Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management MSc, by distance learning University of Leicester

No business is risk-free. No societies are immune from the impact of natural hazards and crises. Drawing on risk, crisis, development and management theories, this degree explores effective management and mitigation measures and equips you with how to tackle real-world problems professionally.

Global warming, climate change, environmental disasters, and terror threats present significant and growing threats to societies. Disasters, crises and risks cause social, economic, financial, natural and physical disruptions that often most severely affect the poor and vulnerable. The ‘messiness’ that risks, crises and disasters create requires complex solutions to mitigate the impact. Being able to manage and mitigate these threats is now seen by the United Nations as a globally valuable skill, enshrined in their three frameworks - the Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) and the Paris Protocol (2015-2020).

Identifying interconnections between these frameworks and putting them into practice to achieve sustainable outcomes in complex situations can be challenging for practitioners and responders. This highly interdisciplinary degree aims to develop your confidence, as a frontline practitioner/responder, to improve practice, alleviate poverty, reduce systemic risk, and in so doing, assert leadership in this field.

Within your programme, you'll undertake various methods of assessment individually such as reflective essays and reports and also work with peers to undertake compulsory group work such as article reviews and an emergency response plan.

In addition to learning the risk, crisis and disaster management theories that underpin the UN’s Frameworks, the course will provide you with the skills and confidence to plan and execute research and engage in global debates with confidence. To achieve this, you will be supported in developing skills in evaluating information critically, communicating ideas clearly, undertaking advanced conceptual analysis, using information sources effectively, reporting and interpreting research critically, and developing new approaches to problem-solving.

Why Leicester?

• Our Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management course is accredited by the Institute of Risk Management (IRM). You'll gain exemptions for a professional qualification and apply for graduate membership of IRM.
• Our teaching and interaction with students are based on the latest developments in the field because our staff regularly attend conferences and professional meetings.
• Our teaching is inspired by the findings from our cutting-edge research. Lecturing staff have a wide array of research interests ranging from international development and the securitisation of risk to flight-deck human factors and nuclear safety.
• We are a signatory of the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative through which we provide future leaders with the necessary insights and skills to reflect upon, critically analyse and provide leadership with regard to risk, crisis, disaster, and development management for sustainability.

Teaching and learning

You will be able to study by flexible learning through the use of video lectures, Collaborate software for seminars, discussion forums on Blackboard, Skype for meetings and email. You will have online access to materials to support each module, and you will also work with your fellow students.

You will receive support throughout the course from a group of dedicated support staff available through our virtual learning environment, Blackboard, and via email. You will be provided with a timetable and key study targets to enable effective time management. Tutors will always be available to you to discuss any aspects of your study either by phone or email.

You will be invited to attend our Leicester Masterclass held on campus at the University. This week-long programme of lectures, activities and workshops takes place every August/September and is open to students on any School of Business distance learning course at any point in their studies.

Distance Learning

The programme is flexible in its format with the materials provided in advance. The materials will utilise media to provide an enriched student experience. Therefore, it is essential that you have reliable, regular access to the internet (preferably with a broadband connection) in order to participate.

As a flexible distance learning student, you will have access to the University Library's electronic service, the Leicester Digital Library, which includes a large number of e-journals and e-books. You are also welcome to join campus-based activities (by prior arrangement) at any time.

If you live close to Leicester you can, of course, visit the Library and the School of Business facilities in person. For UK-based students who wish to use other libraries, we can issue you with a card which allows you to do so. This is a national scheme which allows distance learning students to borrow material from up to three other participating libraries.

Assessment

All modules have more than one assessment component, allowing feedback on the first to be used to develop and enhance learning for subsequent assessments. Each module lasts 16 weeks. 32 weeks are allowed to prepare a project proposal and complete the project.

Accreditation

This course is accredited by The Institute of Risk Management (IRM). Once you graduate you will be entitled to exemption from all six modules of the International Diploma in Risk Management.

You can apply for GradIRM membership after you graduate, and if you have three or more years of relevant experience you can upgrade to Certified Membership.

This is a great opportunity for you to be part of the risk profession and community, as well as continue with your lifelong learning.

Core modules

• Theories of Risk, Crisis and Disasters
• Disaster Risk Reduction and International Development
• Managing Risk, Crisis and Disasters
• Emergency Planning Management
• Research Methods and Project (Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management)

The modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Our distance learning courses are designed to provide you with the skills and knowledge to understand recent developments in risk and emergency management, at a local, national and global level.

A postgraduate distance learning qualification from the University of Leicester is career-changing. It can be the springboard to promotion with your current employer, the platform to move into a new area or to simply become more effective in your current role.

Studying by distance learning has the benefit of allowing you to develop your career without having to leave employment. It also means that you can apply new knowledge and insights to your working life while you are still studying – many students choose to tackle work-related topics in their dissertations.