Risk Analysis, Disasters and Resilience MSc

Our Risk Analysis, Disasters and Resilience MSc programme will give you an advanced foundation in interdisciplinary studies of environmental, societal and technological risk and disaster in the global North and South. The programme is unique in bringing together social scientific perspectives on the underlying causes, governance, management and communication of risk and disasters across a wide range of societal, public and private sector contexts. This MSc will equip you with the skills to critically analyse risk and disasters and develop reflexive problem-solving strategies, thanks to our unique combination of scholarship from development geography and political science to sociology and psychology. You’ll gain an understanding of differential vulnerabilities and exposures to hazards and how they shape adaptation and resilience. You’ll also build your knowledge of the political, organisational, and societal contexts that shape the management, governance and public communication of risk and disasters. This programme gives you the chance to connect scholarship and practice. As well as combining theoretical with case-based modules, our internship programme will give you the opportunity to learn from professionals in public, private and third-sector organisations. This programme is a fantastic launchpad for exciting careers in a rapidly developing field. Many of our graduates have secured diverse careers as risk, disaster and resilience management and policy specialists within a wide range of international and national government agencies and non-governmental organisations, consultancies and businesses.

Key benefits

• Learn to evaluate the environmental, societal, organisational and political contexts in which risk, disaster and reconstruction occurs.
• Study the methods and techniques for analysing risk, vulnerability and exposure.
• Develop critical social scientific understanding of the causes of differential vulnerabilities that expose certain groups based upon their social profile and location to greater damage and suffering from hazards.
• Gain an up-to-date understanding of socio-psychological theories of risk perception and communication, organisational and sociological theories of risk management, and political science theories of risk governance.
• Apply theoretical and technical concepts learned from case-studies across the global North and South.
• Launchpad for exciting careers as disaster, risk and resilience management and policy specialists in national and international public, private and third-sector organisations.

“The MSc Risk Analysis allowed me to develop a robust understanding of key risk concepts and methodologies used in contemporary policy analysis and design. I was able to apply those skills as part of my internship at one of the UKʼs leading learned societies – the Royal Society – where I ultimately took up a permanent role. I would recommend the MSc to anyone wanting to understand the behavioural and social processes at play in the messy world of risk and policy-making.”

Ben, Past MSc Risk Analysis, Disasters & Resilience studentShow more

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