Bezeichnung:

MSc Minor in Disaster Studies

Wageningen University

Visiting address:
building no. 400
Costerweg 50
6701 BH Wageningen
The Netherlands

disaster.studies _[At]_ wur.nl

Mail address:
P.O. Box 9101
6700 HB Wageningen
The Netherlands

Wageningen Disaster Studies offers courses and thesis possibilities at the BSc, MSc and PhD levels. The courses are open to students of Wageningen University, other universities or colleges, as well as to professionals from the fields of development, conflict or disaster response. The language of instruction is English.

As of September 2007 it will be possible to do a thesis track in Disaster Studies within the Master in International Development Studies (MID). Students need to enroll in the specialization Sociology of Rural Development and can then opt to do their major thesis with Disaster Studies. The program comprises a compulsory specialization course (Sociology in Development) and a thesis preparation course (Conflict, Development and Disaster). Optional courses are Humanitarian Aid and Reconstruction, Natural Hazards and Disasters and Property Rights, Natural Resources and Conflict. The program also includes an MSc thesis in Disaster Studies, if desired in combination with an internship.

MSc students from other specializations and programs are also welcome to take our courses and to do a thesis or internship with Disaster Studies. In coordination with the study advisor the student may opt for combining several courses to an MSc Minor in Disaster Studies.

The MSc thesis in Disaster Studies will typically comprise fieldwork in a (post) emergency affected area. Because of the special considerations of doing research in these conditions, students are referred to the manual of Fieldwork in Hazardous Areas.

Infos zum Studieninhalt

Natural disasters and violent conflicts affect the lives of a great number of people across the world, especially in developing and unstable countries. The impact of conflicts and disasters on people’s security, livelihood and future prospects is often dramatic, and disproportionally hits those that are already poor and marginalized. Despite efforts to address these problems, these are likely to continue to mark global development in the decades to come. Belying post Cold War optimism, technological and institutional progress has not been able to guarantee people’s security. This forces us to rethink the nature of planned development.
Conflict and disaster are fields with a high density of external interventions, which include emergency assistance, military measures, development aid and peace building. Such interventions easily get caught up in the dynamics of conflict and disaster producing unforeseen results. Local actors in hazard or war affected areas develop their own capacities to deal with crises and shape the outcome of external interventions.