April 2025
Ken-ichi Otsuguro
Dean, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine
Message
I have been appointed as the Dean of the Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine from April 2025. Veterinary medicine in Japan, which began with the breeding and treatment of military horses in the Meiji era, has evolved over the years into a wide-ranging academic field that covers extremely diverse phenomena, including not only veterinarians for industrial animals such as horses and cows and companion animals such as dogs and cats, but also the development of life sciences for all animals on Earth, including laboratory animals and wild animals, and the maintenance of the health of humans, animals, and the environment on a global scale. In response to such social needs, the Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University is a relatively new graduate school organization formed in 2017 that specializes in training professionals in veterinary medicine/zoobiquity, cutting-edge veterinary medicine, and global environmental conservation.
The Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine consists of 14 laboratories in four departments: Basic Veterinary Science, Applied Veterinary Medicine, Environmental Veterinary Medicine, and Clinical Veterinary Medicine. These laboratories, each well-versed in their own field, work together with each other and collaborate with domestic and international research organizations to lead the increasingly sophisticated and specialized fields of life science, veterinary medicine, and environmental conservation. We aim to nurture researchers who will work with us in academics and research, and professionals who can play an active role in various related fields in the future. In addition to specialized knowledge and skills, we aim to cultivate creative human resources who have a global perspective and can communicate without barriers with other fields. To this end, we offer a comprehensive graduate school curriculum, including "Academic English" to improve practical English skills, which is essential as an international language in research, "Subjects on Fundamental Veterinary Science" and "Research Ethics Seminar" to acquire academic foundations and ethics, "Subjects on Advanced Veterinary Science", "Advanced and Comprehensive Studies on Chemical Hazard Control", and " Advanced and Comprehensive Studies on Integrated Specialized Veterinary Clinical Medicine " to provide a highly specialized academic foundation, and "Research on Veterinary Science" and "Advanced Seminar on Veterinary Science" to develop comprehensive research capabilities.
More than 20 years have passed since the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology launched the so-called "10,000 Postdoctoral Fellows Plan". Initially, many reports emphasized the negative aspects of the increase in doctoral candidates, and this image may still remain strong today, but the environment surrounding doctoral holders has changed significantly and is steadily developing. Doctoral graduates who can be expected to be immediately productive are increasingly being hired by government agencies, international organizations, and global companies. Some organizations give priority to hiring doctoral candidates, and a statistical survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare shows that their employment rate is higher than that of bachelor's and master's graduates. Financial support during study is also diversifying, and most students at our school are receiving some kind of educational and research support expenses and aim to obtain their degree. In addition to the regular selection, we accept a diverse range of talent through multiple selection systems, including entrance exams for international students.
In this rich educational and research environment, the Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine wholeheartedly welcomes the challenges of those with the ambition to take on the future of veterinary science. As we deepen your academic knowledge, we are committed to nurturing flexible, creative individuals who can boldly tackle the diverse challenges that modern society faces. If you want to play an active role on the world stage, or if you want to be involved in research that looks to the future of animals and humans, please come and join us at the Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University. We sincerely look forward to your passion and potential becoming a new source of strength for our school.