MA in Migration Studies
One of the best places to study migration from a global legal and political perspective is the University of Kent in Brussels. … Brussels is an ideal place to study the politics of migration.
The Migration Studies programme allows students to study migration – including human trafficking, asylum and forced migration as well as integration and citizenship – in the context of other fields or to focus on different aspects of migration. Migration Studies allows students to gain an in-depth understanding of the broader field of migration while enabling them either to specialise in migration or to examine the links between migration and fields ranging from development economics and conflict analysis to human rights law or international migration law.
Each student studying migration can tailor the programme to his or her needs: one student might also study the politics of international development and human rights law while another might research the topic of forced migration in conjunction with conflict analysis or study immigrant integration and political communication. Another Migration Studies student might want to take a closer look at citizenship and issues of identity and Islam in Europe. Each student’s own specialised programme of study is arrived at through consultation with the Director of Migration Studies. Past dissertations have been written on topics as varied as climate change and migration (“environmental refugees”), transnational involvement of Bosnians and Eritreans in their homelands, a comparison of rights of IDPs and refugees, human trafficking, and external citizenship rights for Mexicans.
The field trip to international organizations in Geneva in the spring term has become an institution, with Migration Studies students visiting institutions relevant for migration. The Spring 2008 trip included small group sessions at UNHCR, the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, ILO, the International Rescue Committee, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and the International Organization for Migration, among others. This trip helps students place their study of migration in the real-world operational and policy context. During the academic year, the Migration Forum organises site visits to local NGOs and European institutions in Brussels.
As The Guardian Weekly (25 January 2008) noted, UKB’s Brussels location is a significant added benefit: “All of the major international NGOs have offices there to better lobby the European commission on developing a pan-European approach to migration, [and] combating human trafficking…” Indeed, the high concentration of international organisations, NGOs, think-tanks and other relevant actors in Brussels offers expanded opportunities for site visits, such as those organised by the Migration Forum, for guest lectures at UKB, internships and of course resources for research.
The international student body at UKB is no less of a bonus: a seminar session might easily have students from two or three continents discussing labour migration, border control, asylum procedures or immigrant integration and transnationalism. Seminar discussions thus enable students to draw out many different perspectives and perceptions in a way that a setting with a less international body of students would not.
Altogether, the programme content as well as its framing, including Brussels and the international student body, combine to make UKB’s MA in Migration Studies a unique programme.
The need for individuals trained in migration is growing and UKB’s Migration Studies graduates are well-placed to take advantage of that need. Many of UKB’s alumni already work in migration-related fields, building an ever-stronger alumni network upon which current students can draw.