Saitama University is a national university established in 1949. It is composed of five faculties for undergraduate education (Faculty of Liberal Arts, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Science, and Faculty of Engineering) and three graduate schools (Graduate School of Humanities and Social Science, Graduate School of Education, and Graduate School of Science and Engineering). Saitama University is a reputed national university for higher education and research in Japan and is located in a quiet suburban area of Saitama City, the capital of Saitama Prefecture. Saitama City is situated about 30 km to the north of Tokyo. This location enables the residents of the university to easily access governmental research institutes, private companies, and other facilities in and around Tokyo area.
Saitama University has long been established as a respected national university within Japan. As a part of our global initiative, we disseminate outstanding results through our diverse research projects to scholars across the world.
The University is not a conventional Japanese national university. We create originality from original mindsets. Our students actively communicate with faculty. Our faculty’s fields of expertise enable Saitama’s unique curriculum of combining onsite classes and research to academics.
Many foreign students are enrolled to various departments of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering; the graduate school is really international. Besides offering academic classes in English, though not mandatory to take, the graduate school also provides Japanese language classes for foreign students to ease their daily lives in Japan.
The program starts in October, which is the beginning of the fall semester. For master degree, students are required to stay in the program for a minimum of two years. Just before finishing the first year’s study, students are required to deliver a mid-term presentation, which should be based on the research work of master course.
In order to contribute to international exchange in the fields of research and education, the Saitama University International House was built. Accommodation and other facilities are provided in the house. The house consists of three buildings with a total of 172 single, couple, and family rooms. The same as other International students, JDS Fellows can apply for the residence after the enrollment. In principle, the period of residence for all the researchers and students in the International House is one month minimum and one year maximum. Currently, the International House does not have sufficient capacity for all the international researchers and students; only approximately one third can be accommodated in the house. For the remaining two thirds, they need to find accommodation (e.g., renting a private apartment) by themselves.
The International Graduate program on Civil and Environmental Engineering offers foreign students, including the JDS Fellows, an opportunity to pursue graduate studies and conduct research in the field of civil and environmental engineering. Fields of study include Infrastructure Management, Transportation Planning, Environmental Engineering, Ecological Engineering, Coastal and Ocean Engineering, Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering, Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, Concrete and Material Engineering, Structural and Wind Engineering, Earthquake Engineering, and so forth. Moreover, the graduate program includes courses specially designed for international students where class instructions and research supervisions are all provided in English. Master thesis is accepted in English.
Research themes under the International Graduate Program on Civil and Environmental Engineering are categorized into five academic research groups (Transportation and Planning Group; Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials Group; Geotechnical and Geosphere Research Group; Earthquake Disaster Prevention & Mitigation Group; Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering Group). The groups in which the teaching staffs are capable of guiding JDS Fellows are introduced as follows:
*Transportation and Planning Group
Transportation and Planning Group conducts research on urban and traffic planning to achieve better city life. Life in city is composed of 3 elements: Inhabiting, Working, and Relaxing. Travel behavior ties each element and is often called the 4th element of life in city. The group focuses on the importance of relationship between life and transportation behavior in cities. The main research themes are traffic calming, transport community development, regional transportation planning, tourism management, traffic demand management (TDM), traffic demand Omotenasi (TDO), traffic psychology and behavior, consensus building, mechanism design in reverse logistics, and intercity transportation network analysis.
Teaching staffs and research interests
Prof. Hisashi Kubota
Urban transportation planning, Micro-area transportation planning, Urban traffic engineering, Urban planning
Assoc. Prof. Aya Kojima
Urban transportation planning, Micro-area transportation planning, Consensus building
Assist. Prof. Teppei Kato
Transportation planning
*Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials Group
Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials Group conducts research and development on planning, design, performance evaluation, and maintenance of civil engineering structures such as steel, reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete and composite structures. Particularly, studies on mechanical and physicochemical behavior of construction material and development of new structural types, new construction methods and new materials are being carried out in this group. The research topics in structural mechanics include understanding the mechanical behavior of new structural system, the relationship of microstructure with mechanical characteristics and fracture phenomena in structural materials. The research areas in structural dynamics cover understanding and mitigation of dynamic responses of structures to earthquake, wind or traffic, vibration-based structural health monitoring, and, additionally, human responses to vibration and noise. The concrete and rubber materials are mainly studied, aiming to quantitatively evaluate the long-term behavior based on chemical reaction, microstructure, and time dependent behavior of material characteristics related with temperature. Furthermore, application of new material, such as fiber reinforced polymers, in civil engineering structures are investigated. As aforementioned, the Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials Group works on safety and durability of civil engineering structures by conducting comprehensive researches and developments in wide academic field.
Teaching staffs and research interests
Prof. Yoshiaki Okui
Structural mechanics, Applied mechanics, Bridge engineering, Micro-mechanics
Prof. Yasunao Matsumoto
Structural Dynamics, Human response to vibration and noise, Building vibration, Low frequency noise
Prof. Takeshi Maki
Concrete engineering, Reinforced concrete engineering & mechanics, Earthquake engineering, Finite element method and its application
Assoc. Prof. Shingo Asamoto
Cementitious materials subjected to high temperature, Cementitious materials behavior in deep underground, Durability of concrete with mineral admixture, Prediction model for concrete structures deterioration
Assist. Prof. Ji Dang
Structure nonlinear mechanic, Structure dynamics, Steel bridge, Structure isolation and energy dissipation, Structure seismic design
Assist Prof. Yao Luan
Concrete engineering, Durability of concrete materials, Construction materials, Bioremediation
*Geotechnical and Geosphere Research Group
Geotechnical and Geosphere Research Group consists of three subgroups, “Geotechnical engineering for disaster mitigation”, “Geoenvironmental engineering”, and “Geosphere system engineering”. “Geotechnical engineering for disaster mitigation” covers research topics related to soil liquefaction, slope stability, ground reinforcement and improvement techniques. Various kinds of laboratory testing, filed-scale investigation and numerical modeling are used to understand soil’s mechanical properties and behaviors. “Geoenvironmental engineering” covers research topics related to environmental risk assessment at contaminated ground, development of site-specific appropriate techniques for pollution control, measurements and models for water, gas, solute, heat transport in soil, and characterization of soil structure and pore networking. “Geosphere system engineering” covers research topics related to geological disposal of radioactive waste and evaluation of the rock properties and their behaviors for construction and maintenance of rock structures. Researches on weathering process and its restoration technique for archeological sites and civil engineering heritages are also investigated on the basis of the knowledge of geology.
Teaching staffs and research interests
Prof. Jiro Kuwano
Geotechnical engineering, Geotechnical earthquake engineering, Mechanics of geomaterials
Prof. Ken Kawamoto
Geoenvironmental engineering, Solid waste management in developing countries
Prof. Masahiko Osada
Rock mechanics, Applied geology
Assoc. Prof. Chiaki Oguchi
Geosphere material sciences, Rock weathering and geomorphology
Assoc. Prof. Taro Uchimura
Geotechnical engineering, Geohazard prevention engineering, Mechanics of geostructures
Assist. Prof. Takeshi Saito
Geoenvironmental engineering, Soil and groundwater contamination, Hydrogeochemistry
Assist. Prof. Malik Adnan Anwar
Geotechnical engineering
Assist. Prof. Yota Togashi
Rock mechanics and tunnel engineering
*Earthquake Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Group
Earthquake Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Group covers studies on earthquake engineering and the engineering applications of earth science. The main research activities are: geomechanics, seismology, seismic wave propagation, site and propagation path effects on strong ground motion, temporal and spatial variations of strong ground motion, dynamic failure of ground, mechanics on granular materials and numerical experiments of them, deformation of surface soil layer due to earthquake faults, seismic excitation and structural response, soil-structure interaction, base isolation systems, lifeline systems, and reliability theory.
Teaching staffs and research interests
Prof. Masato Saito
Earthquake engineering, Seismic design engineering, Soil and structure interaction
Assoc. Prof. Hidenori Mogi
Earthquake ground motion and response, Seismic wave propagation
Assoc. Prof. Hisashi Taniyama
Rock mechanics, Applied geology
Assist. Prof. Chandra Shekhar Goit
Earthquake engineering, Soil-structure Interaction
As of current, near 30 English classes are provided in this program, titles of which are as follows:
Student(s) can enroll in any of the aforementioned classes with the consideration of a single provision that they meet the requirements set forward for graduation. For the conferment of a master’s degree, a student must comply with the following requirements:
Research themes under the International Graduate Program on Civil and Environmental Engineering are categorized into five academic research groups (Transportation and Planning Group; Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials Group; Geotechnical and Geosphere Research Group; Earthquake Disaster Prevention & Mitigation Group; Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering Group). Each group and the teaching staffs who can instruct foreign students are introduced as follows:
*Transportation and Planning Group
Transportation and Planning Group conducts research on urban and traffic planning to achieve better city life. Life in city is composed of 3 elements: Inhabiting, Working, and Relaxing. Travel behavior ties each element and is often called the 4th element of life in city. The group focuses on the importance of relationship between life and transportation behavior in cities. The main research themes are traffic calming, transport community development, regional transportation planning, tourism management, traffic demand management (TDM), traffic demand Omotenasi (TDO), traffic psychology and behavior, consensus building, mechanism design in reverse logistics, and intercity transportation network analysis.
| Name and Title | Research Fields |
|---|---|
| Prof. Hisashi Kubota |
|
| Assoc. Prof. Aya Kojima |
|
| Assist. Prof. Teppei Kato |
|
*Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials Group
Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials Group conducts research and development on planning, design, performance evaluation and maintenance of civil engineering structures such as steel, reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete, and composite structures. Particularly, studies on mechanical and physicochemical behavior of construction material and development of new structural types, new construction methods, and new materials are being carried out in this group. The research topics in structural mechanics include understanding the mechanical behavior of new structural system, the relationship of microstructure with mechanical characteristics, and fracture phenomena in structural materials. The research areas in structural dynamics cover understanding and mitigation of dynamic responses of structures to earthquake, wind or traffic, vibration-based structural health monitoring, and, additionally, human responses to vibration and noise. The concrete and rubber materials are mainly studied, aiming to quantitatively evaluate the long-term behavior based on chemical reaction, microstructure, and time dependent behavior of material characteristics related with temperature. Furthermore, application of new material, such as fiber reinforced polymers, in civil engineering structures are investigated. As aforementioned, the Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials Group works on safety and durability of civil engineering structures by conducting comprehensive researches and developments in wide academic field.
| Name and Title | Research Fields |
|---|---|
| Prof. Yoshiaki Okui |
|
| Prof. Yasunao Matsumoto |
|
| Prof. Takeshi Maki |
|
| Assoc. Prof. Shingo Asamoto |
|
| Assist. Prof. Ji Dang |
|
| Assist. Prof. Yao Luan |
|
*Geotechnical and Geosphere Research Group
Geotechnical and Geosphere Research Group consists of three subgroups, “Geotechnical engineering for disaster mitigation”, “Geoenvironmental engineering”, and “Geosphere system engineering”. “Geotechnical engineering for disaster mitigation” covers research topics related to soil liquefaction, slope stability, ground reinforcement and improvement techniques. Various kinds of laboratory testing, filed-scale investigation and numerical modeling are used to understand soil’s mechanical properties and behaviors. “Geoenvironmental engineering” covers research topics related to environmental risk assessment at contaminated ground, development of site-specific appropriate techniques for pollution control, measurements and models for water, gas, solute, heat transport in soil, and characterization of soil structure and pore networking. “Geosphere system engineering” covers research topics related to geological disposal of radioactive waste and evaluation of the rock properties and their behaviors for construction and maintenance of rock structures. Researches on weathering process and its restoration technique for archeological sites and civil engineering heritages are also investigated on the basis of the knowledge of geology.
| Name and Title | Research Fields |
|---|---|
| Prof. Jiro Kuwano |
|
| Prof. Ken Kawamoto |
|
| Prof. Masahiko Osada |
|
| Assoc. Prof. Chiaki Oguchi |
|
| Assoc. Prof. Taro Uchimura |
|
| Assist. Prof. Takeshi Saito |
|
| Assist. Prof. Malik Adnan Anwar |
|
| Assist. Prof. Yota Togashi |
|
*Earthquake Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Group
Earthquake Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Group covers studies on earthquake engineering and the engineering applications of earth science. The main research activities are: geomechanics, seismology, seismic wave propagation, site and propagation path effects on strong ground motion, temporal and spatial variations of strong ground motion, dynamic failure of ground, mechanics on granular materials and numerical experiments of them, deformation of surface soil layer due to earthquake faults, seismic excitation and structural response, soil-structure interaction, base isolation systems, lifeline systems, and reliability theory.
| Name and Title | Research Fields |
|---|---|
| Prof. Masato Saito |
|
| Assoc. Prof. Hidenori Mogi |
|
| Assoc. Prof. Hisashi Taniyama |
|
| Assist. Prof. Chandra Shekhar Goit |
|
The program starts in October, which is the beginning of the fall semester. For master degree, students are required to stay in the program for a minimum of two years. Just before finishing the first year’s study, students are required to deliver a mid-term presentation, which should be based on the research work of master course.
In order to contribute to international exchange in the fields of research and education, the Saitama University International House was built. Accommodation and other facilities are provided in the house. The house consists of three buildings with a total of 172 single, couple, and family rooms. The same as other International students, JDS Fellows can apply for the residence after the enrollment. In principle, the period of residence for all the researchers and students in the International House is one month minimum and one year maximum. Currently, the International House does not have sufficient capacity for all the international researchers and students; only approximately one third can be accommodated in the house. For the remaining two thirds, they need to find accommodation (e.g., renting a private apartment) by themselves.
The International Graduate Program on Civil and Environmental Engineering was established in 1992. As of March 2020, 361 masters’ students and 177 doctoral students from over 30 different countries have graduated. Our alumni are active in academia, research, industry, and government-related employment, or are pursuing higher studies. We regard the excellent performance of our alumni in their career paths as a reflection of the quality of the education offered by our university. We aim at providing high quality education by continuously striving for innovation in our graduate programs, and we sincerely welcome excellent students to apply for our program.
Vietnam is going through a rapid economic and urban development, the pace of which is expected to be faster in the next couple of years. Engineers, technicians and staffs who have knowledge of construction technology and are capable of planning, designing and managing transportation and infrastructures are already in a high demand and the demand is predicted to grow further. Therefore, quality education for such individuals (i.e., engineers, technicians, planners, etc.) is a very important aspect related to the overall development of Vietnam. The mission and objective of our program is to educate students who will be capable of serving in civil and urban development with various engineering knowledge and technologies. So far 79 students from Vietnam have already graduated from our program, obtaining their master’s and/or doctoral degree of engineering. Currently, they are working actively as educators at universities, staff of government agencies, engineers and technicians in construction companies, etc. in Vietnam. More to this, Saitama University has been continuously supporting students from Vietnam under student exchange program with the National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE) in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Mr. Vuong Dinh Tung, JDS 2018 – 2020, Project Management Unit 85, Ministry of Transport
“DS scholarship is a great program for those who want to study abroad, especially in Japan. This is a very good opportunity for me to improve my professional knowledge, experience the international student’s life, explore the Japanese culture and learn a lot from Japanese people. Currently, I am studying at Saitama University, a dynamic and integrated school with many international students from many countries. Saitama University is really a nice environment to study, research and make friends with others. If you have a desire to study in Japan, please join us with JDS.”
Mr. Lai Quoc Huy, JDS 2019-2021, Ho Chi Minh City Urban Drainage Company, People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City
“If we want a place to study, research, and living with affordable cost, Saitama University is the ideal choice for us to have 02 years of great experience. Approximately 40 minutes from Tokyo by train, every weekend we can date with friends walking through the parks or shopping on holidays. Or just cycle around in Saitama, we can enjoy ourselves a day off after studying hours, famous destinations like Kawagoe old-village is called little Edo, Hikawa Shrine with its way coming straight in the shade of trees in Summer afternoons, attractive museums always have preferential prices for students. In addition, Saitama University has full facilities from libraries, labs to the complex stadium (gym, basketball, badminton, soccer ...) where we can meet and join together with our friends. The campus in the summer is shaded with green trees, yellow and red in the autumn, snowfalls in the winter, then cherry blossoms bloom throughout the campus in the spring. An ideal place for us to have 02 years of studying and living in Japan.”
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