University College Dublin
MSc Humanitarian Action
Dublin, Ireland
DURATION
1 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
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EARLIEST START DATE
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TUITION FEES
EUR 26,250 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* full time non-EU fee per year - € 26250; EU fee per year - € 9690
Introduction
The MSc Humanitarian Action has evolved over a 25-year period and is distinguished by its interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral and international nature.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted societies globally. It has exposed the vulnerabilities and fragility of our existence. Unfortunately, it has emerged at a time when the International Humanitarian System is already challenged to address the effects of other disasters. We are living in an era of unprecedented humanitarian need brought about by climate change, complex political emergencies resulting in conflict, global migration, and protracted conflicts. Before the pandemic emerged, an estimated 72 million people were displaced from their homes due to conflict, an estimated 180 million people were in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, and almost a billion were undernourished globally. Needless to say, the devastation of COVID-19 will vary considerably across societies.
This MSc provides high-quality academic education and professional competencies for those working or intending to work in the area of humanitarian action and related areas. The programme aims to provide students with a broad foundation in the area of international humanitarian action, in which both critical thinking and research skills are emphasised. The goal is to deliver high-level, committed, interdisciplinary trained personnel who can function with enhanced professionalism in the broad field of humanitarian relief, and are informed by their theoretical insights and humanitarian principles. The programme design integrates professional and research orientation that is intended to bridge the gap between academic research and the humanitarian work field.
The programme supports students to build suitable networks for research and internships. This master's programme has a long tradition of attracting students from diverse backgrounds with varying degrees of experience in the humanitarian sector and related fields.
This MSc Programme is closely aligned with the UCD Centre for Humanitarian Action (UCD-CHA) and NOHA, both of which are well-recognised as key global institutional stakeholders in Humanitarian Studies.
The programme provides a dynamic classroom-based learning environment, involving a variety of teaching methods such as lectures, simulations and field trips. Students have the opportunity to explore specific themes through second-trimester specialisations and a minor thesis. The MSc in Humanitarian Action brings together experts from academia and the field to lecture on the different modules.
The programme aims to provide students with a broad foundation in the area of international humanitarian action, in which both critical thinking and research skills are emphasised. The goal is to deliver high-level, committed, interdisciplinary trained personnel who can function with enhanced professionalism in the broad field of humanitarian relief, and are informed by their theoretical insights and humanitarian principles.
The programme design integrates professional and research orientations and is intended to bridge the gap between academic research and humanitarian practice. It adopts a competence-oriented, interactive and student-centred approach to learning. Teaching practices include group and project work, lectures and seminars, student presentations, simulation exercises, individual internships and individual thesis research. The programme is suitable for both recent graduates and experienced practitioners working or intending to work in the field of humanitarian relief and international cooperation as project managers, administrators, researchers, evaluators, and consultants in national and international organisations, both in the field and at headquarters around the world.
Vision and Values Statement
The programme aims to provide students with a broad foundation in the area of international humanitarian action, in which both critical thinking and research skills are emphasised. The goal is to deliver high-level, committed, interdisciplinary trained personnel who can function with enhanced professionalism in the broad field of humanitarian relief, and are informed by their theoretical insights and humanitarian principles. The programme design integrates professional and research orientations and is intended to bridge the gap between academic research and humanitarian practice. It adopts a competence-oriented, interactive and student-centred approach to learning. Teaching practices include group and project work, lectures and seminars, student presentations, simulation exercises, individual internships and individual thesis research. The programme is suitable for both recent graduates and experienced practitioners working or intending to work in the field of humanitarian relief and international cooperation as project managers, administrators, researchers, evaluators, and consultants in national and international organisations, both in the field and at headquarters around the world.
Ideal Students
Who should apply?
Full Time option suitable for:
- Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
- International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes
Humanitarian action is regarded as a boundary discipline, occupying a space on the margins of several academic disciplines. The MSc Humanitarian Action is an inter-disciplinary programme welcoming students from a diverse range of backrounds including management, politics, public health, international law, social anthropology, agriculture, science and engineering.
The inter-disciplinary, inter-sectoral and international nature of this Masters programme benefits from a diverse stakeholder mix amongst both instructors and students engaged in the programme.
Inter-disciplinary: Engaging with a range of disciplines as they relate to humanitarian action and strengthening societal resilience, including management, politics, public health, international law and social anthropology.
Inter-sectoral: Partnering the full stakeholder mix including The Red Cross / Red Crescent Movement, INGOs, Government Representative and the Private sector to engage with academics to enrich the learning experience for graduate students
International: Attracting students from a diverse range of nationalities, educational cultures and professional experiences to challenge contemporary theory, policy and practices. The international dimension is typified by the field trip to Wolaita, Ethiopia as part of the third trimester of the programme.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place in a UCD graduate degree program. For further information please check our website.
The College of Engineering & Architecture also offers scholarships for non-EU students, for more information please check our website.
Curriculum
Course Description
Trimester 1 - Humanitarian Action: Disciplinary Modules (30 ECTS) September – January: The first trimester introduces students to key humanitarian concepts, principles, issues and challenges. The initial introductory module introduces students to humanitarian action, humanitarian principles and the humanitarian system. This is followed by five disciplinary modules to equip students with the competencies to interrogate humanitarian interventions from an interdisciplinary perspective. The modules are: Management, Anthropology, Public Health, Geopolitics & International humanitarian law. All modules are 5 ECTS, which equates to three weeks of student work time.
Trimester 2 - RESILIENCE: localising the aid effort (30 ECTS) February – June: In the second-trimester students will be introduced to specialised modules on localisation and building societal resilience. The modules are: Linking Localization with Humanitarian Management, Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies (GBViE); building local agency; and Evidence-Based Community Resilience: applied research design. These modules are blended i.e. they combine online and face-to-face components and are taught in 5-week blocks. Each module is 10 ECTS. Please note that the second-trimester specialisation modules are also available to non-Master students as part of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes. For further details on CPDs and Pathways programmes please email noha.dublin@ucd.ie.
Trimester 3 - Research Field Visit / Work Placement (30 ECTS) June onwards: In this final trimester, students have to complete a minor thesis on a topic of their choosing. Graduates with limited field experience are highly encouraged to participate in a field trip to partner university Wolaita Sodo University in Ethiopia where they receive first-hand experiences of aid programmes and obtain the opportunity to critically analyse academic research across a range of disciplines: health, rural development, business, agriculture, and education. Graduates with more extensive experience are encouraged to combine their thesis with a suitable work placement. In the past, UCD CHA has successfully supported several students to obtain internships and conduct collaborative research with leading humanitarian organisations both in Ireland and abroad. For this period it is not mandatory to be physically present in UCD.
- HACT40010 Evidence-based Community Resilience: Applied Research Design
- HACT40020 Linking Localisation with Humanitarian Management
- HACT40100 Addressing GBV in Emergencies
- HAHACT40110 Legal Dimensions
- HAHACT40120 World Politics
- HACT40130 Social Anthropology
- HACT40140 Public Health
- HAHACT40150 Management
- HACT40160 Intensive Programme
- HACT40200 Minor Thesis
Program Outcome
- Demonstrate a sound understanding of the humanitarian principles, and the ethical, legal, and emancipatory rationales for humanitarian action
- Established competence in the theory, policy, and discourse of humanitarian action as it relates to a range of related disciplines, including program management, international law, geo-political science, public health, and social anthropology
- Demonstrate a sound understanding of the international humanitarian system, the main stakeholders that comprise this system, together with the main challenges faced by the system in addressing the global humanitarian need
- Apply research knowledge and analytical skills that support evidence-based humanitarian action
- Critical analysis of humanitarian action to optimize local engagement and support ‘people-centered humanitarian action’
- Demonstrate an understanding of and capacity to work in a humanitarian context (Field Visit)
- Design and develop an appropriate research study to strengthen resilience in a humanitarian context
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Careers & Employability
UCD has delivered graduate programs in Humanitarian Action since 1998. There are some 600 alumni of the MSc Humanitarian Action holding positions both in the field and at headquarters levels around the world. Many of these alumni are employed with the UN, Government, Non-governmental organizations or within academia.
Graduate Roles:
- Program Managers
- Protection Officers
- Field/Country Directors
- Emergency Team Leaders
- Administrators
- Researchers
- Academics
- Consultants