	Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan 43°04′29″N 141°20′27″E / 43.074687°N 141.340828°E / 43.074687; 141.340828
Campus	Urban, 3.0 km²
Colors	Green
Mascot	None
Website	www.hokudai.ac.jp
Location in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan

Hokkaido University, September 2009

Secretariat of Hokkaido University

Hokkaido University Furukawa Hall

The Hokkaido University Museum

Near the library at Sapporo Campus

Forest Elm at Sapporo Campus

Hokkaido University (北海道大学, Hokkaidō daigaku), or Hokudai (北大), is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido.^[1] It is a member of the Imperial Universities, which were established to be the nation's finest institutes of higher education or research. It is located in downtown Sapporo, just north of Sapporo Station, and stretching approximately 2.4 kilometers northward. It is considered one of the top universities in Japan.

History

Hokkaido University (Hokudai for short) was founded in 1876 as Sapporo Agricultural College (札幌農學校, Sapporo nōgakkō) by William S. Clark with the help of five faculty members and a first class size of 24 students. In September 1907, Tohoku Imperial University (東北帝國大學, Tōhoku teikoku daigaku) set up the faculty of Agriculture in Sapporo. Tohoku Imperial University ceded the Faculty of Agriculture to Hokkaido Imperial University (北海道帝國大學, Hokkaidō teikoku daigaku) on April 1, 1918. It was one of nine Imperial Universities. The School of Medicine was established in 1919, at which time the Agricultural College became the Faculty of Agriculture. This was followed by the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Science, and finally in 1947, the Faculty of Law and Literature. The current name of Hokkaido University also came into use in 1947. In 1953, the Graduate School was established.^[2]

Since 2004 the university has been incorporated as a National University Corporation under a new law which applies to all national universities. Although the incorporation has led to increased financial independence and autonomy, Hokkaido University is still partially controlled by the Japanese Ministry of Education.

In 2014 the university was selected under the Super Global Universities program that began as an initiative of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe who stated its aim was to help more of Japan's universities rank in the top 100 worldwide.^[3] Under the program, it is listed in the top university category or Type A—(Top Type) The Top Type is for world-class universities that have the potential to be ranked in the top 100 in world university rankings. Each Type A university will receive ¥420 million ($US 4.2 million) annually^[4] until 2023.

Faculties and graduate schools

Faculties

Graduate schools

Postgraduate degree programs in English

The following departments offer postgraduate degrees taught entirely in English^[5]

• Agriculture


• Chemical Sciences and Engineering


• Engineering


• Environmental Science


• Life Sciences


• Science


• Veterinary Medicine

Both international and domestic students may apply for graduate programs taught in English.

In addition, the university offers two four year undergraduate degree programs: the Modern Japanese Studies Program (MJSP), and the Integrated Science Program (ISP). These two programs are only available to international students.

Competitive scholarships are available for all graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in English degree programs, which range in amount from tuition discounts to full funding.

Institutes

The University's Institute of Seismology and Volcanology was founded in 1998 in collaboration with several seismological observatories around Hokkaido. The institute is represented on the national Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction.^[6]

In 2016, the university launched the Hokkaido Summer Institute, a three-month-long program from June to August which offers a variety of classes for both undergraduate and graduate students. Guest lecturers are invited from all over the world to share their expertise for the courses, which usually run for 1-2 weeks and grant students a small amount of academic credit. Both Japanese and foreign students participate in this unique program, which is conducted entirely in English.^[7]

Campus

Sapporo campus

Golden Ginkgo Trees line the street at Hokkaido University in fall.

The main Sapporo campus is located just north of Sapporo Station, in the heart of Sapporo City. The entirety of the campus measures approximately 180 hectares, and houses academic and administrative buildings, research laboratories, student dormitories, and farmland. The main academic buildings are found along a 1.5 kilometer stretch of road that runs from the Main Gate to the Kita 18 Gate, roughly encompassing the distance between Kita-Juni-Jo and Kita 18-jo subway stations on the Namboku Subway Line. A campus-wide bus service runs regular routes between the southern and northern end of the university, although access is restricted to university staff only^[8].

The abundance of accessible green space has continued to be popular not only among students, but also the general public, who can often be seen using the campus area in a similar way to a public park. Walking tours of the campus for interested foreign and domestic tourists are provided by several businesses in Sapporo, although no tour is needed to visit the campus.^[9]Fall is an especially popular time for campus visits, with tourists and Sapporo residents flocking to get a view of the golden ginkgo trees that line Ginkgo Avenue^[10].

Hakodate campus

The campus is located in Hakodate, a city located in the southern part of Hokkaidō. The Faculty and Graduate School of Fisheries Science are located there. However, students of Fisheries Science start their education at the Sapporo campus in order to complete three semesters of compulsory liberal arts education courses, and move to the Hakodate campus from the second semester of their sophomore year. As the minimum requirement to study at the Hakodate campus is only one year of a four year bachelor's program, the turn-over rate of students entering and leaving the Hakodate campus is fairly high. To provide students in the Faculty and Graduate School of Fisheries Science with practical hands-on experience, the university has two fully operational research vessels, the Oshoru Maru and the Ushio Maru, based in nearby Hakodate harbor. Graduate students and professors also use these vessels to carry out their research.
^[11]

Overseas satellite offices

In order to raise awareness of the university internationally, as of June 2018 Hokkaido University is currently operating eight satellite offices worldwide. After opening its first overseas satellite office in Seoul, South Korea, Hokkaido University has also established satellite offices in Helsinki (Finland), Beijing (China), Lusaka (Zambia), Bandung (Indonesia), Quezon City (Philippines), Kamphaeng Saen (Thailand), and a special China Office in Beijing. Interested parties can not only obtain information regarding the university at these offices, but prospective students can also take university entrance exams there, a procedure which previously was only offered in Japan.^[12]

Educational philosophy

• 
  Frontier Spirit (フロンティア精神, Furontia Seishin)^[13]


• 
  Global Perspectives (国際性の涵養, Kokusaisei no Kan-yō)
  


• 
  All-round Education (全人教育, Zenjin Kyōiku)
  


• 
  Practical Learning (実学の重視, Jitsugaku no Jūshi)
  

Academic rankings

Hokkaido University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.

General rankings

In 2018, QS World University Rankings ranked Hokkaido University at 122th in the world (7th in Japan). In the same year, the Times Higher Education(THE) Japan ranked them 6th in Japan.^[30]

They ranked as 6th or 7th in Japan in 2017 according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities(ARWU), and between 151st and 200th in the world. Also that year, the CWTS Leiden Ranking ranked them at 120th in the world and 6th in Japan.^[31]

In 2013, their highest score in QS Ranking was for Faculty Student Score (88 out of 100). Their lowest was for International Faculty Score (13.5 out of 100).^[32] In an effort to boost their International Faculty Score, Hokkaido has recently been selected to be part of Japan's Super Global Universities Program. This program provides special funding to hire international faculty.^[33]

Research performance

According to Thomson Reuters, Hokkaido is the 6th best research university in Japan.^[15] Its research standard is especially high in Materials Science (7th in Japan, 86th in the world), Chemistry (8th in Japan, 52nd in the world), and Biology & Biochemistry (6th in Japan, 104th in the world).^[34]

Weekly Diamond reported that Hokkaido has the 10th highest research standard in Japan in terms of research funding per researchers in the COE Program.^[35]

According to the Qs World university rankings　in September 2012, Hokkaido University was placed 135th (worldwide) and 6th (in Japan) for general standards in engineering and technology.^[36]

It also has a good research standard in Economics, as RePec ranked Hokkaido as the 16th best Economics research university in Jan 2011.^[23]

The university received attention in 2010 when Professor Akira Suzuki won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry jointly with Richard F. Heck and Ei-ichi Negishi.^[37]

Alumni rankings

According to the Weekly Economist's 2010 rankings, undergraduates from Hokkaido have the 49th best employment rate in 400 major companies in Japan.^[38]

Graduate school rankings

Hokkaido Law School was ranked 6th in 2010 (8th in 2009) in the passing rate of Japanese Bar Examination.^[39]

Eduniversal ranked Hokkaido as 2nd in the rankings of "Excellent Business Schools nationally strong and/or with continental links " in Japan.^[40]

Popularity and selectivity

Hokkaido is one of the most selective universities in Japan. Its entrance difficulty is usually considered as one of the top in Japan.^[41][42]

Notable alumni

• 
  Uchimura Kanzō, Christian evangelist, founder of Non-church Christianity Movement


• 
  Akira Ifukube, composer


• 
  Nitobe Inazō, the author of Bushido: the Soul of Japan, a Quaker
  


• 
  Ryuzo Yanagimachi, assisted fertilization and cloning pioneer


• 
  Mamoru Mohri, astronaut


• 
  Takeo Arishima, novelist


• 
  Riko Muranaka, medical doctor and journalist


• 
  Hiroshi Ishii, computer scientist


• 
  Akira Suzuki, Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2010)


• 
  Yuichiro Miura, alpinist, the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest^[43]


• 
  Juhn Atsushi Wada, neurologist, described the Wada test
  

Points of interest

• Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens

Notes

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hokkaido University.

• 
  Hokkaido University, official website


• Hokkaido University Library


• Hokkaido University International Students Association (HUISA)


• Hokkaido University (March, 2005) Handbook for International Students
  


• Sapporo