Career-Focused Curriculum

Our program was developed with your training needs and career in mind.

We developed the M.A. in HDL curriculum around a series of competencies we identified by interviewing and surveying employers, academics, managers, and frontline staff with numerous Christian relief and development organizations. Our program objectives are based on these leaders’ recommendations for what it takes to adapt to changing priorities and to advance in the humanitarian and disaster sectors.

Curriculum Competency Matrix

CompetencySatisfying Requirements:

Faith and Integration - Equip with a theological foundation that will foster personal faith and ability to integrate faith vocationally in service of others.

  • Courses:
    • BITH/Theology
    • Faith and learning issues are integrated across all courses
  • Mentoring and advising

Cultural Competence - Provide culture-specific knowledge and experience and a broad understanding and appreciation of culture.

  • Courses:
    • Crisis Leadership in Action
    • Intercultural competence principles
      are integrated across various courses
  • HDI field projects

Community Development - Enhance theoretical and participatory understanding of community development best practices.

  • Courses:
    • Transformational Development
    • Foundations of Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance
  • Relevant humanitarian, disaster, and development conferences

Technical Skill Area - Develop a technical expertise or skillset that adds organizational value or addresses a major humanitarian challenge.

  • Courses:
    • Disaster, Crisis, and Trauma Intervention
    • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Program Design
    • Refugee and Forced Migration Issues
    • Anti-Human Trafficking and Gender-based Violence

Career Preparation - Prepare HDP for the realities and challenges of humanitarian and disaster work.

  • Courses:
    • Vocational and Professional Development
    • Crisis Leadership in Action
  • HDI research and field projects

Resource Development - Equipped to acquire and develop external resources in support of programs and services.

  • Courses:
    • NGO Leadership
    • Disaster Management
  • HDI research and field projects

Ethics - Navigate ethical issues related to cross-culture work, faith, and professional standards.

  • Courses:
    • Foundations of Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance
    • Disasters, Crisis, and Trauma
    • Transformational Development

Project & People Management - Manage projects and programs, including skills in: accounting, project planning, contract oversight, and monitoring and evaluation. Lead with interpersonal skills necessary for managing individuals and teams through supervision, coaching, and teamwork.

  • Courses:
    • Crisis Leadership in Action
    • NGO Leadership
    • Humanitarian Assistance
    • Monitoring, Learning, and Program Design

Disaster Response - Provide HDP with disaster competencies capable of the relief and development spectrum, risk reduction strategies, logistics, and disaster preparation and mitigation.

  • Courses:
    • Foundations of Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance
    • Disaster Management
    • Humanitarian Assistance
    • Crisis Leadership in Action

Public Policy and Regulation - Able to understand local policies and regulations, as well as the bi-directional impact of programs upon policy and the impact of policy and regulations upon programs.

  • Courses:
    • Foundations of Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance
    • Transformational Development
    • Refugee and Forced Migration Issues
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The Humanitarian Disaster Institute

501 College Avenue
Wheaton, IL 60187

800.888.0141 | 630.752.5195
hdi@wheaton.edu