Entry requirements

Applicants should have a 2:2 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline. Applicants with a lower class of degree and/or professional experience only will be individually considered and will usually be interviewed prior to being offered a place on the course.

Months of entry

January, May, September

Course content

Are you starting or looking to advance your career in disaster management and humanitarian action? If you currently work in a local or national government agency, NGO, or civil society organisation, this course should provide the advanced skills and knowledge you need.

Develop the necessary knowledge and skills to anticipate, assess, mitigate, critically analyse, prepare, plan for and successfully manage increasingly complex disasters. Learn to operate confidently in policy development, strategy implementation, and response and recovery planning and management.
The overall aim is for you to be able to contribute to the strengthening of community, professional, organisational, national and international capacity to deal with complex multifactorial disasters, developing strategies that could increase resilience to acute and chronic threats to both economies and societies.
During your studies, you should advance your skills in evaluating complex situations, developing creative and innovative solutions, and implementing lessons learned. There will be opportunities to take part in training and exercises through simulated emergency scenarios in our immersive Simulation Centre.

Why you should study this course

Climate change, urban pressure and lack of disaster preparedness are increasingly transforming natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or tsunamis into disastrous events causing life and economic losses.
Gain an advanced understanding of concepts, theories policy and practice within the areas of risk, humanitarian practice, development, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation. Learn to better evaluate the activities of NGOs, government organisations, multilateral agencies and institutions and drive necessary improvements.
There is dedicated support available for those who are new to Higher Education, or returning after a long break, with additional modules designed to transition you into postgraduate study and support you as you learn to research.
You will have the opportunity to carry out an independent piece of research of your choosing, producing an industry-facing working paper which should be of publishable quality.

Accreditation and professional recognition

As part of this course, you will undertake a professional development module which is currently accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) for the 2025-26 intake. Upon successful completion of the module, you will gain the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice at no additional cost. Further details can be found under the modules and on the Professional Development module webpage.

Coventry University’s accreditation with CMI is currently ongoing for the relevant modules and is regularly reviewed and monitored by the CMI through its quality systems.

Please use the official Coventry University website as your main source of information as our courses are subject to change throughout the year.