Oxford Brookes University is marking the 20th Anniversary of the DEP Masters degree with a new fund to support CENDEP students

The multidisciplinary Masters degree in Development and Emergency Practice (DEP) which originated in 1991 has established an international reputation for excellence and in 2001 was awarded the prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize.

"The course basically opened my eyes up to the world and I am still using the knowledge and skills I gained during that year in my work today. I simply would not have been able to get to where I have without doing the MA."
Eric Meldrum

Eric was a CID officer in Oxfordshire for ten years before taking the decision to study with CENDEP. He is now the operations director for an NGO called SISHA (South East Asia Investigations into Social and Humanitarian Activities) based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and supervises all investigations into human trafficking, sexual exploitation and bonded labour and work with the Cambodian National Police (CNP) to rescue victims and prosecute offenders.

Oxford Brookes University is committed to graduating students with the capacity to live lives of consequence as engaged global citizens. The DEP programme plays a significant role in this and it is the University’s aim to secure financial support for CENDEP in 2011 / 12 in the form of scholarships and bursaries to allow students who might not otherwise be able to afford it, to participate in the very beneficial work of this Centre.

CENDEP attracts students from all backgrounds, from experienced practitioners to those new to development. Well over 500 students have graduated from its programmes since 1991 from many countries. Many of them have gone on to hold influential positions in community based groups, NGOs, UN and donor bodies (including The Red Cross, DIFD and Oxfam) as well as governments and the military.

"The scholarship was of great value and significance to me. It represented an exciting opportunity for both personal and professional growth, as well as the intellectual space to learn and question. I knew that to expand and grow in my work as a practitioner, I needed to make the intellectual and physical leap back to academia – hence my arrival in 2006 at the doors of Brookes. Best decision ever to have taken."
Lucy Strickland, CARE

Since graduating, Lucy Strickland has worked in Afghanistan to bring girls back into schools after years of Taliban exclusion, and has helped to build education services in the new country of Southern Sudan. She has been involved in Oxfam's emergency drought response in Ethiopia and the response to the cholera outbreak in Haiti.

The senior management of the University are committed to celebrating the 20th Anniversary of CENDEP by creating a Scholarship Fund that will support students over the next 10 years and our target for this is £100,000 (the equivalent of 20 scholarships).

Many students make considerable sacrifices to be on this course, both financially and personally. There are times when excellent students dedicated to the humanitarian cause have to make the difficult decision not to join this course because of financial constraints.

A scholarship can make all the difference to a student when deciding whether to come and study on the CENDEP Masters course.