About Faculty of Societal Safety Sciences (FSS)

With having “Safety and Security” as its core value, the Faculty of Societal Safety Sciences is dedicated to the creation of a society in which everybody can live with delight

 Natural disasters and Social (Man-made)disasters make us realize problems that might otherwise be overlooked. By looking at society, humans, and nature through a lens of safety and security, the FSS is committed to coming up with possible solutions in order to mitigate and minimize predictable damages caused by such disasters.
 More concretely, the FSS takes an interdisciplinary educational approach that combines various fields such as law, political science, economics, management, psychology, sociology, science, informatics, engineering, and social medicine, to develop the problem-solving abilities of our students.

Overview of the Faculty of Societal Safety Sciences

Department and Faculty
Department of Safety Management, Faculty of Societal Safety Sciences (FSS), Kansai University

Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts and Sciences

Enrollment Capacity
275 (Total Student Body Population: 1,100)

Admissions Policy

 Living in the 21st century, each one of us earnestly desires to create a safe and secure society, which is the very concept that the government emphasizes in its public policy. The Faculty of Societal Safety Sciences (hereinafter referred to as “the Faculty”) is dedicated to creating such a safe and secure society. The types of persons to whom we offer admission are those who aspire to enhance what they learned during high school and acquire further knowledge and skills pertaining to the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters and accidents, and those who desire to make a difference to society by gaining and exercising abilities to analyze, examine, and manage safety issues in a comprehensive manner. The following qualities are highly valued.

1. Those who try to go beyond the conventional academic boundaries and take an interdisciplinary approach, employing all the knowledge, skills, and experiences they have acquired in a flexible and comprehensive manner.
2. Those who are proactive in acquiring new knowledge and experiences, as well as in seeking new challenges and trying to solve said challenges.
3. Those who are willing to communicate with others with different perspectives and opinions and work together with them to solve problems based on mutual understanding.

Curriculum Policy

 The Faculty is committed to the development of human resource equipped with practical skills to analyze safety problems that abound in modern society and formulate proposals for possible solutions. To realize this, a broader perspective is required; and such can be obtained only through something like inter-disciplinary studies. For this reason, the Faculty provides a well-balanced curriculum beginning from the foundations to applications with emphasis on the following points:

1. Educational Contents
(1)Liberal Arts Education
A) In order to foster students equipped with a broad range of knowledge concerning safety of society, diverse academic wisdom is provided including fundamental theories and tool systems, all of which is vital in the creation of a safe and secure society.
B) Simulation and hands-on experience type programs are incorporated into the curriculum to develop the ability to think and make judgements in a practical way to solve social safety problems.
C) To obtain a practical ability to read and communicate in English, “English Language” classes are set as compulsory subjects from the 1st to the 3rd year.


(2)Liberal Arts Education
A) In “Basic Programs,” a wide range of general knowledge which forms the foundation of Societal Safety Sciences is taught in a progressive manner. In “Advanced Programs,” students are expected to acquire, in a systematic manner, the latest specialized knowledge concerning the prevention and mitigation of disasters and accidents including risk management.
B) In order to enhance expertise in the prevention and mitigation of various kinds of disasters and accidents including risk management, in “Advanced Programs, there are two modules – “Modules of Human-Made Disaster Management” and “Modules of Natural Disaster Management.” The former highlights various types of accidents that occur in today’s industrialized society. In the former, students learn about prevention and mitigation of disasters / accidents, workplace safety, human error, risk management, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and safety-related legal systems. In the latter, students learn methods of analyzing natural disasters, damage prevention and mitigation, supporting victims, reconstruction/restoration planning, crisis management, and the concepts of “self-help/mutual assistance/public assistance” (roles of public administrations, one’s own responsibilities, public policy).
C) As for “Integrated Programs”, students partake in practical classes (introductory / basic) which consist of a small number of students. Such small numbers help students stay motivated in their studies and help them acquire further academic proficiencies. Students also take hands-on classes to obtain practical knowledge and skills such as conducting disaster surveys and accident investigations, along with advanced information processing.
D) In “Special Seminars” and “Graduation Research”, students choose a theme based on what they have accumulated through the learnings in all the subjects mentioned above. Being closely supervised and guided in the seminars, students will explore their chosen theme to acquire specialized knowledge and skills in analyzing natural disasters and accidents in a comprehensive manner and designing policy proposals therefrom.


2. Evaluation of Academic Performance
(1)For classroom lectures, students are evaluated mainly by regular examinations at the end of a semester to measure the level of knowledge and skills acquired.
(2)The evaluation of performance in a practicum course is made through the submission of reports on subject matters, discussions, debates, and presentations, in which skills like logical thinking, deductive thinking, critical thinking, problem-identifying, and problem-solving are assessed.
(3)Students are assessed based on the number of earned credits or criteria such as GPA. When they are judged to lack required knowledge and skills, they are individually instructed on course programs or the credit system.
(4)The number of credits students have obtained is checked at the end of their 2nd year in order to determine whether they have basic the knowledge and skills that are required for “Special Seminar”.
(5)The academic result of the 4 years is evaluated by a compulsory “Graduation Research”. Here, the fieldwork process, thesis, and presentation are all assessed.

Diploma Policy

 Setting its sights on the creation of a safe and secure society, the Faculty, by providing education regarding disaster prevention / mitigation, accident avoidance, and risk management policy planning, is committed to developing students equipped with high-level data processing skills and are willing to play their part in the betterment of society. Specifically, students are expected to learn various methods that help them analyze, examine, and manage safety and security at all levels - locally, nationally, and internationally. Those who have acquired the following abilities will be recognized as disaster prevention/ mitigation specialists and will be granted the degree “Bachelor of Arts and Sciences”.

1. (Knowledge and Skills)
The ability to identify, based on fundamental knowledge, what needs to be addressed to make our community and society safe and secure, and to formulate and implement policies and plans from a specialists’ point of view.
2. (Thinking, Judging, and Expressing Abilities)
The ability to “think and act”, that is: - the ability to understand the mechanisms and logic behind how safety can be maintained and assured, and - the ability to take action by devising safety policies and measures through communicating and working together with experts and specialists of other fields, and implementing such measures that will contribute to society.
3. (Independent Attitude)
The ability to think and act with both an independent and a collaborative mind, that is, proactively searching for challenges, putting those challenges in a social context, and voluntarily working on those challenges, while working harmoniously with other experts from different fields.