EDUCATION
A NEW GENERATION OF LEADERS
We are living in a time of growing humanitarian needs and heightened risk of war, climate hazards, economic shocks, and famine. The world requires humanitarian practitioners that are equipped to design, implement, and lead humanitarian assistance programs in highly complex and rapidly evolving environments.
Our flexible, learner-centered courses are purposefully created to accommodate working professionals and those with other substantial time commitments. Students can interact closely with experts from the Feinstein International Center, the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Tufts is a great place for practitioners to go and learn…a place that educates the next generation of leaders.
ABBY MAXMAN, OXFAM AMERICA
Master of Science in Nutrition
with a specialization in Humanitarian Assistance
Evolved from Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance (MAHA)
Within our Master of Science in Nutrition degree, the specialization in Humanitarian Assistance provides students with state-of-the-art technical, political, and experiential skills required for effective, creative, and empathetic humanitarian leadership.
In addition to core courses in nutrition science, policy and quantitative reasoning, students will learn how to plan and manage both short-term emergency responses and longer-term prevention efforts.
This specialization is especially designed for students who want work at the nexus of nutrition and food security, climate, conflict, AI, protection, localization, and human rights around the world.
Available as part of both Residential and Online M.S. programs at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the specialization in Humanitarian Assistance will help students advance their careers at the national and international levels and better assist those affected by crises across the globe.
Coursework
Humanitarian Assistance specialization-specific courses
Offered online for the Fall 2025 semester
Climate Change: Risk and Adaptation in Food Systems and Beyond
Fall 2025
Erin Coughlan de Perez
This course will focus on the projected impacts of climate change around the world and related adaptations, with particular attention to humanitarian impacts and food systems.
We will cover climate risk assessment, risk perception, risk communication, and climate risk management/adaptation.
Famines and Severe Food Insecurity
Fall 2025
Merry Fitzpatrick
This course will examine famines not as events, but processes and systems manipulated by humans, though often aggravated by natural hazards, market failures, epidemics and other factors.
We will look at these systems from the highest, conceptual, theoretical levels down to the experiences of individuals simply trying to get enough food to keep their families and themselves alive.
Gender and Intersectionality in Humanitarian Assistance
Fall 2025
Dyan Mazurana
In this course, students will learn the central international laws, standards, and policies underpinning gender-equitable humanitarian assistance.
Students will become skilled at applying gender and intersectional analysis to understand how diversity affects people in humanitarian crises and how to plan humanitarian action to best meet people’s needs and uphold their rights.
Livelihoods, Food Security, and Nutrition in Crisis and Crisis-Prone Contexts
NUTR ON339 / DHP D242 • Fall 2025
Merry Fitzpatrick
This course will examine how livelihoods function within systems, and how the structure of these systems may drive poor food security.
We will also look at how poor food security can lead to poor nutrition, especially among young children, adolescents and the elderly.
Protection in Humanitarian Assistance
Fall 2025
Dyan Mazurana
In this course, students will learn the key international laws, standards, and policies underpinning protection in humanitarian assistance.
Students will become skilled at creating humanitarian assistance responses in the main humanitarian sectors: Health; Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene; Nutrition; Food Security; Education; Shelter; Camp Coordination and Management; and Early Recovery.
Enrollment
The specialization in Humanitarian Assistance is available as part of both Residential and Online M.S. in Nutrition programs at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
Individual courses are also available for enrollment without a degree program through Tufts University College Professional & Continuing Education.
Registration for Fall 2025 courses opens in June 2025.
Each year MAHAs bring a rich variety of experiences to each other and the Tufts community that help us all stay in front of our ever changing field.
DANIEL MAXWELL, CO-DIRECTOR OF THE MAHA PROGRAM
Alumni
MAHAs come to Tufts from humanitarian, aid, diplomatic, and military communities across the globe. After graduating, MAHAs usually return to higher-level positions with management and program design responsibilities.
Meet some of our MAHA alumni.
Questions?
ADDITIONAL DEGREE PROGRAMS
MASTER OF ARTS IN LAW AND DIPLOMACY (MALD)
MALD is a flexible, multidisciplinary curriculum that allows students to choose from 22 fields of study within three divisions: International Law and Organizations; Diplomacy, History, and Politics; and Economics and International Business.
Graduates of the program possess the knowledge, skills, tools, and preparation needed to excel in a highly competitive global economy. It is offered by the Fletcher School.
PH.D. PROGRAMS
Our faculty supervise students in the Ph.D. programs at the Friedman and Fletcher Schools. We also supervise students in non–Tufts programs.
