SOAS Development Studies has two MSc programmes, Humanitarian Action and Humanitarianism, Aid and Conflict which launched in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

The MSc Humanitarian Action is an online degree that engages critically with the history, politics and practice of humanitarian action. This degree has been developed to meet the needs of people working, or hoping to work, in international agencies, humanitarian organisations, and NGOs. More information see MSc Humanitarian Action (Online).

The MSc Humanitarianism, Aid and Conflict is an on-campus degree. This MSc is designed to provide students with analytical training and an in-depth understanding of the challenges of contemporary humanitarian aid, as well as its interaction with conflict and development and new directions in the field. The programme presents students with comprehensive knowledge of the history of the architecture of aid in humanitarian contexts, key local, regional and international actors, and engages with theoretical, conceptual and policy debates relating to the political and logistical challenges of the global responses to conflict, natural disasters and complex emergencies, the diverse range of critiques that have been made of it, emerging innovations, context-specific challenges and agendas from the Global South.

This unique programme is specifically designed to allow students to focus on and develop wide-ranging knowledge of the field and the tools to critically engage with the pressing questions of power dynamics, politics, accountability, security and access that are facing the humanitarian organisations, academics and local communities today. For more information see MSc Humanitarianism, Aid and Conflict.