Hiroshima University (HU) was established by combining eight existing institutions in May 1949 under the National School Establishment Law. Later in 1953, the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical College was also added to the new HU. Some of these higher educational institutions already had brilliant traditions and histories of their own. Although these educational institutions suffered a great deal of damage due to the atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, they were reconstructed and combined to become the new HU. In addition, Graduate Schools were established in 1953. The new HU has risen from the ruins of war like a phoenix, which is in fact the University's symbol.
HU has a long history of accepting international students. This commenced before World War II. As of May 2019, HU has over 15,000 students including nearly 1,900 international students from different 72 countries.
For details about education and students life at Hiroshima University, please visit the following websites.
The Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation (IDEC) was established in April 1994 for the purpose of actively nurturing expertise in various challenging issues facing developing countries through research and education. IDEC is devoted to accomplishing its goals through a specified three-pillared approach: international environmental cooperation; international educational cooperation; and international peace cooperation. These three areas are intertwined and complement each other. Together, these can lead to advancements in developing countries.
IDEC has been accepting many international students. Most of them come from Asian and African countries. The majority of our graduates has returned to their home countries and began their activities as highly competent professionals and researchers.
We have pragmatic features as follows:
(1) Education Programs in English
We believe it is important to develop international professionals capable of writing academic articles and reports, communicating and conversing in English. Therefore, almost all lectures and seminars are provided in English.
(2) Systematic and Interdisciplinary Curriculum
IDEC offers a systematic and interdisciplinary curriculum to produce specialists who can contribute to international development and cooperation in ways that cut across established academic disciplines. IDEC offers integrated education and research programs in economic development, international affairs, cultural dynamics, engineering, biology, peace studies, educational development, regional studies, Asian cultures and interdisciplinary programs to develop global perspectives.
IDEC offers special education programs designed to improve the qualifications and skills of students who plan to work in the field of international cooperation. The main features of these programs are as follows.
(1) Global Environmental Leaders Special Education Program
One of our aims is to establish a center for training environmental leaders capable of identifying problems and formulating strategic solutions at national or local levels through interdisciplinary and international perspectives. The global issue of reducing carbon emissions is an example of such a problem and the need for solutions. Another aim is to provide a platform for collaboration between industry, government and academia to promote cutting-edge environmental research and create coherent practical solutions for environmental issues on a global scale that is not limited to developing countries. We seek to provide value-added knowledge to those engaged in international cooperation. Achieving these aims requires addressing five areas: urban system design to prevent global warming, wise use of biomass resources, environmental impact assessment, policy and institutional design and environmental education. Our intention is for developing countries to work hand in hand with Japan to develop international environmental leaders, a task that we will undertake in an effective and practical manner.
For more details, refer to
https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/idec/education/special_education/courses/gels
(2) Formation of a Strategic Center for Global Internship (G.ecbo)
HU is currently promoting the “Formation of a Strategic Center for Global Internship” (commonly known as the “G.ecbo program”) following the 2007 adoption of the Support Program for Improvement of Graduate School Education. G.ecbo is a practical education program that includes pre- and post-internship training designed to achieve viable outcomes from student internships. The following types of internships are available:
For more details, refer to http://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/en-gecbo/
Developing countries today are facing various difficulties, including rapid population growth, regional conflicts, deteriorating standard of living and environmental problems. Insufficient social infrastructure, particularly in education and medical conditions and technological level, impedes socioeconomic development.
Therefore, it is of the utmost urgency that we nurture young researchers and planners who are experts in their specialized areas and have willingness to contribute to international cooperation. Through its innovative educational program, IDEC aims to provide educational opportunities for students to learn about the interdisciplinary and practical subjects necessary for international development and cooperation, including economics, environmental science, engineering, ecology, agricultural science, pedagogy, sociology, international politics and peace science. The school as a gathering with international characters offers a special place where the students with different expertise from various countries with different cultural, social, educational, political, and economical backgrounds are able to foster closer ties each other and share the common agenda and goals in international development and cooperation.
For this purpose, we provide the following educational program consists of three phases: preliminary education (phase I), practical education and research (phase II), follow-up training (phase III). JDS Fellows will study in the Development Technology course, IDEC, and the Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering.
Development technology course provides the educational program based on engineering and agricultural studies, for designing and realizing a sustainable infrastructure in developing countries from the viewpoint of a) urban and regional planning, b) water and energy resource management, c) agriculture and ecosystem management, d) disaster management. JDS Fellows will implement the strategies in the master’s thesis research with emphasis on PBL education and application. Classes in the following specialized subjects are offered: regional and urban engineering, transportation engineering, transportation planning, tourism policy, risk management technology, systems analysis for regional development marine hydrodynamics, ground disaster prevention engineering, management and conservation of ecosystems, sustainable architecture, biomass energy technology, fundamentals of survey methodology, geographic information system technology, energy science and technology, numerical environmental impact assessment, ecosystem conservation and management science.
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering provides the subjects such as advanced structural engineering, advanced geotechnical engineering, advanced concrete engineering, infrastructure and regional planning, transportation engineering and maintenance of steel structures, which are fundamental to study about the infrastructures for urban development and management. In order to study the disaster prevention, the subjects such as advanced hydraulic engineering, advanced coastal engineering, earthquake geotechnical engineering, environmental disaster prevention and coastal environmental engineering are provided. Graduate School of Engineering offers the general course for urban disaster prevention, where the students can get the knowledge and techniques on urban disaster prevention through the sublets such as, advanced theory of earthquake engineering, advanced ground disaster prevention and dynamics of building-structure.
All students are required to join the seminar held by their supervisor every week. Through the seminar classes, student can receive more deliberate supervision (research plan, literature review, academic presentation, and academic writing) and obtain basic skills necessary for academic research (analytical methods and result interpretation).
Our special program has been formed through our 10-year experience of acceptance of JDS Fellows from various Asian countries (since the inception of the JDS Project). Thus, we do have high confidence that we provide ample support for JDS Fellows in terms of their personal life as well as research.
Phase I: preliminary education
Preliminary education aims to make accepted candidates prepare for studying advanced materials in our course through distance education. Candidates are provided with textbooks on basics of sustainable infrastructure development and are required to conduct self-study under the instruction of professors. Candidates need to submit a report, which topic is “importance of designing and realizing a sustainable infrastructure in Mindanao”, and professors will give some advices based on their expertise to foster the candidates’ academic skills.
Phase II: practical education and research
(a) We provide several opportunities to discuss with specialists from other universities and institutions, and to learn practical knowledge from officers of governmental and international organizations, which would be very useful to build a network of personal connections with professionals. In addition, we actively promote students’ participation to academic conferences.
(b) All JDS Fellows are provided with specialized books, datasets, and/or other materials necessary for their research. In addition, analytical tools and software to promote research activities are also provided for all JDS Fellows.
(c) At least one Ph.D. student is assigned to every JDS Fellow (mentorship system). Students are able to get appropriate advice and ample support on their research from the mentor.
(d) We provide special English language courses “Graduate Writing I”, “Graduate Writing II” (IDEC), and “Pre Academic English”, “Advanced English” (Graduate School of Engineering). Through these courses, student can obtain basic skills in writing academic papers. In addition, JDS Fellows can utilize English proofreading by native speakers on their master theses. These practices have improved students’ English skills dramatically.
Phase III: follow up training
In order to get feedback from graduates on how they utilize the knowledge acquired in our course and how we should improve the on-going JDS Program, we hold a follow-up seminar in the country after students going back there. We also provide advice and recommendations on practical issues from the academic viewpoint. Information obtained from the seminar will be utilized to improve the quality of the JDS Program and make sure that their knowledge and skills are used in the most effective and suitable ways for their work.
In addition to the above special programs, we currently hire a staff in charge of JDS Program in order to facilitate the program smoothly and efficiently.
To obtain a Master’s degree, JDS Fellows need to satisfy the following requirements:
Minimum of 30 credits through course work;
Submission of a master’s thesis.
All students need to decide research topic and supervisors (one head-supervisor and two sub-supervisors) at the beginning of the first semester. Under the head-supervisor’s advice, students will choose subjects to enroll and start preparations for a master’s thesis.
List of subjects offered in 2019 academic year is attached. Students will choose subjects mainly from “Development Technology Course” but also can select some subjects offered by other 4 courses (Development Policy Course, Peace and Coexistence Course, Educational Development Course, and Cultural and Regional Studies Course) as free electives.
(URL:https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/idec/current_students/syllabus_timetable)
| Subject Title | Credit |
|---|---|
| Peace and Coexistence Environmental Management Economic Development and Policy Educational Development Asian Cultures |
2 2 2 2 2 |
| Subject Title | Credit |
|---|---|
| Developing Designing Ability Fieldwork Internship Graduate Writing I Graduate Writing II |
2 2 2 2 2 |
| Subject Title | Credit |
|---|---|
| Development Sciences I Development Sciences II |
2 2 |
| Subject Title | Credit |
|---|---|
| Development Technology | 4 |
| Risk Management Technology | 2 |
| Transportation Engineering | 2 |
| Regional and Urban Engineering | 2 |
| Tourism Policy | 2 |
| Transportation Planning | 2 |
| Systems Analysis for Regional Development | 2 |
| Marine Hydrodynamics | 2 |
| Ground Disaster Prevention Engineering I | 2 |
| Ground Disaster Prevention Engineering II | 2 |
| Applied Marine Hydrodynamics | 2 |
| Earthquake Resistant Structures | 2 |
| Disaster Prevention of Earthquake | 2 |
| Architectural Planning and Theory | 2 |
| Environmental Planning | 2 |
| Environmental Monitoring | 2 |
| Grassland Ecology | 2 |
| Animal Resources | 2 |
| Management and Conservation of Ecosystems | 2 |
| Botany: Resources for the Future | 2 |
| Applied Ecosystem Science | 2 |
| Biomass Utilization | 2 |
| Sustainable Architecture I | 2 |
| Sustainable Architecture II | 2 |
| Biomass Energy Technology | 2 |
| Fundamentals of Survey Methodology | 2 |
| Geographic Information System Technology | 2 |
| Forest Resources | 2 |
| Energy Science and Technology | 2 |
| Numerical Environmental Impact Assessment I | 2 |
| Numerical Environmental Impact Assessment II | 2 |
| Ecosystem Conservation and Management Science | 2 |
| Special Seminar I for Linkage Program | 2 |
| Special Seminar II for Linkage Program | 2 |
| Seminar on Regional and Urban Engineering | 8 |
| Seminar on Development Technology | 8 |
| Seminar on Environmental Conservation | 8 |
| Seminar on Animal Reproduction | 8 |
| Seminar on Resource Ecology | 8 |
| Seminar on Energy Resource Management Technology Seminar on Risk Management Technology Seminar of Ecosystem Conservation and Management Science |
8 8 8 |
| 1) Common subjects I･II(required electives) | 6 credits (4 credits required from Common subjects I) |
| 2) Subjects specified by the supervisor (required) | 12 credits or more |
| 3) Seminar (required) | 4 credits or more |
| 4) Free electives outside of the subjects specified by the supervisor and may be subject taken at another graduate school (elective) |
|
| Total: | 30 credits or more |
Students need to decide their research topic and supervisors (one head-supervisor and two sub-supervisors) at the beginning of the first semester. Under the head-supervisor’s advice, students will choose subjects to enroll and start preparations for their master’s thesis.
| Position | Name | Research Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Professor | FUJIWARA, Akimasa |
Transportation planning methods, evaluation of transport policies, and sustainable development and transport |
| Professor | HIGO, Yasushi |
Hydrodynamic forces acting on floating structure, theoretical and numerical studies on seaquakes |
| Professor | MAEDA, Teruo |
Manipulation of germ cells and embryos for the production of transgenic animals (domestic animals) |
| Professor | NISHINA, Daisaku |
Living environment planning in buildings and urban area: water environment, landscape and environmental psychology |
| Professor | TSUDZUKI, Masaoki |
Evaluation of genetic resources in poultry Mapping of qualitative and quantitative trait loci in poultry |
| Professor | ZHANG, Junyi |
Various urban, transportation, environment and energy, health, and tourism issues are targeted from the viewpoint of mobilities and urban policy. Relevant research deals with the development of methodologies (e.g., human behavior modeling, planning and evaluation methods), technological development, and policy evaluation and formulation for problem solving based on interdisciplinary approaches. |
| Associate Professor | CHIKARAISHI, Makoto |
Urban risk management / Advanced infrastructure planning / Activity-based analysis |
| Associate Professor | HOSAKA, Tetsuro |
Research and education on ecology and ecosystem management |
| Associate Professor | KUBOTA, Tetsu |
Building and urban environmental science for achieving sustainable development in developing world |
| Associate Professor | TRAN, Dang Xuan |
Development of biomass energy technologies and application to developing countries Agricultural ecology and development of sustainable agricultural technologies |
| Associate Professor | LEE, Han Soo |
Coastal hazards and disaster prevention / Energy system science / Climate change impacts on coastal hazards and energy resources |
Professors who will cease regular teaching within the standard completion period of the thesis.
(Reference)
Dormitories
“Ikenoue Dormitory” (approx. 180 rooms for international students) and “International House” (60 single, 10 family units) located on the Higashi-Hiroshima campus are available for international students. The majority of students, however, live in privately-owned apartments.
Library
IDEC library has nearly a collection of 30,000 titles of books and journals. Our collection is mainly focused on economics of development, education development, international relations and Asia regional culture development.
"World Bank Information Kiosk" is placed for the purpose of introducing active discussions in academic area about the policy and actions of the World Bank. Students can access to "World Development Indicators Online" in IDEC library. Flag ship publications, project reports, brochures and publications from the World Bank Tokyo Office are also available.
JDS fellows have full access to 5 other libraries on campus which has approximately 3,300,000 materials in its collection. Holding a huge collection of books and electronic journals, with a total combined area of 29,000 square meters, Hiroshima University Library System comprised of 5 libraries is one of the largest in the country.
Other facilities
Within the campus, we have welfare facilities such as various cafeteria, a travel agency office, stores, book shops, a drug store and a barber shop. Hiroshima University also has a post office, a university health service center, and a dental clinic in the campus. The International Center provides mental counseling service to international students in English.
HU is a research based university. In line with this policy, IDEC requires a thesis for the fulfillment of the master’s degree, which is different from the coursework-based curriculum typically found in professional schools. It is not a very easy task to compile a master’s thesis based on independent research. In fact, students need to spend significant time and resources. However, it is expected that this experience will enable you to acquire specialized academic and practical knowledge in your area of specialization. To ensure that you can pursue research of a high standard that achieves a good result, at the time of joining our course we require applicants to have a good command of English. Some knowledge of civil engineering or agricultural studies for designing a sustainable infrastructure is also highly desirable.
Our aim is to foster advanced specialists who can contribute to solution of the issues of the sub-program and component, such as improvement of social infrastructure from the viewpoint of hardware and software sides, and improvement of urban and regional problems by considering interaction between industrial location, land use, environment, human life, disaster prevention, etc., we provide the special program for students to obtain these knowledge and skills through theoretical and empirical lessons with practical cases.
In the campus surrounded by abundant nature in the suburbs of Hiroshima city, you can give your full attention to your study. Your each and every experience here will serve as an excellent base for your further steps as a professional government official. We welcome you to Hiroshima University.
Mr. Mai Binh Nguyen, JDS 2017 – 2019, Railway Project Management Unit, Ministry of Transport
“With JDS scholarship, you absolutely do not have to worry about life in Japan during the study period because you will receive extremely thoughtful support from the JDS program coordinators. Personally, this is really a great opportunity to study, to experience life in a developed country, and to enhance our own value. I feel very lucky to have been selected for this scholarship and I believe that you will have the same opinion as me.
Good luck!”
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