MA/MSc Disasters, adaptation and development

MA Disasters, Adaptation and Development aims to provide students with an in-depth and critical awareness of the politics and geographies of disaster risk reduction and its contribution to sustainable adaptation and disaster response.

The programme takes a social development perspective and includes human vulnerability and response to natural and technological hazards and to hazards associated with climate change. It embeds training in disaster risk reduction with access to a broad range of modules that enable the student to craft a degree that can include technical specialisms in GIS and remote sensing, organisational risk management, or poverty alleviation and international development.

It aims to enable students to develop the skills required to engage with both cutting edge academic literatures and policy work so that they can participate in this dynamic and contested arena. These aims are achieved by the unique combination of theoretical and practical modules that draw on the expertise of the staff and internships with participating humanitarian and development organisations.

On completion of the programme students will have attained a range of knowledge and skills appropriate to careers in research, management and consultancy in organisations engaged in promoting or managing disaster risk reduction, adaptation to risk from extreme climatic events and recovery from disaster in developing as well as developed countries, as well as generic skills opening the way to more general employment opportunities.

Career development is supported thorugh efforts to link thesis research with practitioners such as the British Red Cross and Save the Children and also through internships through groups like Engineers without Boarders. Students considering undertaking further study after their Masters degree are advised to take the MSc route of the Disasters programme, however please note all students are initially registered for the MA. Transfer to the MSc takes place during the degree if you elect to take Practising Social Research 2.

Funding can be obtained from various sources including Research Councils, University of London Scholarships, departmental bursaries and career development loans. For overseas students Chevening Scholarships are available from the British Council. Overseas students can also apply for the Commonwealth Shared Scholarships Scheme (CSSS), details of which can be found on our website at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/graduate/funding/database/view/247/ For further advice, please contact the Master's Admissions Tutor in the Department of Geography.