Graduate Admissions

How to Apply for Graduate Study

(September 04, 2023)

Step 1. Select a degree program

Master’s degree programs
Doctoral degree programs

Step 2. Select a faculty member whose research topics are relevant to your field of study

Master’s Program Supervising Faculty and Research Topics (with email contacts)
Doctoral Program Supervising Faculty and Research Topics (with email contacts)

Step 3. Get in touch with the faculty member

Contact a potential research supervisory faculty by email.
Note:
– Our academic year starts in April and ends in March.
– The application window opens for one week in July for the April intake of the following academic year. There is no October intake.
– You can apply for a degree program only after gaining consent for acceptance from the faculty.

Step 4. Apply online and submit documents

[Master’s degree programs]
We conduct online interviews along with document reviews for overseas student admissions.
All prospective applicants must apply online, print out and complete forms and send the required documents within a set application window.
Note: Please be advised that the master’s curriculum is mainly delivered through coursework and lectures in Japanese. You will be required to have a certain Japanese language proficiency upon application to follow classes and group work. We suggest that you start as a ‘research student’ at Hokkaido University while waiting for the master’s program of your choice to begin in April. You can start your research as a research student under the guidance of an academic supervisor while brushing up on Japanese through a Japanese language program provided by the Hokkaido University International Student Center. Lessons are free of charge.

[Doctoral degree programs]
We conduct document reviews for overseas student admissions.All prospective applicants must apply online, print out and complete forms and send the required documents within a set application window.
Note: There is no minimum Japanese language proficiency required of PhD candidates.

The Application Guidelines at the bottom of this page provide further details.

Inquiries

Further inquiries should be directed to the faculty member who has agreed to supervise your research at our Graduate School.
For other issues not covered above, please refer to “Application Guidelines”
or email: intloffice*hs.hokudai.ac.jp
Replace the asterisk [*] with an at sign [@] when sending a message.

Application Guidelines

AY2024 Master’s Degree Programs Application Guidelines
AY2024 Doctoral Degree Programs Application Guidelines