Program in brief

Fosters disaster risk management experts in developing countries

• Program Director: Professor Hideyuki Tamura
• Associate Director: Professor Takeyoshi Chibana
• Degree offered: Master of Disaster Management
• Language of instruction: English
• How to Apply
• Time schedule:
  • Program duration…1 year
  • Enrollment…October
  • Graduation…September

Natural disasters result in crippling economic losses and human tragedy, hampering development, particularly in developing countries, where many people reside in buildings and areas that are vulnerable to natural disasters. In order to reduce the effects of natural disasters, human losses in particular, proactive disaster risk management should be promoted, preferably in a multi-disciplinary fashion. To that end, it is essential to cultivate, through professional education and training, disaster management experts with the expertise to develop and apply appropriate disaster management policies and techniques that harmonize with local conditions.

In order to enhance the capacity of professionals in developing countries to cope with natural disasters, the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) offers a master’s degree program in Disaster Management Policy. This Program is offered jointly by the International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering (IISEE) of the Building Research Institute (BRI); the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM) of the Public Works Research Institute (PWRI); and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This program is administered as a JICA Knowledge Co-Creation Program, supported by Official Development Assistance from the Government of Japan.

Target Group

Technical officials, engineers, or researchers in the fields of earthquakes, tsunamis, water-related disasters, and disaster risk management policy in developing countries

Program Design

This program is designed to enable disaster risk management professionals from developing countries to acquire knowledge of seismology, earthquake engineering, tsunami disaster mitigation, and water-related disaster management, as well as a foundation of disaster risk management knowledge; to learn the theories which constitute the foundation of disaster management policies; to study Japanese policies and systems; and to acquire the skills needed to apply problem-solving approaches to the development of concrete technologies and policies appropriate to local conditions.

Members of GRIPS Disaster Management Policy Program receive 6th Japan Construction International Award on June 20, 2023.

 

Seismology, Earthquake Engineering and Tsunami Disaster Mitigation Curriculum

(as of October 2025)

Category	Course Name	Instructor
I Required Courses	Master Thesis Seminar	KITA Saeko /  ITO Mai /  FUJII Yushiro
II Recommended Courses	Disaster Management Policies A: from Regional and Infrastructure Aspect	CHIBANA Takeyoshi
	Disaster Management Policies B: from Urban and Community Aspect	TAMURA Hideyuki
	Earthquake Phenomenology	KITA Saeko
	Characteristics of Earthquake Disasters	HARA Tatsuhiko
	Earthquake Hazard Assessment A	NAKAGAWA Hiroto
	Structural Analysis	OTSUKA Yuri
	Earthquake Risk Assessment	AZUHATA Tatsuya
	Theory of Tsunami	FUJII Yushiro
	Tsunami Hazard Assessment	SHIBAZAKI Bunichiro
III Elective Courses	Earthquake Circumstance	SHIBAZAKI Bunichiro
	Information Technology Related with Earthquakes and Disasters	ITO Eri
	Earthquake Hazard Assessment B	HAYASHIDA Takumi
	Ground Vibration and Structural Dynamics	NAKAGAWA Hiroto
	Seismic Structures	WATANABE Hidekazu
	Seismic Evaluation and Seismic Design Code	AZUHATA Tatsuya
	Tsunami Countermeasures	FUJII Yushiro
	Case Study (Practice for Earthquake Disaster-Recovery Management Policy I)	ITO Mai
	Case Study (Practice for Earthquake Disaster-Recovery Management Policy II)	HAYASHIDA Takumi
	Case Study (Practice for Earthquake Disaster-Recovery Management Policy III)	MATOBA Moeko
	Case Study (Practice for Tsunami Disaster Mitigation Policy)	HARA Tatsuhiko
	Selected Topics in Policy Studies I -IV

Water-related Disaster Management Curriculum

(as of October 2025)

Category	Course Title	Instructor
I Required Courses	Water-related Disaster Comprehensive Seminar	Various
	Water-related Disaster Specific Seminar	USHIYAMA Tomoki,  HARADA Daisuke, OHARA Miho
	Project Cycle Management Practice	KOIKE Toshio
II Recommended Courses	Disaster Management Policies A: from Regional and Infrastructure Aspect	CHIBANA Takeyoshi
	Disaster Management Policies B: from Urban and Community Aspect	TAMURA Hideyuki
	Hydrology	MIYAMOTO Mamoru, KOIKE Toshio, TANAKA Shigenobu
	Hydraulics	HARADA Daisuke, SHIMIZU Yoshihiko, QIN Menglu
	Disaster Risk Reduction for Hydroclimatic Extremes	KOIKE Toshio
	Geography on Flood Disaster Management	NAGUMO Naoko, SUGAI Toshihiko
	Crisis and Risk Management	OHARA Miho
	River Engineering	SHIMIZU Yoshihiko
	Sediment Transport Mechanics	QIN Menglu, EGASHIRA Shinji
	Control Measures for Landslide & Debris Flow	YAMAGUCHI Shinji, TAKESHI Toshiya, UCHIDA Taro, SUMI Tetsuya, OKAMOTO Atsushi
III Elective Courses	Numerical Analysis Method and Practice	USHIYAMA Tomoki, RASMY Mohamed, QIN Mengle
	Hydrological Modeling for Water and Sediment Disaster Management under Climate Change	RASMY Mohamed, SAYAMA Takahiro, QIN Menglu
	Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing Technique	RASMY Mohamed, KAWASAKI Akiyuki
	Field Inspection Study	KOIKE Toshio
	Open Channel Hydraulics and Practice	Shrestha Badri Bhakta
	Selected Topics in Policy Studies I -IV

Career Destinations

Graduates from this program are expected to hold key positions in disaster risk management. They typically work as engineers, seismologists, meteorologists, researchers, lecturers or professors.

Origin and Affiliation of Students

＊Since 2005、we have had students and graduates from 69 countries/regions.

Below are the countries and affiliations of GRIPS students during the period 2021-2025.

Country	Typical Affiliation
Algeria	National Center for Research Applied in Earthquake Engineering
Bangladesh	Public Works Department(PWD); Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB); Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI); Rajdhani Unnanyan Kartripakkha (RAJUK)
Bhutan	Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs; Ministry of Works and Human Settlement; Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport
Comoros	National Center for Documentation and Scientific Research (CNDRS)
Costa Rica	Volcanes sin Fronteras; National University of Costa Rica
Egypt	National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG)
El Salvador	Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources; INGENYARSE S.A. de C.V.; COAMSS/OPAMSS; University of El Salvador
Fiji	Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources
Ghana	Ghana Geological Survey Authority
Honduras	Secretary of Infrastructure and Transportation
India	Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), MoES
Indonesia	National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB); Indonesian Agency for Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysics (BMKG); Ministry of Public Works and Housing; National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)
Kenya	Water Resources Management
Kyrgyz Republic	LLC, Ordo Kurulush Company
Madagascar	Ministry of Public Works; Bureau National de Gestion des Risques et des Catastrophes(BNGRC)
Malawi	Department of Disaster Management Affairs; Mmbelwa District Council; Nkhotakota District Council; Mchinji District Council; Nsanje District Council; Chitipa District Council
Malaysia	Public Works Department(JKR)
Mexico	National Center of Disaster Prevention; National Autonomous University of Mexico; Directorate of Works Review Laboratory of the  Secretariat of the Comptroller General of Mexico City
Morocco	Ministry of infrastructure and water
Nepal	Ministry of Energy
Nicaragua	National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN-Managua)
Pakistan	Water and Power Depelopment Authority (WAPDA); Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, Islamabad; Gilgit Baltistan Public Works Department
Peru	Japan-Peru Center for Earthquake Engineering Research and Disaster Mitigation (CISMID); National Water Authority; National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology of Peru
Philippines	Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology; Dept. of Public Works and Highways; Department of Science and Technology, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology; Batangas State University; Department of the Interior and Local Government; Municipal Government of Manbusao, Capiz; Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration; Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University
Republic of Türkiye	Istanbul Technical University; Ministry of Interior Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency
Sri Lanka	Disaster Management Centre; Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation; Irrigation Department; Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka
Thailand	Thai Meteorological Department
Timor-Leste	Institute of Geoscience Timor-Leste (IGTL); Ministry of Public Works; National Directorate of Meteorology and Geophysics
Tonga	Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources; Ministry of Infrastructure; Tonga Meteorological Services
Tunisia	Ministry of Equipment and Housing; Tonga Meteorological Services
Turkmenistan	Ministry of construction and architecture of Turkmenistan
Viet Nam	Southern Institute of Water Resources Research

The list of master thesis title

Click here for the list of master thesis title.

Activities after Completion

GRIPS alumni contributing to the SDGs