History

Hokusei Gakuen University was founded as one of the schools established by the Hokusei Gakuen School System.

The Hokusei Gakuen schools are dedicated to the tradition of Christian education.

The history of Hokusei Gakuen dates back to the time of Sarah C. Smith, an American missionary, who established Smith School for girls in 1887.

Smith Girls' School continued to flourish thanks to the energy and dedication of S.C. Smith and the cooperation of the young scholars who had studied with Dr. Clark of Sapporo Agricultural School.

It was these Japanese co-workers who later renamed the school Hokusei Girls' School. Hokusei Gakuen has dedicated itself to the education of women in Hokkaido over a long period of time, establishing the history and tradition of the school. In 1951, Hokusei Gakuen Women's Junior College was founded, and a four-year co-educational university was established in 1962 to meet the needs of society. In 2002, the junior college was made co-educational.

1951	Hokusei Gakuen Women's Junior College founded.
1962	Hokusei Gakuen University founded. School of Humanities established. Department of English founded. Department of Social Welfare founded.
1965	School of Economics established. Department of Economics founded.
1980	Advanced Courses established. Advanced Course of Humanities in English founded. Advanced Course of Humanities in Social Welfare founded. Advanced Course of Economics in Economics founded.
1981	Membership, Japanese University Accreditation Association (School of Humanities)
1987	School of Economics expanded. Department of Management Information founded.
1988	International Students Exchange Agreement with Buena Vista University concluded. International Students Exchange Agreement with B.C.A. concluded. International Students Exchange Agreement with Dalian University of Foreign Languages concluded.
1991	Membership, Japanese University Accreditation Association (School of Economics)
1992	Graduate School of Literature established. Master's Program in Social Welfare founded.
1996	School of Social Welfare established. Department of Social Policy founded. Department of Social Work founded. Department of Psychology for Well-being founded. Membership, Japanese University Accreditation Association (School of Social Welfare)
1999	International Students Exchange Agreement with Liverpool John Moores University concluded.
2000	Graduate School of Social Welfare established. Master's Program in Social Welfare established. Master's Program in Pshychology established. Doctoral Program in Social Welfare established.
2001	Graduate School of Literature,Master's Program in Linguistic Culture and Communication established. Graduate School of Economics established. Master's Program In Economics established. Receives mutual evaluation of the Japanese University Accreditation Association. International Students Exchange Agreement with St. Thomas University of Canada, The Catholic University of Korea concluded.
2002	School of Humanities, Department of Psychology and Applied Communication established. School of Economics, Department of Law and Economics established. Hokusei Gakuen Women's Junior College renamed Hokusei Gakuen University Junior College. Department of Life Sciences of the Junior College renamed Department of Life and Creative Sciences.
2004	International Students Exchange Agreement with Tunghai University of Taiwan concluded.
2006	Master's Program in Psychology renamed Master's Program in Clinical Psychology