MSc Disaster Interventions and Humanitarian Aid

Overview

The MSc in Disaster Interventions and Humanitarian Aid is an innovative and unique course that will assist social work practitioners, humanitarian aid workers, health professionals and volunteers to work effectively with victim-survivors of (hu)man-made and/or ‘natural’ disasters. You will acquire the skills to engage with the problems facing those working in disaster interventions, including family reunification, safeguarding children, adults and other vulnerable groups and rebuilding sustainable, resilient communities post disaster. This includes exploring disaster mitigation, preparation and prevention strategies within a community engagement and coproduction framework to create new, long-term responses owned and endorsed by communities.

You will be encouraged to learn from each other and innovate in disaster responses by exploring complex disaster issues in the safety of the classroom using videos, simulations and small group exercises. Your skills will be enhanced further through participation in a field-based learning opportunity involving a period of shadowing practitioners within humanitarian agencies, emergency responders and government departments responsible for deploying emergency personnel. Here, you will learn about agency policy, procedures and practices during deployment.
Students can also exit with PGCert and PGDip awards.

Course objectives

You will:

• Consider a brief history of modern humanitarianism, humanitarian aid, and explore the linkages to ‘ideology of compassion', human rights, social justice and social work practice
• Explore humanitarian laws and organisations, their inception, evolution and roles
• Examine the concepts and policies that underpin national and international humanitarian aid
• Develop an in-depth understanding of practice with disaster victim-survivors (including refugees) as recipients of, actors and agents in disaster interventions
• Gain cultural understandings and explore the social history of state and non-governmental organisations and their roles in delivering humanitarian aid, policies and programs in diverse parts of the world, among different groups and settings