Program Overview
The Migration and Global Development MA program at the University of Sussex provides a comprehensive understanding of migration policies, refugee rights, and development strategies. Combining research-based teaching with an interdisciplinary approach, the program equips students with specialized knowledge and transferable skills for careers in international organizations, local government, research, advocacy, and humanitarian assistance. Students benefit from optional placements and connections with experts in the field, fostering professional development and a strong professional network.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
This program, the Migration and Global Development MA, is a one-year full-time or two-year part-time program that starts in September 2024. It aims to provide students with specialized knowledge and transferable skills in areas such as migration policies, refugee rights, development strategies, and humanitarian assistance. It offers an interdisciplinary approach, grounding students in international development and migration studies through faculty with extensive field experience. Students become part of the research community at the Sussex Centre for Migration Research, located within the School of Global Studies.
Outline:
The program is structured with core modules taken by all students, providing a foundation in the subject. Students can also choose options to tailor their studies to their interests.
Core Modules:
- Autumn Teaching:
- Migrants and Society: Global Transformations
- Migration and Global Development
- Spring Teaching:
- Research Methods and Professional Skills
- Summer Teaching:
- Dissertation (Migration Studies)
Options:
- Spring Teaching:
- Decolonising, Diversifying and Demythologising
- Forced Labour, Trafficking and Global Mobility
- Issues in Forced Migration and Displacement
- Poverty, Vulnerability and the Global Economy
- Re-imagining Humanitarian Responses to Displacement
- Summer Teaching: Placements run for up to 12 weeks during the summer term and vacation. Students can also base their dissertation on their placement experience. The careers team assists students with finding employers, drafting applications, and preparing for interviews.
Recent Dissertation Titles:
- Bringing in settlement size: a quantitative inquiry into international migration aspirations and abilities in rural and urban Senegal
- Non-migration in a changing environment. An investigation into why women remain in situ in the context of environmental change
- Exploring the impact of refugees’ economic participation on the relationship with host population in Kampala, Uganda
Teaching:
The program is taught by faculty with extensive field experience. The program emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach, combining international development and migration studies. Students become part of the research community at the Sussex Centre for Migration Research.
Careers:
The program prepares students for careers in:
- International organizations and NGOs
- Local government authorities
- Research institutions
- Advocacy groups
- Charities with a migration focus Students can also pursue a PhD after completing the program.
Other:
The program emphasizes the importance of building a professional network through connections with experts, practitioners, and fellow students.
Entry Requirements:
- Degree requirements: Applicants should typically hold an upper second-class (2.1) undergraduate honours degree or above.
- Subject-specific requirements: A qualification in a social sciences or humanities subject is preferred. Alternatively, relevant professional experience or engagement is acceptable.
- International requirements: The specific requirements vary by country.
Language Proficiency Requirements:
- IELTS (Academic): Standard level (6.0 overall, including at least 5.5 in each component).
- Alternative English language qualifications: The text lists several alternative qualifications, including Cambridge Advanced Certificate in English (CAE), Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE), LanguageCert International ESOL SELT, Pearson (PTE Academic), TOEFL (iBT), and various other qualifications. Specific score requirements are provided for each qualification.
- Country exceptions: Nationals of certain countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the USA, are typically exempt from providing evidence of English proficiency if they have recently completed a qualification equivalent to a UK Bachelors degree or higher in one of these countries.
- English language support: Pre-sessional courses are available for students who do not meet the English language requirements.
