Humanitarian Training Courses

Spring 2025 Humanitarian Training Courses

The Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs offers non-credit professional courses for practitioners around the world. Each professional course for Spring 2025 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:

Contemporary Issues in Humanitarian Action (Online)
Climate Change in the West African Sahel: Impact on Water and Migration (In-person)
Forced Migration: The Humanitarian Challenge of the
Decade (Online)
International Humanitarian Law: Policy and Practice (In-person)
Monitoring and Evaluation in Humanitarian Response (In-person)
Protection for Vulnerable Populations (In-person)

All Spring 2025 semester-long courses listed can be taken for 3 academic credits or for a Certificate of Completion from Fordham University at a reduced cost.

Cost with Academic Credit: View GSAS Tuition and Fees

Cost for Certificate: $990

HUST 5012: Contemporary Issues in Humanitarian Action. (0 to 3 Credits)

Thursdays 5:30pm-7:30pm

Synchronous Online

This course will introduce students to the pressing issues and acute challenges of contemporary humanitarian response through three modules on (1) Threats and Vulnerabilities, (2) Accountability in Humanitarian Response, and (3) Innovations in Humanitarian Response. The aim of the course is to examine how the international community forms consensus regarding best practices, and how this, in turn, informs humanitarian practice.

Attributes: PMMA, PSIC, PSJH.

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

This course will…

allow you to practice public presentations
encourage you to contact current practitioners to gain insight into the realities in the humanitarian field today.
actively pair a current humanitarian response to the principles and origins of humanitarian action.
invite guest speakers.

Example Units:

Humanitarian Aid: Accountable to Whom, and What for?

What Does It Mean to be Food Insecure?

Humanitarian Futures: What Are Our Strengths?

Humanitarian Origins: Neo-Colonialist and Racist?

HUST 5350. Climate Change in the West African Sahel: Impact on Water and Migration. (0 to 3 Credits)

Tuesdays, 5:30pm – 7:15 pm I Lincoln Center

This course will examine the impact of climate change on societies, cultures, and economies in the West African Sahel, which includes Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Nigeria. The Sahel, a transitional zone between the Sahara Desert and the savanna in sub-Saharan Africa, has been particularly affected by climate change, which has led to unpredictable rainfall and drought. This is also an area of significant out-migration to other parts of Africa and Europe. Considering the movement of Sahelian populations in search of areas with heavier rainfall or irrigation, this course aims to examine the interdependence existing between climate change, conflict, and migration in order to confront the challenges facing rural and urban development in the Sahel. The course goes beyond approaches focused on the physical and chemical aspects of water to develop a constructive perspective, valuing local and international responses to climate change and water management.

Attributes: HULI, PSEV, PSJH, URSG.

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

HUST 4200: Forced Migration and Humanitarian Action. (4 Credits)

Online/Asynchronous

Forced migration is a central issue in the provision of humanitarian and assistance. This course will examine the causes of forced migration, including violent conflict, natural disasters, development projects, human trafficking and others, and will use a variety of case studies to examine international responses to forced migration, the migrant experience, legal and human rights around migration, and the role of human agencies and NGOs in responding to forced migration. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.

Attributes: HPSE, INST, ISIN, LAHA, LALS, PJCR, PJST.

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

HUST 5016. Monitoring and Evaluation in Humanitarian Response. (0 to 3 Credits)

Mondays, 5:30 pm – 7:15 pm | Lincoln Center

This course will introduce students to the principles and theoretical frameworks behind data collection and analysis in the context of humanitarian response. It will cover qualitative and quantitative research methods used in humanitarian program monitoring and evaluation (M&E). The aim is to give students an overview of basic methodologies utilized in the field as well as the tools to determine appropriate M&e strategies in various humanitarian settings.

Attribute: PMMA.

This course…

answers: how do we know if our humanitarian work brings positive changes in people’s lives? Monitoring and evaluation are essential ways of finding out.
will be challenging; to complete meaningful and valuable evaluation, we need to grasp some abstract methodologies and concepts that become alive once we use practical case studies.
require 2 to 4 hours of reading and exercises.

HUST 5200. Human Rights Protections for Vulnerable Groups. (0 to 3 Credits)

Tuesdays, 5:30 pm – 7:15 pm | Lincoln Center

This course will provide students with a comprehensive introduction to international practices and norms concerning the protection of vulnerable populations in humanitarian emergencies. The past 20 years of international humanitarian interventions has given rise to standardization of humanitarian activities, with a particular emphasis on protection practices. Students will gain an understanding of the landscape of organizations and entities involved in designing these frameworks and assess their efficacy and continued relevance to protecting vulnerable groups.

Attributes: GSSC, HUHR, PMMA.

This course…

emphasizes discussion and participation by students, and everyone should come prepared to discuss the materials and share your perspectives and assessment.
2) emphasizes the inclusion of affected communities in the materials, and we will reflect critically on the authorship and origin of the materials used in class, as well as the frameworks and programs used in humanitarian efforts.
will use a mix of case studies, guest speakers, and student presentations to generate discussion and understanding.

Example Units:

Revisiting international frameworks: sources, venues, methods, players

Setting the agenda: Human rights protections by whom and for whom?

Documentation: The power of the story and the storyteller

Inclusion and exclusion in international fora

Example Units:

HUST 5600. International Humanitarian Law: Policy and Practice. (0 to 3 Credits)

Mondays, 5:30 pm – 7:15 pm | Rose Hill

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…

Fast Facts

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

15-35 is the average class size

In-person courses

Online courses

2 1

“I had the pleasure of taking your Contemporary Issues in Humanitarian Action course, which deeply influenced my perspective on global humanitarian efforts. Your course provided me with invaluable insights into the challenges faced by humanitarian actors, particularly in light of current global crises, and I often reflect on the topics that we learned throughout the course almost everyday with what I hear on the news and on social media.”

Frederika Evans Ralph

May 2025 Master’s candidate in Ethics and Society