Risk is shaping the fundamental basis for we how live and interact in society.  Our environment is persistently bombarded with risks on a daily basis, some of which we are able to avoid, but many others we must learn to live with.  Conventional knowledge and methods seem no longer capable of meeting some of the new as well as old risks we face in the world today.  Hazards are also numerous and despite scientific advances in understanding different kinds of hazards, society still often falls short of adequately preparing for and managing disasters.

Durham University is at the forefront of interdisciplinary scholarship and research on risk.  The Risk Masters programmes seek to meet some of these global challenges by training researchers of the future in order to help pioneer new ways for understanding and dealing with hazard and risk in society.  As part of this we are offering three taught Masters programmes in risk.

• MSc in Risk and Environmental Hazards
• MA In Risk, Health and Public Policy
• MA in Risk and Security

These unique taught Masters programmes provide critical training in core methodologies and offer in-depth analysis in one element of contemporary risk. Delivered by world-leading experts and led jointly out of Durham’s Geography Department and the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, the Masters Programmes in Risk are intended for a wide range of potential students, including professionals seeking training for career advancement and those wishing to pursue research degrees.  Students take three core modules, a suite of specialised modules determined by their course of study and a research dissertation in which they develop an in-depth understanding of a single topic in risk.  The dissertation may also be undertaken as a vocational project, allowing students to apply the skills and methods they have acquired in the core and optional modules within an industrial or public sector setting.  As part of the programme modules and dissertation, students are also trained in risk communication and engagement.  In addition to the programmes’ exceptional course teaching, the Institute organises a series of seminars by leading researchers in Durham and throughout the world, exposing students to current thinking in risk research as a means of training students in the valuable skills of interpreting, criticising and synthesising emerging research.

Each route provides students with a unique focus in risk combined with training in core interdisciplinary research methods.  Since risk cannot be confined to one sole academic discipline, the Risk Masters draw on quantitative as well as qualitative studies.  Students will learn and utilise research methods that examine risk in unique, interdisciplinary ways.  Within each route we will introduce you to cutting-edge debates on risk that are being shaped by the very staff who will be teaching you.  The Risk Masters are led jointly out of the Department of Geography and the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, and in partnership with the Schools of Applied Social Science (SASS) and Government and International Affairs (SGIA).  We are committed to developing new ways of understanding and managing risk, bringing together disciplines and approaches in novel ways, and increasing resilience and well-being in the face of adversity.  

All these degrees are currently taken full-time (12 months) starting in October 2013.

• Video Transcript (last modified: 27 April 2011)