Apply through UCAS
- UCAS course code
- LR40
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
BSc International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response and Spanish
Develop knowledge about resilience and recovery relating to current disaster management.
Duration: 4 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: LR40 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Study abroad
Study with a language
- Typical A-level offer: ABB
- Typical contextual A-level offer: BBC
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: BBC
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 34 points overall with 6,5,5 at HL
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
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).
Scholarships/sponsorships
- Find out more from student finance
- Eligible UK students can apply for bursaries and scholarships
- Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
- Many students work part-time or complete a student internship
Course unit details:
Governing Aid
| Unit code | HCRI11081 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 20 |
| Unit level | Level 1 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
This is an optional unit for HCRI students taking the BSc in International Disaster Management. This course introduces students to the core concepts of governance and government, and critically explores the different institutions and scales at which governance takes place in the international system. It will introduce students to the main actors in humanitarian governance (e.g. donor governments, UN agencies and international NGOs), the international legal and normative frameworks that are central to the governance of aid (e.g. international humanitarian law, international refugee law, the Sendai framework etc), and to questions of quality and accountability. It will ask the question ‘Who governs?’ and invitereflection on how governance is organised and accomplished. A key focus of the course will be on exploring how different actors might navigate and participate in international governance.
Pre/co-requisites
This is not available to SALC students taking this degree programme as a minor.
Aims
- This course unit aims to provide students with an introduction to the main actors in humanitarian governance (e.g. donor governments, UN agencies and international NGOs).
- Students will develop a familiarity with the international NGOs and the international legal and normative frameworks that are central to the governance of aid (e.g. international humanitarian law, international refugee law, the Sendai framework etc)
- Students will explore questions of quality, power and accountability in the context of humanitarian governance
Teaching and learning methods
This course taught through one 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week. The lectures will be supported by case studies that will include descriptive cases. Exercises will be student-led based on the reading and facilitated by the seminar leader or lecturer.
Knowledge and understanding
Knowledge and understanding of:
- Key concepts relating to governance and government at the international level;
- Institutions of humanitarian governance;
- Roles and responsibilities of humanitarian actors
- Contemporary and historical case studies
- The complex formal and informal power dynamics at work in humanitarian governance.
Intellectual skills
- Begin to critically interrogate the literature related to international rules, norms and organizations
- Develop a critical understanding of the relationship between politics and international governance, using contemporary and historical case studies
- To be able to analyse and compare different actors’ abilities to inform, navigate and influence international governance institutions.
Practical skills
- Demonstrate analytical and debating skills with peers and tutors through tutorials and online discussions and forums
- Show effective use of library resources drawing relevant literature, and seeking out information through the use of virtual sources to underpin learning and gathering information for written work.
- Presentation skills
Transferable skills and personal qualities
- Develop communication skills for a variety of audiences
- Work effectively in a team and engage stakeholders
- Develop, plan and achieve individual research outcomes
- Develop analytical skills and the ability to articulate ideas verbally and in writing · Develop confidence articulating ideas and opinions during group discussions
Employability skills
- Analytical skills
- Information Retrieval; ability independently to gather, sift, synthesise and organise material from various sources (including library, electronic and online resources), and to critically evaluate its significance; time management; ability to schedule tasks in order of importance; improving own learning; ability to improve one's own learning through planning, monitoring, critical reflection, evaluate and adapt strategies for one's learning.
- Group/team working
- Teamwork; recognising and identifying views of others and working constructively with them.
- Oral communication
- Presentation; capacity to make oral presentations, using appropriate media for a target audience.
- Problem solving
- Ability to schedule tasks in order of important.
- Other
- Ability to improve one's own learning through planning, monitoring, critical reflection, evaluate and adapt strategies for one's learning.
Assessment methods
Assessment Task | Formative or Summative | Weighting |
| Group Presentation | Summative | 30% |
| Essay Plan | Formative | 0% |
| Essay | Summative | 70% |
Feedback methods
Written feedback | All summative assessments |
Oral feedback on presentations | Formative |
Additional feedback available verbally in office hours | Formative & Summative |
Recommended reading
- Barnett, M. 2013. ‘Humanitarian Governance’, Annual Review of Political Science, Vol. 16, pp. 379-398.
- Wilkinson, R 2005. The Global Governance Reader. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Fassin, D, 2007. ‘Humanitarianism: a non-governmental government?’ in Michel Feher (ed) Non-governmental politics. London: MIT Press.
- Lautze, S., Raven-Roberts, A., & Erkineh, T. 2009. Humanitarian governance in the new millennium: an Ethiopian case study. Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG).
- Mac Ginty, R., & Peterson, J. H. (2015). The Routledge Companion to Humanitarian Action. Routledge
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 22 |
| Seminars | 10 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 168 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Miriam Bradley | Unit coordinator |