Asian countries are becoming increasingly vulnerable to various types of disasters including landslides, floods, droughts, forest fires, typhoons and man-made hazards. However, these countries have displayed very limited capacity in terms of their knowledge base, skills training, long-term planning, emergency preparedness and policy development to respond to such disasters.

The aim of this new academic program is to instill the necessary interdisciplinary capacities to manage and minimize the effects of disasters in people on the front lines of disaster response and preparedness. Upon completion of the program, graduates will have gained a profound scientific understanding of natural and man-made disasters. They will be able to assess risks properly; to construct disaster management plans using appropriate tools and techniques; and, to apply suitable measures to mitigate risk. They will possess the skills necessary for handling complex emergency situations and to communicate with various stakeholders and policy makers on issues associated with disaster preparedness, mitigation and management. Given these skills and expertise, program graduates will be ready to play a leading role in protecting Asia’s large populations from the full force of a rising tide of disasters.

Partners & Collaborators

• Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA
• International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), the
Netherlands
• International Center for Urban safety Engineering (ICUS), The University of Tokyo, Japan
• University of Washington (UW), International Tsunami Training Institute (ITTI), USA
• Coastal Resource Center (CRC), University of Rhode Island, USA
• Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Regional
Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok
• Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan

Academic Programs

PROFESSIONAL MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAM
This is a one-year academic program, spanning two semesters and a summer period of twelve weeks. August and January semester provide lecture courses (a course load of about 12 credits each semester), with the summer period reserved for an internship at disaster-related institutions and working out a project report of mutual interest to the student and the internship provider. This program is aimed at those whoa re currently working at disaster-related institutions and who would like to expand their knowledge base as well as to acquire new skills and the ability to meet present and future performance challenges,. Candidates for this program should have completed a bachelor’s degree and have gained at least 3 years of work experience at disaster-related areas. Interested students may shift to the regular master’s degree program if they meet its requirements.

MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAM
This is a 22-month academic program requiring 26 credits of coursework and 22 credits of master’s thesis study. The program is aimed at those who are looking for a career in disaster preparedness, mitigation and management and at the faculty and staff of universities and research institutions. Students are expected to do a thesis directly related to aspects of natural or man-made disasters in their home countries. After successfully completing this program, these students may pursue further studies in the Doctoral Degree Program on “Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management”, which is scheduled for launch in January 2009. Students in this program will be awarded either an M.Eng. or M.Sc. degree depending on their academic backgrounds and selection of courses.

POST-GRADUATE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
This is a one-semester program that spans 15 weeks with a course load of 12 credits (4 courses of three credits each). This program will be offered both in January and August semesters. The credits earned in this program can be transferred to the AIT professional master’s or regular master’s degree program in “Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management’, as well as to programs in other appropriate fields of study.

Course Work

• Mitigation of Earthquake Disasters
• Georisk Engineering
• Floods and Droughts
• Tsunami Science and Preparedness
• Climate Forecasting ad Early Warning Systems
• Remote Sensing and GIS for Disaster Risk Management
• Geospatial Technology for Disaster Risk Mapping
• Community Based Disaster Risk Management
• Coastal Resiliency and Natural Disaster Preparedness
• Human Conflicts and Humanitarian Emergency Management
• Managing for Disasters
• Planning and Implementation for Emergency Management
• Disaster Management in Urban Environmental Planning
• Health and Ecological Risk Management
• AIA Framework for Disaster Management
• Energy Technologies for Disaster Management

INTERNSHIPS
An internship of about 12 weeks at National, regional or International organizations such as ADPC, GIC, UNDP, UNEP, and ITC (the Netherlands) will be arranged for students in the Professional Master’s Degree Program.

COST OF STUDY