Hello everyone, my name is Selim and I am a 2nd year International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response student at the University of Manchester. This degree, being one of the hardest degrees to explain to your relatives and friends due to its mouthful name, was a perfect choice for me, and in this blog, I will explain how I got to choose this course, the structure of the degree, the student life in Manchester and what should any offer holder or anyone interested bear in mind while making the choice to study this course.

Before coming to study at UoM, I spent a lot of time volunteering and doing Model United Nations conferences around the world and in Turkey – my home country. Doing these activities helped me become more aware of the problems around the world and in my own country, but I never thought that I could do a university degree relating to my interest in understanding disasters and hazards. So I applied to study Economics and Management at various UK universities and when I failed to meet the IB entry requirements for my offers by just one mark I started looking for other degrees during the summer and I found my perfect match.

Well, enough about me, let’s start talking about what you really need to know, which is the structure of this course. In your first year, you will have 4 mandatory modules, 2 for each semester, and 2 optional modules that will broadly introduce you to this degree and also provide you with the necessary teaching and learning methods such as essay and blog writing, critical thinking, and group collaborations. In your second year, the course will have the same structure as the first year but will give you more options to take modules in areas that you might want to specialise in or at least get a nice taste of. During my first two years, I can say that almost every module I took challenged my ways of critically thinking about disasters. For your third year, you will have only one mandatory module and that will be about your dissertation. To have a better understanding of year 3 modules, I advise that you check the website of the degree and go onto course details since I am still in year 2 and can’t really advise you. Although the content you are presented within this course might be a bit too much to handle, the staff are always approachable and understanding and they are able to support you through the challenging contents of this course. Also, the university is well-equipped with counselling staff to help you in moments of distress and hardships.

To give a quick description of one of the best cities in the UK for student experience I can say that Manchester covers almost all of your needs. From having many work opportunities in and outside the university to all the amazing Students Union Societies, it’s very hard to
feel out of place in Manchester.

However, don’t forget that you will be coming to university to study, not to work, or completely indulge yourself in the youthful atmosphere of partying, drinking, and all that kind of jazz. It’s very easy to get involved in too many activities that you can’t concentrate on your
studies. So before you decide to study IDMHR, do good research about the course and student life in Manchester, so that you can see if this course and UoM fits your needs. I hope this blog was helpful and thank you for reading!

Written by Selim Iyidirli, 2nd year BA International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response student 

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