Curriculum Policy

Master’s program aims to foster human resources that can play a core role to create a society resilient to disasters by offering learning in four domains: Disaster Resilience Assessment Domain; Disaster Resilience Communication Domain; Disaster Resilience Management Domain; and Disaster Resilience Governance Domain.

It is presumed that students from various backgrounds will participate in the master’s program; therefore, the program offers foundation courses regarding disaster resilience for them to gain basic knowledge as well as major courses regarding each domain to deepen their expertise. Moreover, advanced seminars provide the guidance for students to carry out research and study independently to produce their master’s thesis under their research. Foundation courses, special seminars and special research are compulsory. With regard to major courses, one course from each domain is elective compulsory, whereas others are elective.

Doctoral program organizes and conducts a systematic and step-by-step curriculum following the curriculum policy below to foster the human resources stated in the diploma policy.

• Organizing and conducting a systematic and step-by-step curriculum
  To foster researchers equipped with the ability to research and create a new academic field—disaster resilience and governance— theoretically and practically, as well as specialists active in the forefront, the program offers two fields: “Social System for Disaster Resilience and Governance” and “Human Psychology and Behavior in Community for Disaster”. The program also organizes and conducts a systematic and step-by-step curriculum consisting of three categories: foundation courses (4 credits or more) to obtain basic research skills and expert knowledge; practical courses (2 credits or more) to obtain application skills, cutting-edge knowledge and methods according to the individual needs of students’ future paths; and advanced research (12 credits) to be academically supervised to complete research and to write a doctor’s dissertation.
• Collective research guidance system through the research guidance group and interim reporting sessions which all professors attend
  At special research, each student will receive advice and guidance regarding research method, logicality and creativity by a research guidance group consisting of one main supervisor and two sub-supervisors with a broad academic point of view according to the student’s research theme. Such a system enables students to obtain the skills to theorize and systemize disaster resilience and governance: academic creativity, the ability to construct an advanced theory; and the ability to make a proposal to society. Furthermore, interim reporting sessions will be held twice a year (once in the third year) in which, as a general rule, all professors participate. It provides the opportunity for all professors to check the progress of students’ doctor’s dissertations and to offer advice and guidance from their perspective.
• Providing practical courses, taking into account the connection of students’ future paths after completing the doctoral program
  At the doctoral program, in order to foster disaster resilience and governance researchers, human resources that will play roles as leaders of public administration and companies with the ability to advise senior leaders, and human resources that play an active role in international institutions engaged in disaster reduction, we take into account students’ future paths by providing elective practical courses to gain advanced knowledge and practical skills according to students’ desired future paths.