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.
Seismology, Earthquake Engineering and Tsunami Disaster Mitigation Curriculum
(as of October 2024)
| Category | Course Name | Instructor |
|---|---|---|
| I Required Courses | Master Thesis Seminar (Seismology) / Master Thesis Seminar (Earthquake Engineering) / Master Thesis Seminar (Tsunami Disaster Mitigation) |
KITA Saeko / ITO Mai / FUJII Yushiro |
| II Recommended Courses | Disaster Management Policies A: from Regional and Infrastructure Aspect |
CHIBANA Takeyoshi, HIBINO Naohiko |
| Disaster Management Policies B: from Urban and Community Aspect | KATAYAMA Koji | |
| Earthquake Hazard Assessment A | NAKAGAWA Hiroto | |
| Earthquake Risk Assessment | AZUHATA Tatsuya | |
| Tsunami Hazard Assessment | SHIBAZAKI Bunichiro | |
| Tsunami Countermeasures | FUJII Yushiro | |
| Earthquake Hazard Assessment B | HAYASHIDA Takumi | |
| III Elective Courses | Earthquake Phenomenology | KITA Saeko |
| Characteristics of Earthquake Disasters | HARA Tatsuhiko | |
| Earthquake Circumstance | SHIBAZAKI Bunichiro | |
| Information Technology Related with Earthquakes and Disasters | ITO Eri | |
| Structural Analysis | OTSUKA Yuri | |
| Ground Vibration and Structural Dynamics | NAKAGAWA Hiroto | |
| Seismic Structure | WATANABE Hidekazu | |
| Seismic Evaluation and Seismic Design Code | AZUHATA Tatsuya | |
| Theory of Tsunami | 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 2024)
| 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, HIBINO Naohiko |
| Disaster Management Policies B: from Urban and Community Aspect | KATAYAMA Koji | |
| Hydrology | MIYAMOTO Mamoru, KOIKE Toshio, TANAKA Shigenobu |
|
| Hydraulics | HARADA Daisuke | |
| Disaster Risk Reduction for Hydroclimatic Extremes | KOIKE Toshio | |
| Geography on Flood Disaster Management | NAGUMO Naoko, SUGAI Toshihiko |
|
| 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 |
|
| Crisis and Risk Management | OHARA Miho | |
| III Elective Courses | Numerical Analysis Method and Practice | USHIYAMA Tomoki, HARADA Daisuke, RASMY Mohamed |
| Hydrological Modeling for Water and Sediment Disaster Management under Climate Change | RASMY Mohamed, SAYAMA Takahiro, HARADA Daisuke |
|
| Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing Technique |
RASMY Mohamed, KAWASAKI Akiyuki |
|
| Field Inspection Study | KOIKE Toshio | |
| Open Channel Hydraulics and Practice | NAITO Kensuke | |
| 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 68 countries/regions.
Below are the countries and affiliations of GRIPS students during the period 2020-2024.
| Country | Typical Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Algeria | National Center for Research Applied in Earthquake Engineering |
| Bangladesh | Ministry of Housing and Public Works; Bangladesh Water Development Board; Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI); Rajdhani Unnanyan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) |
| Bhutan | Ministry of Economic Affairs; National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM); Ministry of Agriculture and Forests; Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs; Ministry of Works and Human Settlement |
| Brazil | Military Fire Brigade of Minas Gerais; CPRM-Companhia de Pesquisa de Recursos Minerais |
| Chile | Asociacion Chilena de Ingenieria de Puertos y Costas |
| 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 | JICA Technical Cooperation Team for GENSAI Project; 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 |
| Malawi | Department of Disaster Management Affairs; Mmbelwa District Council; Nkhotakota District Council |
| Malaysia | Public Works Department(JKR) |
| Mauritius | Land Drainage Authority |
| Mexico | National Center of Disaster Prevention |
| Mongolia | Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, Mongolian Academy of Science |
| Morocco | Ministry of infrastructure and water |
| Myanmar | Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation |
| 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 |
| Solomon | Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification |
| Sri Lanka | Disaster Management Centre; Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation; Irrigation Department |
| Timor-Leste | Instituto Do Petroleo e Geologia (IPG); 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 |
| Tunisia | Ministry of Equipment and Housing |
| Turkey | Istanbul Technical University |
| Turkmenistan | Ministry of construction and architecture of Turkmenistan |
The list of master thesis title
Click here for the list of master thesis title.
