University of Hokkaido

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	Keizo Yamaguchi
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
Athletics	-- varsity teams
Colors	Green
Mascot	None
Website	www.hokudai.ac.jp
Japan Hokkaido Prefecture

Hokkaido University (北海道大学, Hokkaidō daigaku), or Hokudai (北大), is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. 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.

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. Sapporo Agricultural College took the lead it. 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.

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.