Hokkaido University — photo 1 Hokkaido University — photo 2 Hokkaido University — photo 3
1/3

Hokkaido University

Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
#179 QS World University Rankings 2027
QS World University Rankings 2027 #179
Founded 1876
International 1,998
Core campuses 2

University overview

Hokkaido University began in 1876 as Sapporo Agricultural College and is the oldest of Japan's former imperial universities. Its Sapporo campus runs to 180 hectares in the middle of the city and is only about 12% built on, so farmland, woodland and creeks run through it; a second campus at Hakodate teaches fisheries sciences in Japanese. Every English-taught programme is at Sapporo — two undergraduate, in integrated science and modern Japanese studies, and a set of independently branded graduate programmes in engineering, environmental science, agriculture, life science and data-driven science.

Academic scale

12 undergraduate schools and 23 graduate schools and institutes
9 English-taught programmes listed here — 1 undergraduate and 8 graduate, all of them at Sapporo
18,480 students as of May 2026. Hokkaido's own detail tables give 11,548 undergraduate and 6,766 graduate, which sums to 18,314; the headline figure appears only on the web page.
180 hectares at Sapporo, only about 12% of it built on — the rest is farm, woodland and creeks, making the campus the city's green spine

Global community

1,998 international students from 96 countries and regions, as of 1 May 2026

Core campuses

Sapporo Campus 180 hectares in the middle of a city of two million, only 12% built on. It carries the historic buildings of Sapporo Agricultural College and the University Hospital, and teaches every English-taught programme here.
Hakodate Campus One of Japan's largest fisheries-science campuses, open since 1935 and sitting on the water beside Hakodate port where the training ships Oshoro-maru and Ushio-maru are berthed. It teaches in Japanese only.

More facts

1876 founded as Sapporo Agricultural College, whose historic buildings still stand on the Sapporo campus — the oldest of Japan's former imperial universities
¥535,800 a year in tuition, the same for international students, with a one-time ¥282,000 admission fee. The English and Japanese pages agree exactly and no revision is announced.
Both English-taught undergraduate programmes waive fees for entry: ISP waives the admission fee and first-semester tuition, MJSP the admission fee and all first-year tuition. Later years are by selection, not automatic.
Hokkaido's General Japanese Courses are open to graduate and research students but NOT to bachelor's students — undergraduates get Japanese inside their own curriculum instead.
University figures verified 8 Sep 2026

Funding

3 external scholarships name this university among their designated schools.

This university’s own scholarships and tuition reductions are not listed here — the source excludes them. Check the university directly.

University sources (5)