Gain the skills and on-the-ground experience needed to respond to humanitarian crises around the world.
For programs beginning in 2023
36
Full-Time
January 31, rolling thereafter until June 15
January 31, no rolling admission
1 Year
Jordan, Morocco
Turkey
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. Through excursions, fieldwork, and experiential learning across at least three continents, this program gives you hands-on, graduate-level training in humanitarian assistance and crisis management.
Spend your first two semesters in Amman, Jordan, and Rabat, Morocco, observing humanitarian crises in diverse geographical, political, and cultural environments. Interact with aid workers, NGOs, and refugees, as you witness humanitarian assistance and advocacy in action.
Along the way, you will design and implement crisis management plans and humanitarian programs that will aid and protect populations affected by disaster. You will also learn how to create contingency plans to assess and approach risk to ensure the safety and well-being of yourself and others in high-conflict environments and emergency situations.
On a 10-day field study trip to Istanbul, Turkey, a country that hosts the largest population of refugees in the world, you will gain expertise in humanitarian policy, diplomacy, and advocacy. Meet with the United Nations refugee agency, National NGOs, the Turkish Red Crescent, and other key organizations engaged in relief, protection, advocacy and humanitarian diplomacy.
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.
Students who have graduated with this degree have worked in careers such as:
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
Visit the SIT blog to read more about SIT Graduate Institute alumni careers.
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 registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), although it is estimated that the total number is closer to 1.5 million. You will get firsthand exposure to the humanitarian response and program of various NGOs, INGOs, and UN agencies, most notably, 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 for North Africans and sub-Saharan asylum seekers into Europe. 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 than 45 countries, and provides an excellent opportunity to experience community-based assistance, protection and well-being programs, and learn about collaboration between the government, civil society and international aid organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees 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.
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICUM
The practicum is central to the SIT MA in Humanitarian Assistance and Crisis Management. You will apply learning from the classroom directly to real-world settings, while getting hands-on, professional experience you can put to immediate use after you graduate.
Get valuable experience and enhance your skills in an international professional environment. In the final semester of the program, you’ll put your learning into practice during a 12-week practicum. SIT will support you in finding an approved practicum with an institution providing humanitarian assistance and development aid to refugee and local communities for your final semester.
The organization and your practicum activities must be approved by the program’s director. You’ll attend regular reflection and assessment meetings to review the progress of the practicum and learning associated with it.
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.
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.
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