open access

https://doi.org/10.14943/J.HighEdu.15.155

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/33027

Role of English in Internationalization of Higher Education : The Case of the Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University

英語

2007-12

北海道大学高等教育機能開発総合センター

Journal of Higher Education and Lifelong Learning

15

155-162

Internationalization is increasingly becoming one of the most important issues in higher education. Adoption of an international language, i.e. English, has been rapidly increasing in universities around the world. When Hokkaido University was established in 1876, its fi rst curriculum was developed by an American professor and all classes were conducted in English. At present the university’s medium of instruction is Japanese and 90% of the international students, who account for 4% of the total student population, attend classes taught in Japanese. The remaining 10% of the international students enroll in the two graduate programs where the medium of instruction is English. Like most Japanese universities, the main reason why Hokkaido University introduced programs in English with the provision of scholarships was to attract excellent international students. At the Graduate School of Engineering, the use of English as a medium of instruction in its graduate program has played an important role in internationalization of the education itself.

紀要論文

Version of Record

1341-9374