Enhancing cooperation among the Prague Process states
Back
My courses All courses

Introduction to Migration Studies

About the course

Introduction to Migration Studies

The e-course ‘Introduction to Migration Studies’, developed by the Prague Process Training Academy and Emeritus Professor Ronald Skeldon, offers a foundational yet comprehensive introduction to the complex and multidimensional field of migration. Designed for professionals working in migration and asylum, the course caters to learners at all levels, from entry-level staff to mid-career practitioners and early-stage policymakers, who seek to understand migration as both a demographic phenomenon and a socio-political process.

The course explores migration studies through thirteen thematic chapters, starting with core definitions and types of migration, and gradually delving into patterns, measurement techniques, urbanization trends, migration drivers, and demographic transitions. It then moves into the intersections between migration and development, the role of diasporas, and policy responses ranging from migration management to integration and environmental change. This e-course equips participants with the analytical tools and conceptual frameworks needed to interpret migration trends, design informed policies, and recognize the limits and opportunities of governance in an increasingly mobile world. 

What you will learn

  • Core definitions of migration and distinctions between types of migration
  • Categories of migrants: voluntary vs. forced, regular vs. irregular, temporary vs. permanent
  • Key methods for measuring migration: flows vs. stocks, census vs. survey data
  • Global patterns and corridors of migration
  • Urbanization and its link to internal migration and development
  • Key drivers and factors of migration
  • Migration in the context of demographic transitions and population change
  • The migration-development nexus: remittances, brain drain, diaspora engagement
  • National and international migration policies
  • Integration challenges: multiculturalism, assimilation, and dual identities
  • Environmental change, transnationalism and the concept of “trapped populations”

What is included

  1. Course quizzes
  2. Useful Links and sources
  3. Certificate of completion

Instructors

Ronald Skeldon

Ronald Skeldon

Ronald Skeldon is an Honorary Professor at Maastricht University and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Sussex. He was trained at the Universities of Glasgow, Scotland (BSc Hons) and Toronto, Canada (MA; PhD). He joined the University of Sussex in 2000 and was a core member of the Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalization and Poverty and, from June 2009 to March 2011, was seconded to the Department for International Development (DFID) in London as a Senior Research Fellow. He continued teaching at the University of Sussex until 2017, when he became Emeritus Professor. He joined Maastricht University in 2013 as Professor in Human Geography, becoming Honorary Professor in 2018. He has published widely on issues of migration and development, most recently, the Routledge Handbook of Migration and Development (2020) with Tanja Bastia of the University of Manchester, and a forthcoming Advanced Introduction to Migration Studies for Elgar is due out in 2021. He continues to act as a consultant for many international organizations. He lives in Nairn, Scotland.