Course description
Our multidisciplinary MA Humanitarianism and Conflict Response master's course focuses on response to crises originating from both conflict-zones and natural disasters.
Bringing together the study of medicine and humanities, the course provides an inclusive approach that mirrors the reality of aid operations and informs the reflexive processes of both analytical and applied disciplines.
You will benefit from being able to draw on an exceptionally wide breadth of disciplinary traditions and research expertise.
Aims
We aim to:
- Provide critical insights into competing perspectives on how Humanitarianism and Conflict Responses can be understood, analysed and explained - from both a historiographic and contemporary viewpoint.
- Develop analytical skills in critically evaluating the idea of humanitarianism and the ways that responses to conflict are organised, justified and implemented. This includes competency in developing a reasoned argument, critically considering data sources and defending different approaches.
- Develop skills in gathering, organising and using evidence and information from a wide variety of sources. This will be complemented by guidance on how best to manage workloads and obtain research materials.
- Enable you to apply research skills to a relevant research area.
By the end of the course, students should be able to show a critical understanding of:
- Key issues and debates in Humanitarianism and Conflict Response, familiarity with different theoretical approaches, practical problems and an appreciation of the diversity of policies at international and national levels.
- Both the range of social science topics associated with Humanitarianism and Conflict Response and the normative and historiographic assumptions which underpin these issues.
- The analytical and policy literature concerning the related issues of the causes of conflict, reconstruction, ethics and international governance structures and institutions, the role and perspectives of the state, multilateral and bilateral agencies, international and domestic NGOs and other civil institutions.
- A detailed and extensive understanding of a specific conceptual and/or policy-related area of Humanitarianism and Conflict Response, of the implications and limitations of research findings on this subject; and of how to produce an original piece of academic research, all through their dissertation.
Teaching and learning
You will learn through a variety of teaching methods, depending on the units you take. These may include lectures, tutorials and independent study.
Coursework and assessment
You will be assessed through a variety of methods, depending on the units you take. These may include written assignments, oral presentations and thematic maps.
Career opportunities
Students at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute come from a broad range of backgrounds, with varying levels of experience.
The skills gained on the course have helped to prepare graduates for national and international careers in: Development, migrant protection, humanitarian consultancy, health protection, security consultancy, and medicine.
- Organisations our graduates have gone on to work in include:NGOs: International Committee of the Red Cross (IFRC), Human Appeal, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Voluntary Services Overseas and the British Heart Foundation
- National Resource Governance Institute
- Civil Service, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
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