The MSc in Human Security programme gives students the academic knowledge and practical skills to develop and apply comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approaches to conflict and environmental management in development contexts around the world. The programme provides the qualifications to facilitate the collaboration and mutual learning necessary for addressing the structural causes and conditions of a given conflict.

A new ApproAch to environmentAl And climAte chAngeIn recent years, professionals and academics alike have realised that many seemingly intractable conflicts are driven by multiple, interweaving factors – social, economic and political. These factors need to be consid-ered and addressed together if long-term stability, freedom from want and freedom from fear are to be realised. In particular, the growing chal-lenges posed by global environmental and climate change threaten to trigger a rapid escalation and proliferation of conflicts throughout the world – including the West – as competition over access to scarce resources in-tensifies, supplies of essential commodities dwindle, and global population numbers continue to rise.

The emergent paradigm that seeks to reinvent development in light of these changes has come to be known as a human security approach. Through a cross-disciplinary degree programme comprising socio-cultural theories and ethnographic methodologies (anthropology, political science and sociology) as well as environmental research methods (biology, en-vironmental studies), the MSc programme enables students to apply the key principles of the human security approach both in theory and practice. The courses taught during the two years of study include: Core Concepts

Contextualised; Tropical Ecosystems Management and Human Security; Agroecology, Food Systems and Food Security; Research Methods; and Conflict Dynamics and Management. Furthermore, through compulsory fieldwork, students will be putting relevant methodology and knowledge into practice, while sharpening their professional profile in preparation for the final thesis.

cross-sectorAl knowledge And solutions Rather than emphasising an approach based on discrete disciplines (such as natural resource management, education or health), the MSc in Human Security programme focuses on the complex of factors and processes that impinge upon any given conflict. Addressing the root causes of instability, insecurity and poverty consequently requires a set of skills and knowledge, perspectives and approaches that differ from those provided by traditional disciplinary expertise. Students therefore learn not only about environmen-tal change, natural resources, education and healthcare, but about the social and political factors that cause instability, poverty and insecurity.

cAreer proFileGraduates in Human Security are qualified to work efficiently in a variety of conflict settings around the world. Their background in the holistic hu-man security approach makes them a resource in demand. Graduates work internationally with issues that are particularly relevant for developing countries. They are well placed to build a career in national and interna-tional NGOs, state-based development agencies, UN organisations and private consultancy companies.

*plAce oF studyAarhus

AnnuAl tuition FeeEU/EEA/Swiss citizens: FREEOthers: EUR 9,100 (60 ECTS)

wwwmasters.au.dk/humansecurity

international study guide 2013social sciences, politics and economics

msc in humAn security*SECURITy FROM SOCIAl AND ENvIRONMENTAl RISkS

i already hold an msc in Biology and a Ba as an agronomist. For me, these two degrees collide somehow. as a biologist, i want to conserve biodiversity,

but on the other hand, as an agronomist, i want to help farmers grow crops so they can earn money. this dilemma is the foundation of why i applied to do an msc in Human Security – I hope it will help me find a solution, since one of the focuses of the programme is to find opportunities for people to live in freedom and dignity. It is not just about military conflict, as people might think.

AlAin cArreterostudent on the msc in Human security programme, from Bolivia

*plAce oF studyAarhus

AnnuAl tuition FeeEU/EEA/Swiss citizens: FREEOthers: EUR 9,100 (60 ECTS)

wwwmasters.au.dk/humansecurity

international study guide 2013social sciences, politics and economics

msc in humAn security*SECURITy FROM SOCIAl AND ENvIRONMENTAl RISkS

FAculty oF Arts

“Our goal at Arts is to contribute to local and global cultural, social and economic development that improves people’s lives, through the high quality of our research and teaching activities and of our researcher talent development and knowledge exchange programmes.”

mette thunø, dean

clAssicAl And modernknowledge without action is empty – but action without knowledge is blind. The Faculty of Arts encompasses many distinct fields of inquiry which are joined by interdisciplinary ties and a shared goal: to produce knowledge which allows us to act in the best interest of our society, guided by the values of welfare, sustainability and an active civil society.The faculty has two campuses: the Aarhus campus in the heart of Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city and the regional capital of the Jutland peninsula, and the Emdrup campus outside of Copenhagen, close to the government agencies that Arts advises and serves. The Faculty of Arts spans classical humanities and theology disciplines, government consultancy services in the field of educational theory and practice, and a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation.

northern europe’s lArgestArts is the largest centre for research and teaching on cultural practices and modes of expression in Northern Europe, with an annual budget of Dkk 1bn, 800 academic staff, 350 PhD students, 12,500 BA and MA students, and 2,500 students following continuing/further education programmes.