Program Structure

Education, Research and Training

The main campus of the Hokkaido University - NIMS Graduate Program is the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS, located in Tsukuba city, Ibaraki prefecture). The doctoral students can perform their own research using the advanced facilities at NIMS as well as at Hokkaido University. Our program encourages students to seek professional recognition whilst pursuing their studies. Expected to be participated to research projects ongoing at NIMS.

70 % of the students in our program are from overseas. The students have an opportunity to participate in several events, workshops and symposiums at NIMS as well as Hokkaido University. We encourage the students to acquire specialized and interdisciplinary knowledge, materials science insights into social issues, a sense of scientific research ethics, developing a professional profile through publication and presentation at international conferences, as well as communication skills in English to interact with professionals.

The curriculum will be different among the 3 fields (Advanced Functional Chemistry, Frontier Biomaterials Science, and Advanced Functional Materials Physics). One of the courses required for graduation is Student Seminar. The seminar is for the students to discuss their research progress with other researchers and students at NIMS. This enables the students to develop presentation skills in English as well as to make sure that their research is on the right track towards obtaining a degree.

Student Seminar

Student Seminar is part of the curriculum, all students and faculty members in the program attend. It is designed for the students to discuss their research results with other researchers and develop their presentation skills in English. It also aims to promote more comprehensive understanding of the research performed at NIMS. Each presentation at the seminar is evaluated by all faculty members.


The Excellent Presentation Award was given to Ms. Aya SARUWATARI (Professor Ueki) for the seminar held in December 2023, Mr. Chengyang LIU and Mr. Che-Hao WU (Professor Yoshio) in November 2022.