MSc International Disaster Management

Fees for entry in 2027 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2026 were as follows:

• MSc (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £14,700
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £30,700

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

• Learn more about - student finance options for UK students.
• Learn more about - fees and finance for international students .
• Graduates of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University can receive a 10% discount on their master's degree tuition fees as part of our Manchester Alumni Loyalty Discount scheme.

Geographic information systems (GIS) are computer systems for capturing, storing, analysing, displaying and sharing data related to positions on Earth's surface. GIS and the analysis of spatial data has application to many fields, such as environmental management, urban planning, business, government, as well as disaster management. Today more than ever we need innovative approaches to understanding and managing hazards, risk, and vulnerabilities to reduce negative disaster impacts.

In this course, students will be exposed to a range of transferrable GIS techniques and analysis tools and will learn how to apply these to various disaster management tasks, such as mapping vulnerability using census data, or modelling risk using meteorological and other physical geography data. Students will learn important cartographic principles and develop their own GIS maps. In addition to the practical components, the course will develop theoretical understandings and critically consider the appropriateness and implications of GIS approaches and map making.

The course aims to:

• Develop an understanding of spatial data and its analysis
• Develop spatial problem-solving abilities and practical skills in GIS analysis and cartography (focusing on QGIS and ArcGIS Online)
• Explore a broad set of applications of spatial data and GIS for crisis management and disaster risk reduction
• Critically reflect on the power, usefulness, and limitations of GIS and spatial data broadly and in disaster management

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Different types of spatial data and how they are developed and analysed
• Current and potential applications of spatial data and GIS in disaster management
• Spatial analysis as a mechanism for assessing hazard risk and vulnerability
• The implications of GIS, including the power of maps to persuade, digital divides and unequal access to spatial information, contemporary trends and changing practices

• Identify and evaluate patterns and trends in spatial data
• Investigate dynamic phenomena through interrogation of spatial and temporal data
• Consider the influence of geography on different approaches to analysing and managing disasters
• Critically analyse the role of GIS and mapping in disaster management, and the underpinning theories

• Conduct a range of analyses on both vector and raster datasets
• Combine multiple data to address real world problems
• Cartography skills and the design and production of GIS maps
• Research skills, including planning, prioritisation of tasks, identification and location of sources, critical evaluation of findings
• Communicating analysis results in the form of map analysis
• Participation in online and in-class discussions

• Spatial data analysis and interpretation skills
• Experience in preparing GIS maps of the same kind that may be used in academia, policy development, or the professional sector.
• Critical thinking, research and project management skills
• Skills to help them interpret current and future disaster risk and vulnerability
• Ethical awareness

Assessment task	Formative or Summative	Weighting within unit (%)
Disaster mapping scenario exercise	Summative	60%
Two short skill tasks with choice of one short answer question	Summative	40%

 

Resit Assessment

Assessment task

Essay

 

Informal oral feedback during class/labs	Formative
Written feedback on  on disaster map scenario returned to students according to SALC guidelines and time limits, using a bespoke rubric	Formative / summative
Additional one-to-one feedback (during the consultation hour or by making an appointment)	Formative
Canvas discussion forum	Formative

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Canevari-Luzardo, L., Bastide, J.,  Choutet, I., and Liverman, D. (2017) Using partial participatory GIS in vulnerability and disaster risk reduction in Grenada, Climate and Development, 9:2, 95-109, DOI: 10.1080/17565529.2015.1067593

Cutter, S. (2003). GIScience, disasters, and emergency management. Transactions in GIS, 7(4): 439–445.

Dempsey, C. (2018) GIS Lounge at https://www.gislounge.com/free-gis-books/ (Accessed September 2022)

Esri (2022) Disaster Response Programme Webpage.  Accessed September 2022 at https://www.esri.com/en-us/disaster-response/overview.

Esri (2022) Emergency and disaster management webpage.  Accessed September 2022 at https://www.esri.com/en-us/industries/emergency-management/overview

Gaillard, J.C., and Pangilinan, M.L.C.J.D. (2010). Participatory mapping for raising disaster risk awareness among the youth. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 18(3): 175-179.

Goodchild, M.F., & Glennon, J.A. (2010). Crowdsourcing geographic information for disaster response: A research frontier. International Journal of Digital Earth, 3(3): 231-241.

Haworth, B.T. (2018). Implications of volunteered geographic information for disaster management and GIScience: A more complex world of volunteered geography. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 108(1): 226-240.

Kelman, I. (2020). Disaster by Choice. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

Kwan, M-P. (2002). Is GIS for women? Reflections on the critical discourse in the 1990s. Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography, 9(3): 271-279.

Meier, P. (2012). Crisis mapping in action: how open source software and global volunteer networks are changing the world, one map at a time. Journal of Map and Geography Libraries, 8: 89–100.

Monmonier, M. (2005). Lying with maps. Statistical Science, 20(3): 215-222.

Ntajal, J., Lamptey, B. L., Mahamadou, I. B., & Nyarko, B. K. (2017). Flood disaster risk mapping in the lower Mono river basin in Togo, West Africa. International journal of disaster risk reduction, 23: 93-103.

Teeuw, R. M., & Leidig, M. (2019). Uses of free geoinformatics for disaster risk reduction in small island developing states–a case study from Honiara, Solomon Islands. Strengthening disaster resilience in small states, 1-12

Tomaszewski, B. (2020). Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Disaster Management (2nd Edition). Routledge. 482 pages. Tran, P., Shaw, R., Chantry, G. & Norton, J. (2009). GIS and local knowledge in disaster management: a case study of flood risk mapping in Viet Nam. Disasters, 33(1): 152-169.

Zerger A., Ingle-Smith D., (2003) Impediments to using GIS for real-time disaster decision support, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 27(2): 123-141 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0198-9715(01)00021-7