Unravel, understand, control, construct, and create

The 21st century is the era of chemistry. Innovative chemistry is required to solve environmental and energy issues. Students who learn the basics of chemistry and then deepen their understanding by conducting experiments with advanced analytical equipment will be well-suited to respond to society’s demands.

Understanding “Life” at the molecular level, creating new materials, constructing new concepts with a combination of theories and experiments, and solving issues of environment and energy are all based on “the power of chemistry.”

Hokkaido University is a leading comprehensive university that places importance on its graduate schools. The university started out in 1876 as the Sapporo Agricultural College, the first modern academic institute in Japan. During its long history, the college was promoted to an Imperial University and then flourished after the creation of the new university system. Over this period, we have declared and cultivated our basic philosophies of education and research, namely the “Frontier Spirit,” “Global Perspectives,” “All-round Education” and “Practical Learning.” In order to meet the demands of society and to move ahead as a part of the National University Corporation, Hokkaido University needs to formulate a long term goal for developing the basis of knowledge generation, dissemination and application in the new century, while still reconfirming our basic philosophies and recognizing our accountability to society.