The educational goals of the School of Medicine are to educate students to become compassionate medical doctors who can cope with rapid advancements in clinical techniques and diversified medical techniques and treatments to meet the needs of society and to train medical researchers by facilitating the acquisition of basic medical knowledge. The School of Medicine focuses on the following principles to achieve these goals:
1. Acquisition of basic medical knowledge and techniques
2. Development of humane conduct based on medical ethics
3. Development of an understanding of and empathy with patients
4. Enhancement of scientific creativity
5. Development of an international mindset and an appreciation of social diversity and other cultures

The School of Medicine aims to nurture clinicians who will work to protect the health of local residents, provide medical services in Hokkaido and contribute to the local community as well as researchers who will contribute to the world through world-class and leading-edge research. To accomplish this, students with the following characteristics are sought:
1. Students who have a respect for life and devotion to help the sick
2. Students who have a volunteer spirit, compassion for people around them and a sense of morality
3. Students who can act with good sense according to their conscience and the norms of society
4. Students who have the communication skills, cooperativeness and imagination appropriate for clinicians and researchers
5. Students who have an interest in and concern for local communities and a desire to contribute to Hokkaido
6. Students who think and act with an international outlook and learn with scientific curiosity and creativity

The School of Medicine confers a degree to students who have acquired the required credits and fulfill the following requirements.

1. Requirement related to moral values, social responsibility and professionalism (attitude)
Students have acquired a high sense of morality and social responsibility and become capable of acting with a strong sense of responsibility, imagining themselves in a patient’s shoes and contributing to progress in medicine with a passion for research as a medical professional.

2. Requirement related to community medical services, research and international contribution (interest/motivation)
Students have developed the motivation to play an active role in community medical services with a wider vision and interest in pioneering research to contribute to medical development in the world.

3. Requirement related to fundamental medical knowledge/skills and communication skills (knowledge/skills)
Students have obtained fundamental medical knowledge/skills and acquired the ability to practice team medical care while demonstrating cooperativeness and leadership qualities.

4. Requirement related to problem-solving and the ability to identify research subjects (thought/judgment)
Students have acquired the ability to identify potential issues in the real world as tasks to be addressed and the ability to solve the issues logically based on scientific evidence and appropriate methods.

In order to achieve the aforementioned diploma policy, a curriculum is organized based on the curriculum policy outlined below.

1. Moral values, social responsibility and professionalism (attitude)
A suitable study environment is provided to nurture the personality and a sense of humanity that are necessary for medical professionals to keep up with the development of diversified medical science and medical services and to respond to the needs of society.
Educational opportunities involving exercises using role-playing and practical training in society are provided so students learn to see things from other people’s/the weak’s perspective.
The curriculum is arranged by focusing on interconnections between course subjects (liberal arts, basic medical sciences and clinical medical sciences) to allow students to learn humanity-based concepts of health and disease and understand the complex nature of disease in society.

2. Community healthcare, research and international contribution (interest/ motivation)
In order to understand the social circumstances and social and legal systems surrounding patients and their families, joint training programs between the School of Medicine and the School of Health Sciences and community-based clinical training programs are organized to develop human resources who will play a role in community healthcare.
Opportunities to participate in a variety of international exchange programs are provided to encourage students to become interested in pioneering research, creating an environment in which students are self-motivated and enhancing their passion to contribute to such research.

3. Basic medical knowledge/skills and communication skills (knowledge/skills)
Opportunities to systematically acquire the knowledge and skills in specialized fields that are necessary to be a medical
practitioner are provided and places in which students can practice the knowledge and skills learned are arranged.
Opportunities to join extracurricular and social activities are arranged to facilitate the development of leadership qualities and a sense of respect, in addition to developing empathy and cooperation with medical staff.

4. Problem-solving and the ability to identify research subjects (thought/judgment)
Recognizing the importance of self-directed learning and self-assessment in problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials, the Basic Medical Science Training program and the Clinical Medical Science Training program, a system to provide students with appropriate guidance is developed based on the process and results of their self-directed learning and self-assessment.
An environment for self-directed leaning (problem-identifying/solving) is provided to encourage students to consider not only personal factors but also social problems as causes of diseas

The School of Medicine focuses on developing doctors with a  well-rounded character who can respond to the needs of society and creating an environment for medical education to nurture the  motivation in students to contribute to medical services locally and internationally.
Medical schools nationwide will be subject to evaluation for  certification by the Assessment and Accreditation Standards for Medical Schools by Education Fields by 2023 and universities are  required to reform their medical education programs to meet the standards.
Our School of Medicine has been engaged in the Community-based Comprehensive Clinical Training Program as part of the Good Practice Project promoted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Science for university education reform and has produced a program that fits the assessment standards in advance.
In addition, new curriculum based on the assessment standards was introduced for newly enrolled students in the 2014 academic year which provide students with more clinical training opportunities. We focus continuously on the reform of medical education.

Department of Basic Medical Sciences

• Department of Anatomy (I)
• Department of Anatomy (II)
• Department of Physiology
• Department of Neuroscience
• Department of Biochemistry
• Department of Molecular Biology
• Department of Pathology (I)
• Department of Pathology (II)
• Department of Microbiology
• Department of Pharmacology
• Department of Hygiene
• Department of Public Health
• Department of Legal Medicine

Department of Cinical Medical Sciences

• Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
• Department of Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Medicine
• Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology
• Department of Medical Oncology
• Department of Neurology
• Department of Surgery, Surgical Oncology and Science
• Department of Cardiovascular Surgery
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
• Department of Neurosurgery
• Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Department of Pediatrics
• Department of Ophthalmology
• Department of Dermatology
• Department of Urology
• Department of Otolaryngology
• Department of Neuropsychiatry
• Department of Radiology
• Department of Anesthesiology
• Department of Community and General Medicine
• Department of Infection Control and Clinical Laboratory Medicine
• Department of Emergency Medicine
• Department of Oral Surgery
• Department of Rehabilitation

Department of Basic Medical Sciences

• Department of Innovative Medical IP Management
• Department of Medical Genetics

Department of Cinical Medical Sciences

• Department of Perinatal Medicine
• Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Department of Pharmaceutical Health Care and Sciences
• Department of Clinical Pathology
• Department of Diagnostic Radiology
• Division of Health Care Management
• Department of Intensive Care Medicine
• Department of Thoracic Surgery
• Department of Hematology
• Department of Rheumatology

Research Institute for Frontier Medicine

• Department of Cell Science
• Department of Medical Genome Sciences
• Department of Tissue Development and Regeneration
• Department of Molecular Medicine
• Department of Biomedical Engineering
• Department of Neural Regenerative Medicine
• Department of Human Immunology

The Cancer Research Institute (established in 1955), the Marine Biomedical Institute (established in 1968 and abolished in March 2012) and the Biomedical Research, Education and Instrumentation Center (established in 1999) in the School of Medicine were reorganized and consolidated into the Research Institute for Frontier Medicine in April 2011.
Aiming to contribute to regional medical care and promote good health for Hokkaido residents, the institute is involved in translational research based on state-of-the-art medical research and focuses on sharing research findings with residents of Hokkaido.
Consisting of seven research departments (Cell Science, Medical Genome Sciences, Tissue Development and Regeneration, Molecular Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Neural Regenerative Medicine, and Human Immunology), the institute has 21 full-time teachers and conducts front-line medical research.
The institute also provides educational instruction to medical school students (teaching course subjects for the second- and third-year students and allocating third-year students to laboratories (basic research)) as well as providing educational and research instruction to graduate school students and research students by teaching course subjects at the Graduate School of  Medicine.

・Department of Cell Science
This department is engaged in basic research using methods involving cultured normal human cells and based on cell biology that contributes to the identification of the pathological causes and preventive care of human disease.

・Department of Medical Genome Sciences
This department is engaged in molecular-level basic research based on human genome information that leads to the identification of cancer-related and other disease-related genes, disease diagnosis methods, and effective prevention and treatment methods.

・Department of Tissue Development and Regeneration
This department is engaged in research related to architectural mechanisms of hepatic stem/progenitor cells and tissue structures.

・Department of Molecular Medicine
This department is engaged in basic research to understand molecular mechanisms related to cancer metastasis and drug resistance as well as to develop antibody drugs.

・Department of Biomedical Engineering
This department is engaged in research that uses approaches involving genetically engineered mice and mass spectrometry to observe protein expression as a representation of human reactions to disease and investigate molecular targets for diagnosis and treatment.

・Department of Neural Regenerative Medicine
This department is engaged in basic research using methods involving cultured normal human cells and based on cell biology that contributes to the identification of the pathological causes and preventive care of human disease.

・Department of Human Immunology
This department is engaged in basic research related to control mechanisms of the human immune system,
such as functional lymphocytes and antibody production programs, with the aim of overcoming intractable diseases
caused by immune disorders.

Due to the rapid progress of the technology in molecular biology, the techniques used for medical treatment and biological research have rapidly improved. For this reason, the Biomedical Research, Education and Instrumentation Center is supplied with the latest research equipment so that the most advanced research in the world can be conducted. This equipment can be shared by researchers. The collaboration between basic researchers and clinical researchers is expected to result in significant contributions to the world's scientific community.

• Division of System Management
• Division of Morphological Research
• Division of Electron Microscopy
• Division of Proteomics
• Division of Gene Analysis
• Division of Cell Bank
• Division of Radioisotope Research
• Division of Digital Imaging
• Cell Processing Center

Animal experiments have greatly contributed to basic and advanced research on highly advanced medical treatment. The Animal Research Center offers the facilities to conduct and support advanced research.