International Development Practice Via Blended Learning

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From January 2013, the Graduate Diploma/Masters in International Development Practice (MIDP) programme will be offered on a full-time basis over 18 months, with part-time options also available for participants over an extended period. This programme is intended to help to maximise career opportunities for busy professionals and postgraduate researchers.

The course will be delivered on a blended learning basis, through a combination of residential Summer and Winter schools, online learning and an international placement programme, which offers course participants the opportunity to obtain real-life experience of integrated approaches to international development practice, plus a 20,000-word dissertation. Additionally, the programme will provide participants with a strong inter-disciplinary foundation and continuing professional development expertise in the area of international development practice.

This innovative programme is designed for postgraduate researchers and development practitioners based overseas and also in Ireland who wish to pursue careers within international organisations, government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), philanthropic institutions, and consultancy firms engaged in international development practice. The programme will create a cohort of international practitioners with the capacity to analyse and scrutinise some of the most chronic developmental problems of the twenty-first century and to provide participants with the practical skills to provide resolution along a wide spectrum of critical policy areas.

A range of modules, emphasising the practice and theory of development, will be offered in year one of the programme. Students who successfully complete this phase of the programme will be awarded a Graduate Diploma after Year One. The third semester of the programme will consist primarily of research and the completion of a dissertation.

The following modules will be offered as part of this course:

* Module 1: Development Theory and Practice
* Module 2: Agriculture and Sustainable Development
* Module 3: Development Education for Development Practitioners
* Module 4: Research Field Methods & Logistics
* Module 5: Financial Management for Development Practitioners
* Module 6: The Political Economy of Sustainable Development
* Module 7: Environmental Heath
* Module 8: Project Management for Development Practitioners

Applicants to the programme should hold at least a 2.2 honours degree. Exceptions may be made for holders of degrees from recognised granting institutions with at least 3 years cognate experience and for holders of recognised qualifications encompassing at least 3 years of study and 2 years of relevant work experience. Applicants whose first language is not English must submit written evidence of competence in the language. Work Experience At least 2 year(s) of work experience is required.

Financial support structures at Mary Immaculate College include a Doctoral Award (PhD in Arts or Education), Studentships, Assistantships, and Special Awards. Students pursuing research postgraduate degrees in Arts or Education are eligible to apply for MIC awards. These are available on a competitive basis and at the discretion of the College. Typically, awards provide a subsistence bursary for the normal registration period of benefiting students, and in some cases also off-set tuition fees.

Gaeltacht University Scholarships, 1916 Commemoration Scholarships awarded on the results of the Leaving Certificate Examination, Irish Language Third-Level Scholarships are tenable in the College.

The Munster Council of the GAA awards a limited number of bursaries to students who have achieved County Level standard from minor grade upwards. Bursaries are awarded when students have registered in the College.