Hokkaido University

Key facts

Checked against the sources listed at the bottom of this page on 7 November 2026.

About Hokkaido University

Hokkaido University was founded in 1876 as Sapporo Agricultural College, one of Japan’s earliest modern educational institutions. In 1907 the college became the Agricultural College of Tohoku Imperial University, and in April 1918 it was transferred to the newly established Hokkaido Imperial University.^[8]

In May 2026 the university had 18,480 students, 1,998 of them international from 96 countries and regions, 3,943 faculty and staff, 12 undergraduate schools and 21 graduate schools, and agreements with partners in 76 countries and regions.^[1]

How is Hokkaido University ranked?

In the QS World University Rankings 2027, released on 18 June 2026, Hokkaido University is tied for 179th in the world and 8th among Japanese universities. Ahead of it are Tokyo (39th), Kyoto (64th), Osaka (95th), a Tokyo university of science (東京科学大学, 97th), Tohoku (102nd), Nagoya (156th) and Kyushu (171st).^[2]

The university’s own page also lists 42nd in Asia in the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, 376–400 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027, 201–300 (6th to 7th in Japan) in the Shanghai ranking (ARWU) 2026 and 7th in the world and 1st in Japan in the THE Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026. The page carries the data note “as of May 2026” for student numbers and was updated on 28 October 2026.^[1] Rankings differ by publisher and year, so treat one position as one view. How we compile rankings.

What can you study at Hokkaido University?

Hokkaido has 12 undergraduate schools and 21 graduate schools.^[1] Only two undergraduate degrees are taught in English:

• Integrated Science Program (ISP): a cross-disciplinary natural science degree for international students. It is a four-year bachelor’s degree followed by a two-year master’s; students study fundamental natural science, liberal arts and Japanese in the first six months and then specialise in physics, chemistry or biology. Main scientific studies are entirely in English.^[10]
• Modern Japanese Studies Program (MJSP): a four-year bachelor’s degree (4.5 years including a one-semester Intensive Japanese Course) in Japanese language, history, culture, society and political economy, with classes taught in English and many classes alongside Japanese students.^[11]

All other undergraduate programmes are taught primarily in Japanese and require advanced Japanese proficiency for admission.^[4] At graduate level eight degree programmes are taught in English (Agriscience, Chemistry and Materials Science, Engineering, Global Environmental Management, Environmental Earth Science, One Health, Life Science, and Data-driven & Hypothesis-driven Science). Depending on the supervisor, a degree in English may be possible in other graduate schools.^[5]

How much does Hokkaido University cost?

The fee page was updated on 17 September 2026 but names no academic year. Tuition is paid in two instalments, in May and November, in yen. If tuition is revised during enrolment, the new amount applies from that point.^[3]

ISP and MJSP

The ISP charges a flat ¥282,000 enrolment fee and ¥535,800 a year in tuition for both the bachelor’s and the master’s. The page says the enrolment fee was waived in full and the first semester’s tuition waived for students enrolling in October 2026; after that, one year or half a year of tuition is waived for selected students, not for all. The waiver does not apply to MEXT scholarship holders. The page speaks only of the October 2026 intake, so ask the ISP office whether the same waiver applies to your year.^[6]

The MJSP bachelor’s shows an application fee of ¥5,000, an enrolment fee of ¥282,000 and tuition of ¥535,800 a year. The Intensive Japanese Course has no application or enrolment fee and costs ¥181,200 for the semester. For students entering in April 2028 the enrolment fee and the first year’s tuition are waived in full, except for MEXT scholarship holders; from the second year, all or half of the tuition is waived for selected students.^[9] This differs from the ¥17,000 undergraduate fee on the university-wide fee page, so confirm the right fee for your programme.^[3]

Scholarships

The Japanese government (MEXT) scholarship pays ¥117,000 a month to undergraduates (¥120,000 from November to March, because of a cold region allowance), ¥143,000 to research students, ¥144,000 to master’s and ¥145,000 to doctoral students. It is awarded by embassy recommendation, university recommendation or domestic selection, and ISP and MJSP get priority placement in the university recommendation scheme.^[12] See also our Japan guide and the Study in Japan guide for living costs.

How do you apply to Hokkaido University?

• ISP: students enter in October; see the ISP application guidelines for the current year’s online registration and forms.^[10]
• MJSP: applicants with intermediate Japanese can apply for April entry to the bachelor’s; all other applicants apply for October entry, starting with the Intensive Japanese Course. You register online in a first call (October to November) or a second call (February), and interviews are held online. The application fee is ¥5,000.^[11]
• Other undergraduate programmes in Japanese: see the Japanese admissions page; English information is provided for the international qualification-based admission and for self-supported international students.^[4]
• Graduate: you need a bachelor’s degree or equivalent with at least 16 years of education (18 for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine). First find a supervisor and contact them at least six months before enrolment, then apply to the graduate school and take its entrance examination. Many international students first enrol for six months to one year as research students, which gives no credits or formal qualification.^[5]

We give no deadlines here because they change every year and differ by programme. Check the application guidelines of your programme before you start.

Which language level do you need?

ISP’s main scientific studies are in English, so applicants need to show English proficiency, but the thresholds are in the application guidelines, which we did not read in full. MJSP looks for applicants who “demonstrate a high command of English” and, for the Intensive Japanese Course, no prior Japanese is needed; applicants with intermediate Japanese can go straight into the bachelor’s.^[11][10]

Undergraduate programmes taught in Japanese require advanced Japanese proficiency.^[4] Graduate language requirements differ by graduate school.^[5]

More about studying in Japan

• Japan: best universities
• Study in Japan: complete guide
• Cost of Studying Abroad
• International Student Scholarships
• University Ranking Methodology

More university profiles in Japan

• Chiba University
• Hiroshima University
• Institute of Science Tokyo
• Kanazawa University
• Keio University
• Kobe University
• Kyoto University
• Kyushu University
• Nagoya University
• Okayama University
• Ritsumeikan University
• Sophia University
• Tohoku University
• The University of Osaka
• University of Tokyo
• University of Tsukuba
• Waseda University
• Yokohama National University