Trinity’s First M.Sc. Degree in Disability Studies Students Graduate

Posted on: 12 December 2011

The first cohort of students with a Masters degree in Disability Studies at Trinity College Dublin was recently conferred with degrees.

The M.Sc. in Disability Studies is an innovative interdisciplinary programme that provides a common ground for the study of disability in Ireland and internationally. Graduates of the M.Sc. in Disability Studies develop a deep understanding of disability from social, historical, cultural, economic and political perspectives. The programme equips graduates with the knowledge, analytical skills and insights to translate rights into reality globally.

This pioneering Masters programme is hosted by the National Institute for Intellectual Disability (NIID) and benefits from the input of the following schools in Trinity College Dublin: Social Work and Social Policy, Nursing and Midwifery, Law, Religions and Theology, Economics and the Centre for Deaf Studies.

Graduates of the M.Sc. in Disability Studies Sue Kraftsoff, Amy O’Connor, Carline Thompson and Imelda Gaughan.

Commenting on the occasion of the graduation, Dr Christine Linehan, Director of NIID said: “The National Institute for Intellectual Disability is delighted to celebrate the graduation of our first cohort of graduates on the M.Sc. in Disability Studies.  The knowledge and skills obtained by our graduates are particularly important at this time of tremendous change in disability policy and practice at both the national and international level.  Our graduates are very well placed to drive this change agenda and transform the disability landscape”.

The M.Sc. in Disability Studies degrees were conferred upon Imelda Gaughan, Sue Kraftsoff, Amy O’Connor, Carline Thompson and Ask Andersen in absentia.

“I am delighted I chose the Disability Studies course I had been looking for a course that suited me for a number of years. It has opened my mind to new ways of thinking about disability. I have recently been promoted in work and am assisting with putting together staff training that promotes a rights-based approach when working with the young service users I work with. I hope the course continues to run and many more disabled people benefit from the new knowledge and insight that may be gained from it,” commented graduate Imelda Gaughan.