MBA Online

Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration
Hokkaido University
Kita-ku Kita 9 Nishi 7, Sapporo 060-0809, JAPAN

Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration at Hokkaido University
Computer room
There are two computer rooms. One is for graduate students, and the other is for undergraduate students.
Access to these rooms is controlled by the student ID card. Information for users is posted on the bulletin boards of these rooms.

Library
Room 101

Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration at Hokkaido University

Japanese Language Program

Although Hokkaido University offers some Japanese language Lessons, it does not have a program for studying Japanese as a second language. Please remember that you are required to have advanced Japanese language ability to be accepted to our school. For more information, see the ISC homepage.

Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration at Hokkaido University

The Foreign Exchange Student Program

Year after year, international exchange among researchers and students at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration is becoming increasingly active. Nearly 1% of the students in the Faculty of Economics have studied abroad or undertaken language training in a foreign country. Furthermore, Graduate School students are also active in visiting or studying at graduate schools overseas for research purposes.

As of the year 2005, Hokkaido University had signed an intercollegiate exchange agreement with 39 colleges in 13 countries. Some of these include agreements concerning exchange student and credit-transfer programs. The Graduate School has independently signed agreements with research institutions at six colleges in five countries.

In 2004, some of our students studied at Massachusetts University, Portland State University (USA), Goteborg University (Sweden), Strasbourg University (France), and Yonsei University (South Korea), through these exchange program.

The number of foreign students, undergraduate and graduate, studying at the Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration at Hokkaido University has been on the increase. Students come from many different countries and, in terms of both research and campus life, the Graduate School has become a venue of international exchange.

Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration at Hokkaido University

The purpose of this course is to train highly specialized professionals to cultivate profound knowledge in economics and business management, an open perspective, and rich creative ability. This course consists of the following two sub-courses.

1. Economic Policy Course
In this course, we train professionals with the ability to draw up economic policies and then analyze them logically and empirically, and insights on the culture and history of socioeconomic aspects. Upon completion of the course, they can be expected to work for government and public offices, private think tanks, planning and research departments of corporations, universities and research institutions, international cooperation organizations, and NGOs.

2. Business Management (MBA) Course
We train highly skilled professionals who have the expertise and the analytical abilities necessary for business creation and management, along with mathematical and IT skills required to make effective and accurate managerial decisions. The students who have completed the school can flourish as specialists who manage corporations and NPOs, independent entrepreneurs, investigation and research staff for think tanks, and financial analysts.

Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration at Hokkaido University

The purpose of this course is to train future researchers to cultivate profound knowledge in economics and business management, an open perspective, and abundant creative ability.
Titles of Recent PhD Dissertations

Incentive Compatibility of Allocation Mechanisms in Discrete Economic Environments
Essays on Financial and Trade Policies in Developing Countries
Multinational Firms and Host Country Policies
Alternative Growth Theory with Endogenous Money and a Security Market
Fiscal Competition in a Federal State with Mobile Populations
Underpricing, Underwriter Reputation and Venture Capital: Evidence from the Japanese IPO Market
European Integration and Foreign Direct Investment: Experience of Spain
Regulating System of Foreign Trade in Uzbekistan at the Transitional Period

Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration at Hokkaido University

These courses focus on a variety of research subjects such as the rapidly diversifying modern economies and management systems, which stem from advances in globalization and information digitization, and management information that is located at the core of value creation in modern society.
More specifically, they will examine the logical analysis of economy, analysis of economic systems and history, NPOs’ proposals for corporate management, and the utilization of information technology in business management.

Management Business Administration 4 Iwata
Kojima+Hiramoto+Taniguchi Iwata
Aihara
Theory of Firm 4 Okada
Sakagawa Okada
Accounting 4 Kubo
Yoshimi
Kanie Maruta
Yoshimi
Business Management 4 Hiramoto Kojima
Taniguchi
Information Analysis 4 Suzuki
Y.Tanaka Mohri

Economics Macroeconomics 4 Koyama
Uchida
Kudoh Itaya
Uchida
Microeconomics 4 Ono
Hizen Ono
Hizen
Kubota
Public Finance 4 - Koyama
Political Economy 4 Okabe
Nishibe Karato
Nishibe
Hamada
Economic History 4 Naito
Takai
Miyamoto Naito
S.Tanaka
Miyamoto
Environment Economics 4 - Yoshida
Development Economics 4 - Yoshino
Econometrics 4 Sono
Kakizawa
Suzukawa Takagi
Sono
Hasegawa
History of Economic Ideas 4 Hashimoto K.Sasaki
Public Economics 4 Itaya -
Money and Banking 4 Hamada -
Labor Economics 4 Abe -

Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration at Hokkaido University

Curriculum

Subjects common to All Faculties
In their first year after enrollment, students study “Subjects common to All Faculties” in which they master the fundamentals of economics and business administration before studying more specialized content. Here, a wide variety of academic disciplines are available; Students are exposed to not only the social sciences but the natural sciences and humanities as well.
The first year is crucial in that students acquire the “perspectives and ideas” needed to comprehend social phenomena in a realistic manner. Students are encouraged to learn foreign languages, which are essential for success in a global environment
Specialized Subjects
The study of specialized subjects begins in the second year. For example, second-year students study macroeconomics and microeconomics, and third- and fourth-year students study more advanced content in macroeconomics and microeconomics. The curriculum is designed to facilitate students in acquiring knowledge and ideas in specialized fields in incremental stages.
Intensive and Special Lectures
As economics and business administration rapidly becomes more specialized and diversified, it is more difficult for one university to conduct leading-edge research in all fields.
For this reason, we invite leading researchers, in fields that have not been designated by the curriculums, from other colleges and research institutions to give lectures on an intensive basis. These lectures last about one week and are scheduled for the end of the first half of the academic year.
We also invite policy-making professionals (from various government agencies) and professionals in finance and management (corporate entrepreneurs, financial experts, accountants) to give special lectures several times during the year. This provides students with an opportunity to learn about the realities at the forefront of economics and business administration.
Seminars
The greatest aspect of the curriculum is that seminars are designated as required subjects. All students in the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration belong to one set of seminars in their third and fourth years.
As seminars are scheduled at the end of the day, it is possible to extend discussion hours if necessary. The gathering of third- and fourth-year students together in one arena for discussion is rarely seen in other universities; based on their own experiences, senior students offer juniors sage advice on the “graduation thesis” and “job-hunting activities”.
Because the number of seminar students is small, only five to ten per college year, the instructors can offer students firsthand research guidance.
The relationships students cultivate in the seminar — between instructors and students, fellow students, and juniors and seniors —are a valuable asset for every student.
As the summation of research activity during the two-year seminar, as well as confirmation of four years of college life, all students write a graduation thesis. The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration has established the “Graduate Thesis Scholarship Program” in order to reward students who have penned exceptional graduation theses.

The Origin of Seminars

One major characteristic of the educational program at our faculty is the old tradition of small-group education with the seminar as its core. The founder of the seminar system, a system distinguished from lectures, in Japan is believed to be Inazo Nitobe.
Nitobe, the well-known author of “Bushido: The Soul of Japan,” was a graduate of Hokkaido University (formerly the Sapporo Agricultural Institute). Nitobe’s portrait was featured on the 5,000-yen banknote from 1984 to 2004.
In 1895 when Nitobe was the head of the Instruction Department at the Sapporo Agricultural Institute, he adopted the ’seminar’ as something equivalent to the ‘experiment’ in the natural sciences, and incorporated it into liberal arts education as a part of curriculum reform. This was the first time the seminar was adopted in education.