Masters degree in disaster management (MDM)

This postgraduate programme targeted at active professionals allows contributing to this nationally significant practice-oriented field. Such a course to supplement profession-based education of graduates of various disciplines also serves to further post-professional qualification and allows career development. Because this course is largely targeted for development organizations, it is relevant within the BRAC organizational framework.

Course contents

The contents of the course will be comprised of three main components: lectures/seminars, field studies and individual student projects. A panel of experts from various disciplines will present lectures and conduct seminars. Field visits will be arranged to relevant disaster-prone areas and disaster management projects and students will prepare reports as part of the field studies courses. Each student will undertake independent study projects during both semesters (more complex and detailed Semester 02), under the guidance of a relevant tutor, to be presented and submitted as terminal assignments.

The course contents will relate to three main aspects:

1. Pre-disaster preparedness and vulnerability reduction.
2. Post-disaster response, relief and rehabilitation.
3. Disaster mitigation and long-term development (Pre-disaster + Post-disaster).

These aspects will be presented and reviewed from the perspectives of various disciplines in the form of foundation courses, core courses, field studies, electives and individual student projects. Because this program will be run in Bangladesh, which is a particularly disaster-prone region, most of the course contents will be based on experience and information relating to this context. A wide variety of case studies on disasters and disaster management particularly from Bangladesh will comprise the course contents.

A student initially enrolling for a diploma or master's degree is required to register for at least 5 credits and maximum 15 credits per semester. To be considered full-time, a student will have to register for at least 12 credits per semester. The diploma will have to be completed within 3 years and the master's degree will have to be completed within 5 years after the original date of admission. Also available are postgraduate certificate degrees and diplomas in disaster management.