Subject guides / Migration Studies
Migration Studies
Also appears in programme titles as: Migration and Refugee Studies · International Migration
What a migration studies degree actually is
A quarter of a billion people live outside their country of birth; displacement numbers break records yearly; and every government on earth is arguing about borders. Migration studies is the interdisciplinary field — politics, law, economics, anthropology — that studies human mobility and the systems that manage it, from asylum courts to remittance corridors to diaspora politics.
The field has a general track and a protection track, and the split is visible right in Oxford's catalogue: the MSc in Migration Studies covers mobility at large, while the MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies is the specialised protection degree. Sussex mirrors the split with its twin MAs; SOAS adds the diaspora lens. Choosing the wrong track is the field's version of the naming trap.
What you study — and the bar to entry
Cores cover migration theory, the international refugee regime and migration law, and research methods, with electives spanning labour migration, diaspora studies, borders and citizenship. Oxford's nine-month degrees are research-intensive with a dissertation at the centre; Sussex leans applied, drawing on its migration research centre's policy work.
No quantitative bar beyond social-science methods — but the protection track reads field experience (refugee response, legal aid, humanitarian work) the way economics programmes read mathematics. Fresh graduates land general-track places more easily than protection-track ones.
Where it leads
The protection track exits into UNHCR, IOM and the refugee-response INGO world; the general track into migration ministries and integration agencies, international organisations' mobility teams, think tanks, and the growing labour-migration governance space (bilateral labour agreements, ethical recruitment). Legal backgrounds route into asylum and immigration practice. As with development studies, the degree amplifies field experience rather than replacing it.
Who it suits — and who it does not
A good fit if you are…
- Humanitarian, legal-aid and refugee-response professionals formalising their expertise on the protection track
- Public servants in migration, labour or interior ministries taking the governance track
- Journalists, lawyers and researchers specialising into one of the decade's defining policy fields
Probably not the right degree if…
- Applicants wanting hands-on humanitarian logistics — that is the Humanitarian Action field, not this one
- Those expecting an activism degree: the strong programmes are analytical and often uncomfortable for every side of the border debate
- Fresh graduates targeting the protection track without any field exposure — build six months of experience first
Where to study it: the programme map
Two tracks across five programmes: protection (refugee-focused) and general migration governance. Both Oxford degrees run nine months — the shortest Oxford master's route in our maps. Official links and verification dates on every row.
| University | Official programme title | Length | Tuition (intl) | Experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOAS University of LondonUnited Kingdom | MA Migration and Diaspora Studies | 12 mo | — | — |
| University of OxfordUnited Kingdom | MSc in Migration Studies | 9 mo | — | — |
| University of OxfordUnited Kingdom | MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies | 9 mo | — | — |
| University of SussexUnited Kingdom | Migration and Refugee Studies MA | 12 mo | — | — |
| University of SussexUnited Kingdom | Migration and Global Development MA | 12 mo | — | — |
Every row verified against the official programme page; oldest verification 15 Jul 2026. Nothing here is a paid placement.
Application strategy and funding routes
Track first: protection (Oxford RFMS, Sussex Migration and Refugee Studies) or governance/general (Oxford Migration Studies, Sussex Migration and Global Development, SOAS's diaspora angle). Oxford's pair are nine-month degrees — the shortest route in our maps to an Oxford master's, and both research-heavy; Sussex is the applied alternative with the development pairing.
Funding is straightforward: everything in the map is a 9–12-month UK degree, squarely inside Chevening's rule, and displacement-affected and migration-corridor countries map directly onto Chevening and Commonwealth priorities. Note the sequencing quirk for Oxford's nine-month formats: the course ends in June, which some scholarships' return-home rules treat generously — one of the small print details worth reading before you pick.
Which scholarship funds which programme
Computed from each scheme's published rules (destination, level, course length) — not a guarantee; list-based schemes still require checking the official list.
- SOAS University of London
- University of Oxford
- University of Oxford
- University of Sussex
- University of Sussex
- SOAS University of London
- University of Oxford
- University of Oxford
- University of Sussex
- University of Sussex
Frequently asked questions
Migration studies vs refugee studies — which track should I choose?
Choose protection (refugee/forced migration) if your career is in UNHCR-orbit response and asylum systems; choose the general track for ministries, labour migration and integration policy. Employers read the two credentials differently, and Oxford and Sussex both offer each as a separate degree.
Do I need field experience with refugees to apply?
For the protection track, practically yes — admissions and later employers both read it. The general governance track admits public servants, lawyers and researchers without camp-level experience.
Does Chevening fund migration degrees?
Yes — every programme in our map runs 9–12 months full-time in the UK. Applicants from major migration-corridor and displacement-affected countries fit Chevening's priorities especially well.
Is a nine-month Oxford MSc taken seriously?
Yes — the nine-month format is Oxford's standard for these MScs and carries the same degree status. The compression is real, though: dissertation research starts almost immediately, which is why the programmes read research readiness closely at admission.
Related fields
Sources
Official programme pages (linked per row above) · official scholarship rules and participating-programme lists · university admission regulations. Every data row records its source URL and verification date; stale rows are re-checked or removed.
Global Study Prep is independent and not affiliated with any university or scholarship programme. Programme details change — always confirm on the official page before applying.