The origin of the Graduate School and the Faculty of Agriculture can be traced back to the Sapporo Agricultural College, which was inaugurated in 1876. William Smith Clark, Ph. D., the first president of the Sapporo Agricultural College and a former president of the Massachusetts Agricultural College in Amherst, introduced the educational philosophies of American colleges. The ideas of a well-rounded education and frontier spirit continue on today at Hokkaido University, the Graduate School and the Faculty of Agriculture.

