Disaster Management and Sustainable Development (MSc)
Entry requirementsStandard Entry A minimum of a lower second class honours degree in an appropriate subject (i.e. geography, environmental management/studies, economics, sociology) or appropriate professional experience and/or qualifications. Plus one of the following: * Other: Applicants whose first language is not English will be expected to have proficiency in English at IELTS level 6.5 or equivalent. Additional Notes Applications are welcomed from those with relevant work experience. Suitable equivalent qualifications will be considered, particularly in the case of overseas and mature candidates.
Academic titleDisaster Management and Sustainable Development (MSc)
Course descriptionCOURSE INFORMATION
This stimulating and dynamic MSc course will permit you to register for an MSc, Postgraduate Diploma (Pg Dip) or Postgraduate Certificate (Pg Cert) in Disaster Management and Sustainable Development.
The course focuses on disaster management and sustainable development including frameworks and skills for addressing contemporary hazards, disasters and complex emergencies, in both post-development and majority world contexts.
During the course, you will develop knowledge and analytical skills related to disaster risk reduction, emergency planning, evaluation in the humanitarian sector, early warning, response systems and sustainability. You will also have the opportunity to pursue specialisms in environmental/geographical information systems (GIS); physical and mental health in disaster management and development and Integrated Emergency Management.
Placements are offered, giving you the opportunity to get work experience in your chosen field and many of our students are placed with UK emergency planning bodies.
The MSc course is supported by the Disaster and Development Centre (DDC) which is based at Northumbria University. The DDC facilitates internships over the summer and you may wish to use this to work on your dissertation topic in collaboration with a particular organisation. Some of our students recently have been working in Darfur and Sri Lanka while others have been to the:
* Disaster Mitigation Institute, India
* National Society for Earthquake Technology, Nepal
* Office of Emergency Services Commission, Melbourne, Australia
* Centre for Disaster Preparedness, Philippines
* UNISDR, Geneva
* Development Workshop in Vietnam.
The course is normally one year long but there is flexibility to postpone the completion of the Masters dissertation for up to 5 years.
In the first semester, you will take three core modules which are taught in block form of four weeks each. In the second semester, if you are taking the Postgraduate Diploma or full MSc Masters Course, you will take the core Research Methods module and will be able to choose two option modules.
If you are a Masters student, you will take the Masters dissertation module and complete a 20,000 word dissertation, usually over the summer months, for submission normally in the September following enrolment.
MODULE INFORMATION
Year 1 Modules
GE0170 Project Management: Approaches and Methods (CORE, 20 Credits)
GE0171 Environmental/Geographical Information Systems (E/GIS) (OPTION, 20 Credits)
GE0172 Physical and Mental Health for Disaster Man/ment & Dev. (OPTION, 20 Credits)
GE0173 MSc Disaster Man/ment and Sustainable Dev.Dissertation (CORE, 60 Credits)
CAREERS
Many students have been successful in gaining employment in UK emergency planning posts in addition to jobs in the following areas:
* UN system
* Environment Agency for England and Wales
* Local, national and international NGOs (e.g. Médecins Sans Frontières; Norwegian People's Aid).
A number of students are already employed in the sector and complete the MSc for career development reasons (e.g. WHO; World Vision; UK Emergency Planning).
OTHER INFO
Course Facilities
You will be able to take advantage of our high standard facilities with modern lecture theatres, laboratories and IT suites, well stocked with specialised equipment and software, and a map room. We keep close contact with our subject librarians and information specialists, who are available to students in terms of specialist teaching sessions and support.
Course Staff
Staff associated with this degree have an international reputation for expertise in the fields of disaster management and sustainable development. Many have ongoing involvement in research and consultancy activities associated with some of the world's leading development and relief organisations. Key areas of research interest include: climate change adaptation policy, health security, gender and disaster, evaluation of humanitarian practice, and environmental risk management.
Research
The programme has established links to the UK emergency services and is a core element of the Disaster and Development Centre (DDC) at Northumbria. You may wish to be involved with the Dealing With Disasters Conference which is organised jointly by Northumbria, Teesside and Glamorgan Universities.
Further Study
A number of our graduates have gone on to register for PhDs.