Gain the skills and on-the-ground experience needed to respond to humanitarian crises around the world.
For the program beginning fall 2025
36
Full-Time
Jordan, Morocco
Turkey
January 31, rolling thereafter until May 15
January 31, no rolling admission
1 Year
Identity & Human Resilience
Political upheaval, natural disasters, forced displacement, public health emergencies, and other major events have resulted in humanitarian crises on a massive scale. Become a leader in humanitarian assistance and crisis management and prepare for a career in the field through hands-on experiences, fieldwork, and experiential learning across at least three continents.
During your first semester in Amman, Jordan, a regional hub for UN agencies and international humanitarian organizations, you will experience and observe humanitarian programs and interventions and interact with aid workers, NGOs, and refugees. In seminars and lectures from local experts, engage in critical debates concerning humanitarian principles and politicization of the humanitarian and refugee regimes. Along the way, you will design and implement programs aimed at the humanitarian assistance, protection, and well-being of refugees and develop skills and tools for promoting your safety and well-being as a humanitarian actor.
On a 10-day field study trip to Turkey, a country that hosts the largest population of refugees in the world, you will examine first-hand the humanitarian response and refugee policies in a new geopolitical and sociocultural context. In Istanbul and Izmir, visit international and national NGOs, the Turkish Red Crescent, and community-based organizations engaged in relief, protection, and advocacy work, and meet with aid workers and experts in the field.
In Morocco, you will gain experience in disaster management, asylum seekers protection, and building collaborative relations among all stakeholders. You will learn how to design and implement crisis management and contingency plans that will aid and protect populations affected by disasters.
In your final semester, you will put your learning into practice during a 12-week field practicum in a location of your choosing. You will also complete a capstone paper reflecting on the experience.
Designed to prepare the next generation of leaders in humanitarian assistance and crisis management, this unique master’s degree gives you the skills and on-the-ground experience you need to stay ahead of critical issues stemming from the world’s rising number of humanitarian crises.
Read about SIT Graduate Institute alumni careers through the SIT blog and our Career Impact page. Students who have graduated with this degree work in careers such as the following, among others.
Humanitarian program and project manager
Monitoring, evaluation, and learning officer or manager
Health officer or manager
Human rights advocacy officer, coordinator, or specialist
Women’s protection and empowerment coordinator or manager
Crisis and emergency manager or director
Humanitarian aid officer or coordinator at a UN agency or NGO
Community organizer
Humanitarian policy analyst or researcher
Spend the fall semester in Jordan, home to millions of refugees and displaced persons from Palestine, Iraq, and Syria. Jordan currently hosts 2.2 million Palestinian refugees, whose displacement constitutes the longest-standing refugee crisis in the world, and 661,000 Syrian refugees. You will get firsthand exposure to the humanitarian interventions of community-based assistance, protection, and well-being programs and various NGOs, INGOs, and UN agencies, most notably the UNHCR, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nation’s International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), during emergency, post-emergency, and resettlement phases, in collaboration with the host government.
Click here for a description of the SIT center in Jordan.
Morocco has long been an important entry point into Europe for North Africans and sub-Saharan asylum seekers. Here, you will learn about national asylum and refugee policies and the impact of European externalization of border control. Morocco is both a transit and host country, with refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR from more than 45 countries. The country provides an excellent opportunity to experience disaster management in response to the massive earthquake in Marrakesh, to learn about community-based assistance, protection, and well-being programs, and to learn about the collaboration between the government, civil society, and international aid organizations in providing protection and assistance to disaster-stricken populations and asylum seekers.
Please note that in order to take advantage of dynamic learning opportunities, program excursions may occasionally vary.
Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:
With SIT’s experiential curriculum, you will learn how to put theory into practice, focusing on topic areas that will help you meet your career goals. In small personalized cohorts, students will complete a degree sequence of 36 credits in one year (fall, spring, and summer semesters).
This course explores the principles, theory, and practice of program planning and project design in the context of international community development. It encourages a critical examination of the prevailing models to assess their strengths and weaknesses. The course prepares students to be effective practitioners within organizations that adhere to the dominant paradigm, but who can also evaluate the efficacy within that particular context, introduce alternatives, and become agents of change.
The course will introduce the origins and history of humanitarian action and principles and the controversy surrounding them. Students will learn about complex humanitarian emergencies, examine the various root causes of such crises, and explore the role of the international, national, and local actors in responding. The course will also analyze the current critiques of humanitarian assistance with focus on efficiency, effectiveness, and the rising politicization of humanitarian aid. Theories relating to resilience, Identity, and integration for refugee and resettled populations will be examined and applied in different contexts.
The course analyzes the evolution of humanitarian advocacy and provides a conceptual and theoretical framework for understanding its pivotal role in promoting and protecting international human rights and humanitarian principles. The course explores the channels, strategies, and most effective tools and approaches employed to inform and influence the humanitarian policies and actions of local, national, and international institutions. The course will include meetings with key actors in humanitarian assistance to learn about the advocacy strategies and the diplomatic and global policy arenas they target to influence policy debates on key humanitarian issues.
The course examines the safety, security, and well-being (physical and mental health) challenges and needs of communities affected by humanitarian emergencies as well as those serving those populations. Students will be exploring the risks inherent in emergency situations with focus on specific risks facing vulnerable groups. This course also discusses the risk factors and prevalence of mental illness in refugees, including conflict-related traumas and the psychosocial challenges of immigration and assimilation. A comparative situational analysis of risk across a variety of humanitarian contexts will be conducted using case studies in the context of political upheavals, natural disasters, health pandemics, environmental collapse, and war.
This course introduces students to qualitative research design and methodology and offers students a hands-on experience to explore and apply qualitative research methods. Students will be able to conceptualize and design a mini research study; conduct a literature review/develop a conceptual framework; collect, manage, and analyze data; synthesize, interpret, and write up findings; and present findings. The course will equip students with research skills necessary to carry out a capstone project upon completion of their Master’s degree. The skills will be transferrable to future academic and professional practice, including needs assessment and monitoring and evaluation.
This course provides a thorough introduction to concepts, case examples, and research tools designed to explore and assess community problems and the feasibility of new development interventions, and to monitor and evaluate the process and impact of existing interventions. Special attention is given to participatory methodologies and other current approaches. In addition, students will explore monitoring, evaluation, and learning within the specific context of humanitarian assistance.
The course introduces students to the core competencies of principled and effective professionals who are committed to communication, collaboration, community, and viable solutions for a better world. The competencies cover practice-centered learning and professional development, intercultural communication, and effective multicultural teamwork that are essential to planning and implementing a humanitarian response.
The course examines the theory, history, and development of key international human rights, humanitarian, and refugee laws, treaties, standards, and principles. Students will also gain understanding of the international and regional institutions and the role of transnational actors in the protection and promotion of human rights, with attention to situations of conflict, violence, and disaster. The course also explores several current debates and developments in the field, including the difficult and contentious politics of international humanitarian, human rights, and refugee law and how those political dimensions have been addressed at the national, regional, and international levels. Case studies examine how international law, treaties, standards, and principles have been utilized in a variety of actual humanitarian crises.
This course introduces students to qualitative research design and methodology and offers students a hands-on experience to explore and apply qualitative research methods. Students will be able to conceptualize and design a mini research study; conduct a literature review/develop a conceptual framework; collect, manage, and analyze data; synthesize, interpret, and write up findings; and present findings. The course will equip students with research skills necessary to carry out a capstone project upon completion of their Master’s degree. The skills will be transferrable to future academic and professional practice, including needs assessment and monitoring and evaluation.
This course examines leadership during times of crisis and the ensuing humanitarian emergencies. The overall goal is to better understand the key dynamics that influence the way that decision-makers perceive and respond to crises and the kinds of decision-making and institutional processes that facilitate effective crisis management. An important dimension of this course is the focus on providing students with the knowledge and skills for designing and implementing an integrated emergency management system to effectively respond to and mitigate the potential effects of disasters. Students will learn state-of-the-art strategies and procedures for identifying hazards and designing and implementing a risk management plan that anticipates the needs of various groups affected by a crisis in the various humanitarian sectors.
Each student completes a 12-week practicum with a think tank, nongovernmental organization, government agency, or other organization involved in policy-advocacy work on emergency response, crisis management, and humanitarian response. The practicum entails completion of professional work identified as a priority by the sponsoring organization. Practica provide in-depth, hands-on learning and experiences that enhance student familiarity and skill sets. Practica provide opportunities to put into practice conceptual and theoretical knowledge gained throughout the MA program. Given the option to conduct a quality practicum either in-person or remotely, at any location, the experience involves intercultural learning and an opportunity to exercise policy advocacy–related work in distinct social, cultural, institutional, and political settings. The practicum expands a student’s professional network and strengthens their ability to develop grounded expectations about what constitutes feasible or appropriate humanitarian response and crisis management. During the practicum, each student will receive substantive and critical feedback from both their academic advisor and internship site supervisor to further their intellectual and experiential development. As one result, participants will deepen their professional and applied interests in the field of humanitarian assistance and crisis management. Students will also engage in guided and structured reflection with peers via remote, digital means to cross- fertilize the experiences of diverse geographical, cultural, institutional, and professional contexts.
In this course, students build on the content learned in Practitioner Inquiry to develop a research proposal, collect data in the field, and complete a research project related to the field of humanitarian assistance and crisis management. Each student is paired with an advisor to help conceptualize, launch, and write their research project. Course deliverables include a research-based paper.
The capstone seminar provides an environment in which students demonstrate, assess, and synthesize previous learning as well as generating new learning. It is also an opportunity for students to improve and refine their skills in oral communication and presentation. Students will critically read and give, as well as receive, peer critique of their presentation during the seminar.
You will be supported by the SIT staff on location in arranging housing during your time abroad. Typically, students will rent a flat close to the SIT program base or city center. There may also be the option of living with a homestay family for immersion in the local culture, language and customs. Read information about housing here.
SIT’s Student Financial Services Office provides guidance on all aspects of funding your degree throughout the application process and during your degree program. Tuition costs vary by program and scholarships are available. See details regarding payment methods and deadlines.
See Full BreakdownAs an alum of both the SIT Rwanda and the Humanitarian Assistance and Crisis Management programs, Mary Thibodeau’s study abroad journey has been one of unexpected developments that ultimately shaped her into the global citizen she is today.
As a member of Pine Creek First Nation in northern Manitoba, Canada, Brittany Lavallee wants to bring her academic interests in human rights and humanitarian assistance back around to her community.
