Funded MA Project on the Politics and Policies of Climate-Induced Displacement
Dalhousie University’s Department of Political Science (POLI) is recruiting two funded MA students to conduct research on politics and policies of climate-induced displacement. This project is part of the Dalhousie-based research cluster Climate Justice: Values and Vulnerabilities, which is in turn part of the Transforming Climate Action Research Program.
Project
Warming oceans, rising sea levels, changes in marine and coastal environments, and other climate stressors exert uneven impacts on vulnerable and marginalized populations. The emerging realities and differential impacts of climate change are being recognized at a moment when global displacement is already at historically unprecedented levels, with people forced to flee worldwide due to persecution, international conflict, generalized violence, human rights violations, civil war, and other drivers of displacement. As of the start of this year, the current number of forced migrants amounts to the twelfth largest country on earth, equivalent to over 1 per cent of the world population, and well over double the total population of Canada. A recent release from the UNHCR reports 32 million persons were displaced by weather-related events in 2022 such as floods, storms, wildfires and droughts. Displacement linked to natural disasters and climate change is already at a record high and there is little dispute that environmentally driven migration will only significantly increase in the future. At the same time, Canada and the international community have taken very few steps to develop effective policies to respond to this reality.
Students recruited for this project will investigate the interplay between social and ecological vulnerabilities and varying forms of climate induced displacement both in Canada and more broadly. Research may focus on issues such as existing policies and legal frameworks for responding to disaster induced displacement; emerging initiatives to address climate change driven migration; the differential vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities of different communities to climate change, and/or the effects of climate change on the health and working conditions of marginalized populations. The geographic focus of this project includes Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Data collection will focus primarily on qualitative and participatory methods, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, and/or participant observation.
The Master of Arts in Political Science at Dalhousie University
As one of the top Political Science programs in Canada, we enable students to learn how to navigate the values, laws, institutions and policy mechanisms that govern their lives domestically and globally.
Students in the Political Science MA program study the major sub-fields in the discipline, as well as theory, research methods and design, culminating with a thesis that is defended in a public oral defence. Students are able to complete the program within 12 months, although students may elect to take longer to complete the thesis research component of the program. As a U15 university, [https://about:blank/]Dalhousie is one of the top research universities in Canada and the largest in the Atlantic region. Situated along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, the historic city of Halifax is a wonderful place to live and study. More information on the Political Science program at Dalhousie University can be found on our website.
Students joining this project will be co-supervised by [https://about:blank/]Dr. Kiran Banerjee and Dr. Kate Swanson. They will benefit from close collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team of professors, students and researchers involved with the research project “Climate Justice: Values and Vulnerability” ([https://about:blank/]Transforming Climate Action Research Program, cluster 3.4).
Funding and start date
Selected MA students will be funded through a combination of scholarship and research assistantships relevant to the project, adding up to C$27,500 annually, for each year of study of up to two years, beginning in September 2025. Research costs, including travel, will be covered separately by the project.
Qualifications
- A minimum of A- (GPA 3.7) average or higher over the last 60 credit hours or two years of full-time study for international students
- An undergraduate honours degree in Political Science or related interdisciplinary program such as International Development Studies
- Experience with qualitative research methods a strong asset
- Excellent analytical, writing and communication skills
- Strong interest in themes such as migration, forced displacement and refugees, climate-change induced migration, human rights and/or ocean governance
- Ability to work and collaborate across disciplines
Desirable skills:
- Additional language skills.
How to Apply
Interested students should email Dr. Kiran Banerjee at [https://about:blank/]
- Statement of interest (one page max.)
- Curriculum Vitae
- Unofficial transcripts
- Writing sample (ten pages max.)
Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
Students selected for this funding opportunity must also [https://about:blank/]apply for admission to Dalhousie’s Faculty of Graduate Studies and to the Political Science Department to commence studies in September 2025. The final deadline to apply is January 31, 2025, but early consideration for admission and full consideration for departmental level funding is only guaranteed to students who apply by December 1, 2024. Similarly, preference for this funded position will be given to applicants who submit applications for graduate admission by December 1, 2024.
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