CENDEP offers two masters degrees, one on site and one online. Onsite, we offer the award-winning Global Development and Humanitarian Practice. Fully online, we offer a masters degree in Humanitarian Action and Peacebuilding (HAP). Both degrees can also be taken as a postgraduate certificate. We also offer a postgraduate certificate in Shelter after Disaster (SAD).
Study with us
Global Development and Humanitarian Practice (MA or PGDip or PGCert)
Development and humanitarian practice is a complex, rapidly evolving blend of issues and challenges in the 21st century. And we teach it as such.
Study the political context of an armed conflict or natural hazard and how this can influence humanitarian efforts and human-rights-based responses. You can look at which development approaches have increased the impacts of climate change and disasters – and explore how cultural differences affect outcomes. Or gain a practical understanding of designing aid programmes, factoring in long term development goals, humanitarian imperatives and adaptive working.
You’ll investigate issues such as international human rights practices. Humanitarianism. Refugee experience. You’ll consider gender, diversity and equality; discovering what it takes to create an inclusive civil society. You’ll learn about design in emergency contexts and housing after disasters.
Humanitarian Action and Peacebuilding (MA / PGDip / PGCert)
The course has been built utilising the knowledge and expertise of CENDEP and UNITAR. It is an online course designed for practitioners working in the fields of humanitarian action and peacebuilding. It is also open to students who are in related fields who are seeking to develop a more holistic understanding of critical issues related to humanitarian action and peacebuilding.
Shelter after Disaster (PGCert)
The quantity and severity of natural disasters are increasing as our planet struggles with climate change, population growth and conflict. The need for effective ‘shelter after disaster’ – the provision of houses and homes for those affected – has never been greater. This programme is designed to develop reflective practitioners who will have an understanding of the practical and strategic issues of development and emergency practice, as well as an appreciation of the social and political context.
“Thanks to the Wilkinson Scholarship, I have been able to pursue a long-cherished dream of studying the MA DEP programme at CENDEP, Oxford Brookes University. By the end of the programme, I feel I am well equipped to begin a new professional journey designing and implementing sustainable interventions that will improve the lives of my people locally as well as on an international level.”
Read the full testimonial from Abubakar M. Garba
"Thanks to the Wilkinson Scholarship, I have been able to pursue a long-cherished dream of studying the MA DEP programme at CENDEP, Oxford Brookes University. I was fortunate to be one of two recipients of the scholarship during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic that shook the world. The experience of studying DEP, albeit through extremely difficult times, has been every bit as exciting, insightful, and truly transformative. I have met and befriended some truly inspiring fellow students from impressively diverse backgrounds. The faculty and staff have been remarkably supportive through unprecedented times, and I am forever grateful for the Wilkinson Scholarship."
"As a trained architect from a “developing” country, with a lifelong ambition of practising within the humanitarian-development nexus, the MA DEP programme has been incredibly helpful in introducing me to fresh perspectives on relevant issues, theories, and some pragmatic toolkits to complement and improve my professional background. The first semester modules of Critical Inquiry, Human Rights, and Shelter after Disaster were crucial as they allowed the exploration of theory and how various diverse fields interrelate in the development field. In the second semester, the programming and partnership module, working with conflict, and design modules were especially helpful in exploring how theory can be put into practice. By the end of the programme, I feel I am well equipped to begin a new professional journey designing and implementing sustainable interventions that will improve the lives of my people locally as well as on an international level."
From Abubakar M. Garba, DEP masters student and Wilkinson scholarship holder 2020/21
Award: £10,500
Full-Time Students
Number Of Awards: 1