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Dr. Alqudah holds a PhD in clinical and medical psychology from the College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, and an MA in psychology from the University of Jordan. He specializes in clinical medical psychology and the psychology of chronic pain. His area of research interest includes psychopathology, psychological treatments and psychotherapies, and psycho-social support for refugees and displaced persons. He is also affiliated with the department of psychology at the University of Jordan in Amman and has worked on projects conducted by a number of health organizations that included Doctors of the World Organization, the War Trauma Foundation, and the Antares Foundation. He is a member of the Jordanian Mental Health Licensing Committee. Since 2008, he has been involved with the SIT Modernization and Social Change program in Jordan as lecturer, ISP advisor, and then as coordinator of the Research Methods and Ethics course. Dr. Alqudah has co-authored a number of articles that have appeared in the Journal of Cybertherapy and Rehabilitation, the Journal of Pain Research, and the International Journal of Psychological Studies.

Dr. Majd Abu Salem received her MS from New Mexico State University in the United States and her PhD from the University of Jordan. She has taught undergraduate students since 2015 as a teaching assistant and later as a faculty member, teaching courses including gender justice, civil society organizations and human rights, and sustainable development. She has several publications to her credit ranging from women’s rights, sustainability, agriculture, and climate change. In addition, Dr. Majd worked as a research assistant from 2008 to 2011 at New Mexico State University and has participated in conferences and led many training courses for NGOs and CBOs in women’s rights, youth leadership, sustainable agriculture, and climate change.

Dr. Al-Tabini, a Jordanian national, holds a PhD in environment and sustainability from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK. He is a former general director of the Hashemite Fund for Development of Jordanian Badia in Jordan and has managed a variety of development projects in the Middle East and North Africa on such diverse topics as environment and sustainability, management of scarce water resources, and developing sustainable livelihoods in pastoral communities. He is a frequent presenter at international conferences and is well-published in the field of sustainable development. He has served as an academic director with SIT in Jordan since 2007. His role as academic director is multifaceted, as he designs the various academic and field-based components of the program, administers the program as a whole, and acts as a resource and intellectual guide. He has also delivered lectures on water and environmental policy and taught a course on research methods and ethics. The SIT program is heavily research-oriented, and he ensures that ethical standards are met, and that research is thoroughly professional, academic, and topical to the program of study.

Applications open Sept. 15

With undergraduates’ schedules in full swing for the new academic year, it’s not too soon to start thinking about how to make the most of summer 2019. Imagine snorkeling in one of the world’s top diving sites as you study marine ecology in Panama, building career skills with an internship at an NGO in Vietnam, exploring Madagascar’s extraordinary natural environment to learn about traditional medicine, or learning Arabic in Jordan or Morocco.

Those are just some of the many opportunities available through School for International Training (SIT). During summer 2019, SIT Study Abroad is offering 23 programs in 17 countries that will appeal to a wide range of majors and interests, including five skills-building internship opportunities.

Like all SIT Study Abroad programs, each summer program offers academic rigor and an immersive cultural experience within the framework of at least one critical global issue. Applications for these programs open September 15.

New to the SIT Student Abroad summer portfolio this year are:

Colombia: Building a Culture of Peace – Integrate peace studies with Colombia’s cultures through music, dance, and food from the program base in the vibrant, multicultural Caribbean Coast city of Cartagena, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Vietnam: Nongovernmental Organization Internship – Learn about development and the roles of nongovernmental organizations engaged in social change through this guided internship, which also includes lectures and site visits. Customize this program based on your areas of interest.

SIT summer programs, sorted according to themes, are:

Climate | Environment

Iceland: Renewable Energy, Technology, and Resource Economics  

Indonesia: Biodiversity and Conservation in Bali and Borneo  

Jordan: Engineering and Design for Sustainable Environments  

Nepal: Geoscience in the Himalaya  

Panama: Marine Ecology & Blue Carbon Conservation in the Pacific & Caribbean  

Tanzania: Climate Change and Sustainability, Mount Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar

Development | Economy | Inequality

India: Agroecology and Food Security in the Himalaya  

Panama: Community and Nongovernmental Organizations Internship  

Vietnam: Nongovernmental Organization Internship

Global Health

China: Community Health and Traditional Chinese Medicine  

India: Traditional Medicine and Healthcare Practices

Jordan: Counseling and Humanitarian Action Internship  

Kenya: Public Health in the Tropics Internship  

Madagascar: Traditional Medicine and Healthcare Systems  

Switzerland: Food Security and Nutrition

Media | Arts | Social Change

Argentina: Art, Memory, and Social Transformation

Migration | Identity | Resilience

Jordan: Intensive Arabic Language Studies  

Morocco: Arabic Language and Community Service  

Peace | Human Rights | Social Movements

Colombia: Building a Culture of Peace  

South Africa: Education and Social Change  

South Africa: Social Justice and Activism Internship  

Switzerland: International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy  

Uganda and Rwanda: Peace and Conflict Studies in the Lake Victoria Basin

Visit our website for more information on these and all of SIT’s immersive, experiential study abroad opportunities.

BRATTLEBORO, Vermont – Responding to one of the most critical global issues of the 21^st century, School for International Training has introduced a groundbreaking new master’s degree that brings students face to face with real-world challenges and solutions to the crises that have displaced more than 68 million people worldwide.

SIT Graduate Institute is now accepting applications for the fully accredited MA in Humanitarian Assistance and Crisis Management, which launches in fall 2019. This one-year program takes place entirely abroad, with students studying in Jordan and Uganda, countries that together host nearly three million refugees but take starkly different approaches to the issue. Students will also travel to Geneva, Switzerland, to meet with international leaders of organizations that address refugee policy and management.

The new MA builds on SIT’s expertise in experiential-based learning and hands-on training in global settings, said Dr. Sophia Howlett, president of SIT.

“This global master’s degree in Humanitarian Assistance and Crisis Management redoubles SIT’s commitment to justice and humanity by shaping leaders capable of mobilizing effective responses and better solutions to the plight of disaster-stricken populations,” said Dr. Howlett. “By immersing students in real-world humanitarian responses, our mission is to shape a generation of leaders equipped with the ethics, competencies, and passion to lead principled, effective, and innovative humanitarian solutions around the globe.”

The program is one of a range of globally focused master’s degrees offered by SIT Graduate Institute, a leader in global education and a pioneer in fields such as language learning, international education, and peace and conflict studies.

Last year, under Dr. Howlett’s leadership, SIT introduced a global master’s degree format, taught in SIT centers abroad, in which students take courses from top academics and meet with experts in the field. The new format draws upon SIT’s extensive global resources, including locally based faculty and staff who also work with more than 200 U.S. colleges and universities to provide undergraduate study abroad programs on seven continents. Twelve of these programs focus on migration, and others address migration within the context of other critical global issues.

Dr. Ken Williams, dean of SIT Graduate Institute, said this new MA responds to the growing need for a cross-cultural approach to humanitarian crises. “This groundbreaking program takes students on a journey to Jordan and Uganda to examine the creative methods used by local and global organizations to address the challenges faced by millions of people,” he said.

Students will spend the fall semester in Jordan, which hosts millions of refugees and displaced populations from Palestine, Iraq, and Syria, many living in refugee camps. There, during emergency, post-emergency, and resettlement phases, students will have firsthand exposure to the humanitarian response of UN agencies including the UN High Commission for Refugees, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, World Health Organization, and the United Nation’s International Children’s Emergency Fund.

During the second semester in Uganda, students will witness one of the most progressive refugee protection policies in the world. As the largest refugee-serving country in Africa, Uganda hosts more than 1.35 million refugees primarily from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Somalia. During their third and final semester, SIT students will carry out a practicum at a refugee-serving agency in one of the two countries.

“As someone with over 30 years of humanitarian experience, I know that skilled and thoughtful management of crises and disasters is sorely needed,” said Abby Maxman, president and CEO of Oxfam America and an alumna of SIT Graduate Institute. “We live in a time with unprecedented numbers of people displaced from their homes around the globe, and with a tragically steady stream of emergencies coming at us through conflict, disease, famine, and natural events, many significantly worsened by climate change. This new SIT program responds to a global demand for compassionate, highly competent professionals.”

Dr. Bayan Abdulhaq, SIT’s Amman-based chair of the new program, said students will have an unparalleled opportunity to become immersed in real-world humanitarian responses to disaster-stricken populations. “This global humanitarian assistance master’s degree equips students with an expert understanding of the challenges facing today’s humanitarian action leaders and offers a global perspective on humanitarian response and crisis management,” she said.

The 36-credit MA is designed to prepare students for careers in a wide range of fields, including human rights, humanitarian aid and relief, international relations, development, nonprofit and NGO management, monitoring and evaluation, international law, public health, and gender equity.

Read more about this program.

Bayan has been the academic director for the Jordan: Refugees, Health, and Humanitarian Action program since 2013 and the chair of the MA in Humanitarian Assistance and Crisis Management program since 2018. Her research interests focus on psychiatric pharmacy and the health and wellbeing of refugees and vulnerable populations. She holds a PhD in biopharmaceutical sciences and an MS in pharmaceutical analysis and quality control from King’s College London. She holds a BS in pharmacy from the University of Jordan. She taught at the school of pharmacy at the University of Jordan and the University of Petra. Bayan has extensive experience in educational quality assurance and was quality assurance director at TAG School of Business at the German Jordanian University. Bayan is a licensed pharmacist and worked as a community pharmacist and medical affairs manager at a pharmaceutical firm. She also consults on Good Clinical Practice.

See Dr. Abdulhaq’s list of publications

SIT Study Abroad Programs

• IHP Human Rights: Movements, Power, and Resistance
• IHP: Human Rights: Movements, Power, and Resistance
• Jordan: Counseling and Humanitarian Action Internship (Summer)
• Jordan: Engineering and Design for Sustainable Environments (Summer)
• Jordan: Geopolitics, International Relations, and the Future of the Middle East
• Jordan: Intensive Arabic Language Studies (Summer)
• Jordan: Refugees, Health, and Humanitarian Action

SIT Graduate Programs

• Humanitarian Assistance and Crisis Management (Jordan and Uganda)