Faculty ofGraduate School
Admissions Policy
The following types of entrance exams are available for Master and Doctoral Programs (Graduate School of Modern Economics and Business) and Accounting School.
Graduate School of Modern Economics and Business
Master’s Program
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【Important】The discontinuation of the Special Entrance Exam for international applicants (effective from AY 2024)
【Important】English Proficiency Test Scores required for the General Entrance Exam and the Special Exam for Working Adult Applicants (effective from AY 2026)
Advance Consent to Official Application
- 【Attention】
1. Applicants who wish to apply for the entrance exams below under the master’s program at Hokkaido University Graduate School of Economics and Business need to obtain an advance consent from the prospective supervisor before filing an application.
※Current HU Research students are also required to take this procedures. - 〇Required Division / Program / Type of entrance exam
- Division of Modern Economics and Business/ Master’s Program / General Exam
- Division of Modern Economics and Business/ Master’s Program / Special Exam for Working Adults
- 2.Although the specifications of the Pre‑admission System do not impose any input restrictions, please be aware that applications submitted outside the designated period will not be reviewed.
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【Steps to obtain advance consent to official application】
updated 16/03/2026
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１．Choose your expected supervisor
- Please refer to “the list of available faculty members” and choose prospective supervisor(s).
- For details about research fields of our faculty, please refer to “Faculty Members of Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration” and“Researchers’ List of Hokkaido University”.
２．Apply to the advance consent
○Period of application for an advance consent:
1st round (for April 2027 intake): March 26 (Thu.) – May 20 (Wed.), 2026 [Strict deadline]
2nd round (for April 2027 intake): TBD (Late September – October)○Submission materials：
To apply for Master’s program, applicants must obtain informal approval from a faculty member.
To obtain informal approval, do not contact the faculty member directly, firstly prepare a research plan and submit via Pre-admission Support System.- Research Plan Word
Upload the PDF file to the “Research Plan” section of the Pre-Admission System.
- For details about required documents and procedures, please refer to「About the informal approval」
- Pre-Admission Support System : https://futuregrad.oia.hokudai.ac.jp/admissions/pss/
- Pre-Admission Support System Registration：https://pre-admission.oia.hokudai.ac.jp/
- Please note that if the documents are incomplete or insufficient, or if they are not submitted within the application period, no application will be accepted.
○Results of screening：
Results will be announced 3-4 weeks after your submission３．Official Application for the entrance exam
Only for those who have obtained the advance consent can proceed to the online application for the entrance exam.
General Exam(Doctoral Course and Specialized Course)
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- Type of Exam / Subjects
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- Written exams (except for Special Exam)
- Interviews
- Certification on foreign language proficiency
Application Guide Application Period 1st and 2nd Term Special Exam (2027 academic year) 1st Term：30/APR/2026～7/MAY/2026
2nd Term：19/OCT/2026～22/OCT/20261st Term General Exam(2027 academic year)(Revised on April 23, 2026)
*Revisions to the Application Guidelines (Uploaded on April 23, 2026)
Online Application：30/JUN/2026～6/JUL/2026
Application must be reached to office by: 10/JUL/20262nd Term General Exam(2027 academic year)（TBD） TBD
（To be announced on this website.）2nd Term General Exam(2026 academic year) （Reference：Schedule in previous year）
Online Application：1/DEC/2025～5/DEC/2025
Application must be reached to office by：9/DEC/2025**** ****
Doctoral Program
Name of Exam
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General Exam
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- Type of Exam / Subjects
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- Interviews
Application Guide Application Period Special Exam (2026 academic year)
(beginning in October 2026)Application through postal mailApplication must be reached to office between 30/APR/2026～7/MAY/2026 General Exam (2026)
(beginning in October 2026)Special Exam (2027 academic year)（TBD） TBD General Exam (2027 academic year)（TBD） TBD Special Exam (2026 academic year) （Reference：Schedule in previous year）
1/DEC/2025～5/DEC/2025General Exam (2026 academic year) （Reference：Schedule in previous year）
Online Application：1/DEC/2025～5/DEC/2025
Application through postal mail：9/DEC/2025**** **** **** **** -
Special Entrance Exam for Advanced Professionals
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- Type of Exam / Subjects
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- 1st step: Applicant Screening
- 2nd step: Interviews
Special Entrance Exam for Advanced Professionals 2nd step: Interviews
Application Guide Application Period Special Entrance Exam for Advanced Professionals (2027 academic year) Application must be reached to office within
6 / APR / 2026 – 9 / APR / 2026;
22 / JUN /2026 – 26 / JUN / 2026;
5 / OCT /2026 – 9 / OCT / 2026;
30 / NOV /2026 – 4 / DEC / 2026;
Professional Degree Program
See the page “Entrance Exam” at the Accounting School.
Preliminary Review of Application Qualifications
We are open to persons with various background, including those who have not graduated (are not expected to graduate) from 4-year universities. The following persons may be admitted to take entrance exams. We kindly ask those persons to apply for “Preliminary Review for Eligibility for Application (applicant screening and interviews if necessary).”
- Graduates from 2-year college, colleges of technology (kosen), and other kinds of schools.
- Those not having bachelor degree, such as graduates from Japanese branches of foreign universities.
- Those completing (or expected to complete)16 years of education in foreign education systems, including correspondence schools.
- Those in 3rd grade in universities completing the prescribed amount of credits with excellent grades.
- Those the Graduate School of Economics and Business admits to have at least the same level of fundamental knowledge as the graduates from universities.