Development Studies (MSc Global Development Studies)

Entry requirements

Months of entry

September

Course content

The MSc Global Development programme provides a solid interdisciplinary social science formation in development theory and practice and develops students’ capacities for independent and critical analysis.

Development Studies is a dynamic field concerned with processes of change in the South —social and economic, political and cultural — and the major policy challenges they present to efforts to overcome poverty and insecurity.

Highlights

The meanings of development and the challenges it faces.

Neoliberalism and its critiques.

Industrialisation, labour and capital.

State failure, poverty and insecurity.

Gender, race and class analysis.

NGOs, civil society and social movements.

Development organisations and development practice.

Globalisation, commodity chains and trade.

Agrarian change, peasantry and land.

Why study MSc Global Development at SOAS?

• SOAS is ranked 3rd in the world for Development Studies (QS World University Rankings 2024)
• You will have the opportunity to take work placements as part of your degree, and we offer internships in the department and in partner organisations. This year MSc students were offered placements in the International Organisation for Migration, the London International Development Centre and international NGOs
• Get a placement in a partner organisation working in international development with our International Development Placement module (virtual delivery)
• The MSc programme’s emphasis on transferable analytical skills has been of great benefit to the many graduates who have returned to, or taken up, professional careers in development in international organisations, government agencies and non-government organisations.

Pathways

MSc Global Development applicants apply for MSc Global Development but can decide to exit the degree on the Gender Pathway by choosing the combination of modules required. This information will be shared with students during the enrolment process.

Students taking the Gender Pathway will develop a specialist understanding of Development Studies in the context of Gender. SOAS's recognised strengths in this area, including the establishment of the SOAS Centre for Gender Studies, makes this a unique and exciting opportunity for those interested in development and gender.

Labour and Activism

MSc Global Development applicants apply for MSc Global Development but can decide to exit the degree on the Labour and Activism Pathway by choosing the combination of modules required. This information will be shared with students during the enrolment process.

On this pathway, students are encouraged to examine critically the relationship between labour, capitalism, development and poverty. We investigate labour in the contemporary social and economic development of the Global South as well as established and emerging social movements of labour in local, national and international spaces. You will learn to identify and evaluate the relationship between collective agency, policy and vice-versa.

Information for international students

For details, including English language requirements, please see SOAS website

Fees and funding

For details of postgraduate fees, please see SOAS website