Development and Emergency Practice - PgDip/PgCert/MA

Develop your knowledge, skills and attitudes with our practical Development and Emergency Practice course.

This course has an international reputation for excellence. It is run by the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP), based in the School of Architecture.

The fields of development and emergencies are changing. Witha focus on practice, you will learn about:

• international development
• conflict
• disaster management
• urbanisation
• humanitarianism
• human rights.

This course is ideal for those with, or seeking, careers in:

• NGOs
• bilateral or multilateral humanitarian, development and human rights agencies
• governmental and commercial organisations working in international development.

Our graduates have found senior positions with international development or emergency organisations.

Learning and teaching

Your learning will be grounded in theory, case studies and field based experience. You will develop intellectual knowledge and cultivate academic skills including:

• synthesis
• analysis
• interpretation
• understanding
• judgement.

You will focus on your approach as a practitioner. Particular reference is made to:

• the setting in which you work - for example poverty, conflict, power and vulnerability
• the approaches you adopt - for example community mobilisation, aid and human rights advocacy
• yourself - the personal motivations that drive and shape your vocation, personality and temperament

You will become a more self-aware, knowledge-based practitioner, able to work flexibly around a variety of problems in different situations. These include poverty, armed conflict and disaster.

Field trips

The course offers several field trip options each year. These usually take place in late January before the beginning of Semester 2.

Past field trip locations have included:

• Asia (India, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines)
• Latin America (Peru, Colombia)
• Middle East (West Bank)
• Europe (Bosnia, Northern Ireland)
• Africa (South Africa)
• The Caribbean (Jamaica).

Please note that field trips are an additional cost to the course fee, to reflect the fact that some students prefer not to take up this option.

Research

Research specialisations linked to the five research clusters within the School of Architecture offer cutting edge teaching from subject area experts.

The specialisations are:

• environmental design
• technology
• development
• emergency practice
• humanities
• architectural design.

Career prospects

The course is an ideal platform for you to develop your career in, or move into, international development and emergency organisations. Many graduates are able to secure senior positions.

Visit the Development and Emergency Practice - PgDip/PgCert/MA page on the Oxford Brookes University website for more details!