Humanitarian Training Courses

The Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs offers non-credit professional courses for practitioners around the world. Each professional course for Fall 2024 is designed to prepare current and future aid workers with the knowledge and skills needed to respond effectively to humanitarian crises and disasters.

Semester-long courses include:

International Disaster Management

Asynchronous

From hurricanes to epidemics, from conflict to climate change, the economic and social impacts of natural and man-made hazards are increasing around the world. Disaster management is the professional discipline that lessens these impacts by reducing disaster risk. This course will promote understanding of the principal determinants of disasters and provide an evidence-based approach to the interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral frameworks required to efficiently and effectively manage humanitarian disasters. It will cover key concepts in disaster management policy and practice, including hazard risk, vulnerability, resilience, and governance through the cycle of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and early recovery. It will also integrate epidemiology, health economics, and public administration into the disaster management mix for the first time. Using case studies of recent humanitarian crises, students will have a more complete understanding of the direct and indirect drivers of disaster risk and how they interact, enabling them to think critically about the appropriate allocation and management of resources in times of crisis.

This course will…

promote understanding of the principal determinants of disaster risk and provide an evidence-based approach to the interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral frameworks required to efficiently and effectively manage international disasters
cover key concepts in international disaster management policy and practice
integrate disaster epidemiology, health economics, and public administration into the disaster management mix

enable students to think critically about the appropriate allocation and management of resources in times of crisis

Example Units:

Disaster Management

Disaster Epidemiology

Emergency Planning

Cash and Voucher Assistance

Learn more about this course drop-down:

Humanitarian Advocacy will…

prepare students for the task of advocacy in humanitarian environments

focus on the identification of the most vulnerable members of a group and how to communicate their needs to those in power

equip students with the skills required to effectively communicate through succinct advocacy messaging, how to interview and be interviewed

This course…

is online synchronous, and requires your active attendance weekly, with additional one-on-one sessions.

culminates in a group advocacy project developed during the entire semester and presented as the final

emphasizes analyzing material, seeking diverse sources and understanding humanitarian contexts

Humanitarian Advocacy: Communicating the need and motivating the response

Online Synchronous I Thursdays 5:30 pm – 7:15 pm

Humanitarians work in hostile environments where people are struggling for survival in situations of armed conflict or natural disasters. In such environments, people may have been forced to flee their homes with few—if any—belongings and may have suffered or witnessed human rights violations. Their plight needs to be communicated to the world in a way that will motivate the deployment of the protection and aid they so desperately need. This course will prepare students for the task of advocacy in humanitarian environments. It will focus on the identification of the most vulnerable members of a large group of survivors and the communication of their needs. It will equip students with the skills required to effectively communicate with local authorities as well as the international donor community. Students will learn to write in a different way than the academic style expected in other courses, focusing on effective advocacy messaging. This course is recommended for students who may envision working directly in advocacy for responding to humanitarian needs. It is also recommended for humanitarian practitioners who wish to prepare for a role in advocacy or are already working in this area.

Upon fulfilling the course requirements described in the syllabus, students will receive a Certificate of Completion from Fordham University.

Example Units:

How to advocate with instead of for

The Science Behind an Advocacy Campaign

The Art of an Advocacy Campaign

Power and Exclusion in Humanitarian Settings

Humanitarian Information Management

Online Asynchronous

This course will introduce students to the principles and strategies behind the effective flow of information in a humanitarian setting. Gathering and managing information is crucial in order to understand the cause of the emergency, identify impacted populations, and determine crisis-afflicted geographical locations. The aim of this course is for students to understand the components of a successful information management network within a humanitarian intervention and identify how information can contribute to future preparedness.

Upon fulfilling the course requirements described in the syllabus, students will receive a Certificate of Completion from Fordham University.

This course…

will introduce students to practical application of humanitarian principles through real-world examples of how to gather information, prioritize need, and implement response projects to best support community lead recovery.
Aims for its students to understand the components of a successful information management network within a humanitarian intervention and identify how information can contribute to future preparedness.

Example Units:

Humanitarian Crisis Life-cycle: Case Studies sample

Sri Lanka Tsunami/Conflict Response
Ukraine Conflict Programming
Haiti Earthquake Recovery
Syrian Refugee Crisis
Nepal Earthquake Mapping
US/Global Flood Mapping

Conflict/Disaster Assessment
Designing Emergency Response (vulnerable pops.)
Mapping and Data Gathering
Refugee Camp Monitoring
Resiliency Metrics
Remote Sensing/AI

Example Units:

The Beginnings of Humanitarian Codification

Who is a Civilian?

The Responsibility to Protect: Whom and from What?

The Criminalization of Humanitarian Action

Fundamentals of Humanitarian Action

Tuesdays 5:30 pm-7:15 pm l Online Synchronous

This course will introduce students to the principles of humanitarian action through three modules on (1) Defining Humanitarian Assistance, (2) Management, and (3) Strategic Planning. The aim of the course is to provide an overview of the critical aspects of international humanitarian coordination from an organizational perspective.

Upon fulfilling the course requirements described in the syllabus, students will receive a Certificate of Completion from Fordham University.

This course…

Introduces students to International Humanitarian and Refugee Law and humanitarian response practice.
Introduces students to International Humanitarian and Refugee Law and humanitarian response practice.
Provides an overview of the ethical and institutional origins of humanitarian assistance, including principles and protection, standards and codes of conduct.
Examines issues facing civilians in current crises, and whether internationally-recognized rights to humanitarian access, aid and protection are respected.

Mental Health in Complex Emergencies

*Online Asynchronous

This is a training course for mental health professionals and program staff who wish to establish mental health or psychosocial programs in a humanitarian context within conflict and post conflict areas. The course is also open to Fordham graduate students in Humanitarian Studies or relevant disciplines. It will aim to provide a practical orientation and training, including how to conduct rapid assessments, designing and setting up mental health services or psychosocial programs (exploring the differences between them), clinical work and therapeutic approaches in non-western contexts. It will address the issues of cultural validity, conflict resolution and negotiation, taking care of oneself and dealing with burnout. The course will also introduce potential field workers to essentials such as personal security, logistics, and practical aspects of humanitarian work in the field.

*The MHCE course includes online weekly meetings.

This course…

Addresses the issues of cultural validity, conflict resolution and negotiation, taking care of oneself, and dealing with burnout

Introduces potential field workers to essentials such as personal security, logistics, and practical aspects of humanitarian work in the field

Aims to provide a practical orientation and training, including how to conduct rapid assessments designing and setting up mental health services or psychological programs, clinical work and therapeutic approaches in non-western contexts

Example Units:

Setting up mental

health and

psychosocial

programs in

emergencies

Stress

Reactions and

Interventions

Security and risk

assessment

Taking care of

ourselves

Human rights and

conflict

Example Units:

Defining the scope of humanitarian response

Funding sources

Opening an office/General ideas in logistic

Human resources/stress management

Humanitarian Resource Management and Administration

Mondays from 5:30 pm-7:15 pm I In person

This course will introduce students to the operational aspects of humanitarian response and focus primarily on the role of human resources (HR) and financial management. In response to the continuing professionalization of the humanitarian sector, this course will provide students with a common understanding of hiring practices, budget management, and donor relations in a humanitarian intervention.

This course will…

introduce students to the operational aspects of humanitarian response and focus primarily on the role of human resources(HR), financial management and program management.
provide students with a common understanding of planning for humanitarian response, review financing in the humanitarian system: sources, management and reporting.

Fast Facts

Take up to 1-6 online and/or in-person courses

15-75 is the average class size

In-person course

Online courses available

5 1

The Humanitarian Studies program has fostered my passion for humanitarianism and enriched my understanding of this field by connecting me to mentorship opportunities with experienced professors and network events where I have met aid workers and gained insights into their meaningful work, which I hope to one day do.”

Lauren Larsen

Fordham University Senior, Double Major in International Political Economy and Humanitarian Studies.
She currently interns at  the Red Cross.