NOHA Joint Master's Degree in International Humanitarian Action
UCD is part of the Network on Humanitarian Action (NOHA) which offers the joint masters in humanitarian action. The NOHA Masters Programme is 120 ECTS, full time 2 years six trimesters (or 4 semesters). This programme is funded by the Erasmus + funding scheme. The NOHA Masters is an inter-university multidisciplinary programme that provides high-quality education and professional competencies for persons working or intending to work in humanitarian action or a related field like development or peacebuilding. There are three pillars of the NOHA Masters programme:
1. Comprehensive programme: The NOHA Masters curriculum combines state-of-the-art knowledge together with transferable professional skills relevant for working in humanitarian action.
2. Quality education: The NOHA network brings together leading universities and organisations across Europe to provide an inter-university multidisciplinary and multilingual Masters. Over 150 faculty members are involved in the programme to bring a diverse range of field experience and academic theoretical knowledge. The NOHA Masters adopts a student-centred approach which focuses on building professional competencies in students working or intending to work in humanitarian action.
2. Quality education: The NOHA network brings together leading universities and organisations across Europe to provide an inter-university multidisciplinary and multilingual Masters. Over 150 faculty members are involved in the programme to bring a diverse range of field experience and academic theoretical knowledge. The NOHA Masters adopts a student-centred approach which focuses on building professional competencies in students working or intending to work in humanitarian action.
3. Global network of professionals: In all the 25+ years of NOHA’ existence, the network’s heartbeat has been its students and graduates who are an integral part of the NOHA family. NOHA’s 3500+ alumni are drawn from all over the world and more than 95% of them are currently employed in the humanitarian or related sector. Further details about NOHA graduates may be found on the NOHA graduate platform.
The NOHA Programme Structure
The programme allows students to study at up to three universities across Europe and around the world engaged in education and research on pressing issues relating to humanitarian action. The programme also offers placements at key humanitarian organisations (donor agencies, international organisations and NGOs) as a core component of the programme. The key features of the NOHA Masters are
- 2 years, 4 semesters (6 UCD Trimesters), Total credits: 120 ECTS
- Professional and academic specialisations in all relevant areas of humanitarian action
- Trilingual education in English, French, Spanish
- Work experience or regional specialisation with leading global humanitarian organisations and universities
- Opportunity to avail of Erasmus Mundus and other scholarships
The learning path:
Component 1 - Intensive Programme Semester 1 (5 ECTS credits): The NOHA IP is a joint week-long course that introduces to students to the key humanitarian concepts and issues. Every year at the beginning of September more than 200 hundred students and staff gather in Warsaw to kick off the NOHA Masters programme. The NOHA IP involves intensive work but also is known to have a great social dimension where new students, graduates and faculty bond over seminars, group discussions, simulation exercises and social events. The NOHA IP also introduces students to high-level humanitarian practitioners and senior academics as invited speakers.
Component 2 - Foundation Semester 1 (25 ECTS credits): The first semester introduces students to key humanitarian concepts, principles, issues and challenges through six core modules, which are 5 ECTS each. The modules are: The intensive programme, Management, Anthropology, Public health, Geopolitics & International humanitarian law. Each module is taught in 3-week blocks.
Component 3 - Thematic Specialisation Semester 2 (30 ECTS credits): Upon successful completion of the foundation period students proceed to specialise in a selected in their chosen field in another NOHA partner university. The available specialisations are 1) Law and Leadership in Humanitarian Action - Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB), Germany; 2) Legal and Geopolitical Approach of Humanitarian Action - Aix Marseille Université (AMU), France; 3) Forced Migration and Human Security - L'Università ta Malta (UM), Malta; 4) Humanitarian Analysis and Intervention Design - Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG), The Netherlands; 5) Armed Conflicts and Humanitarian Action - Uniwersytet Warszawski (UW), Poland; 6) Protection in Humanitarian Action - Universidad de Deusto (UD), Spain; 7) Conflict, Peace-building and Religion - Uppsala Universitet (UU), Sweden. For further information on second semester options please visit the NOHA Masters webpage.
Component 4 - Individual Specialisation Semester 3 (30 ECTS credits): In the semester students can choose between two options
- Regional Specialisation (30 ECTS): With this option, students have the opportunity to study in one of the NOHA global partner universities to specialise in region-specific humanitarian action. Region specialisation gives students context specific humanitarian competencies as well as practical experience of how to cooperate, function, and work in different cultural settings. Currently, NOHA offers mobility to universities in Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Lebanon, Jordan, Colombia, USA, Lithuania and Poland. For further information about third-semester mobility can be found on the NOHA Masters website.
- Work Placement (30 ECTS): With is option students are placed with a pre-approved humanitarian organisation and have a to complete a 10 ECTS online Career Development module. Work placement opportunities are provided by the NOHA network as well as home universities. Students can also propose to work with an organisation of their choice. While internships and work placements are presented to students by the programme the selection of the students for positions is done by the organisations based on merit. Full list of work placements opportunities can be found on the NOHA Masters page and the UCD CHA websites. The NOHA Coordinators will also forward call for positions via email from time to time.
While students have to indicate their preferences for regional specialisation or work placement at the time of application, applications for the specific track are accepted only in December of the first academic year. Students will receive more information during the intensive programme.
Component 5 - Master Thesis Semester 4 (30 ECTS): In this final semester, students have to complete a minor thesis on a topic of their choosing. They are encouraged to combine their thesis with a suitable work placement. In the past, UCD CHA has successfully supported several students to obtain internships and conduct collaborative research with leading humanitarian organisations both in Ireland and abroad. For this period it is not mandatory to be physically present in UCD.
Fess €12000 for EU and Non-EU students payable in three instalments. For scholarship and stipends please visit the NOHA Masters page and the UCD International page. For any queries or if you wish to chat about the programme please email noha.dublin@ucd.ie with your details and we will call you back.