Overview
Photo credit: Allison Kingston, student in the MDS program
Migration is a central issue of our time. With your support, graduate students in the Migration and Diaspora Studies Program will gain practical experience and valuable knowledge to pursue careers in areas including public service, cultural institutions and creative industries, migration and humanitarian NGOs, and immigration and settlement-related organizations. To prepare students for their career path, the Migration and Diaspora Studies Experiential Learning Fund will help students engage in real-world, program-related experience while building meaningful connections.
The Background
Since its inception in 2020, The Migration and Diaspora Studies program at Carleton University has been connecting students with world-renowned researchers to examine the political, economic, social and cultural implications of the movement of people. Through its diverse interdisciplinary pathways, this program is the first of its kind in Canada for students to hone their knowledge on topics such as refugee movements, immigration and social and economic integration, forced migration, labor migration, migrant communities, social and cultural identities, diversity and policies of multiculturalism, dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, literature, exile and memory.
The Rollout
The Migration and Diaspora Studies Experiential Learning Fund will encourage knowledge exchange and mobilization, by providing current students with opportunities to engage with fellow researchers, academics and practitioners. Students will be supported to undertake original field research, participate in global meetings, present their research at conferences, and purse experiential learning opportunities that take them beyond the classroom. These funds are integral in ensuring students have access to experiences to help them better understand the complexities of migration and diaspora.
The Impact
By supporting the Migration and Diaspora Studies Experiential Learning Fund, you are enhancing learning experiences for students in the graduate program who are committed to addressing issues of human migration and diaspora. Donations will help ensure students are positioned for a future career in this area by expanding their networks, while providing opportunities to further develop critical research and analytical skills.
Hear from students in the MDS program:
“My field research in the Dominican Republic was a formative experience, providing valuable skills, insights, and connections that extend well beyond the research itself. Not only was my master’s thesis and potential future studies strengthened by the cross-cultural communication and research skills I developed, but these skills will help prepare me for my career path going forward. Being able to spend time in the field further nurtured my curiosity and passion for research!”-Allison Kingston
“Conducting fieldwork in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement in Kenya provided a rich contribution to my MDS thesis. It enabled to have an experience beyond the classroom that provided me with a deeper insight into how theories and policies affecting female refugee students are practiced, gaps in our understanding and how to propose bottom-up innovative solutions that bring more female refugee students into high school classrooms. Having these kinds of opportunities is beneficial for other MDS students because it allows us to practically experience and apply our classroom learning to real world situations that affect the lived realities of more than 100 million globally displaced people.”-Goundo Diarra
“For two weeks in June of 2023, I participated in an institute at the Venice International University on the Island of San Servolo. In preparation, I co-designed (with Prof. Ming Tiampo) and completed a directed readings course on the role of migration and diaspora in the visualization of cities. The in-person experience of putting these concepts into practice with academics from across the world led to new discussions, perspectives, and ideas that continue to inform my work.”-Janneke Van Hoeve
“Doing an internship at the United Nations Refugee Agency gave me to opportunity to obtain practical experience related to my field of interest and allowed me to form valuable connects with working professionals.”-Sidney Weeks