Masters Degrees (Local Development)

Interest in development, environment and issues of sustainable development has never been so intense. UN climate change summits , Millennium Development Goals and the World Social Forum have brought environmental and development issues and problems long on local and national agendas, onto the international scene.

All sustainable development issues are a complex and dynamic web of natural, social, political and economic processes, and it is this unique interdisciplinary approach which drives the MSc in Practising Sustainable Development. This popular course has evolved and expanded in scope and appeal, and has attracted students from about 30 countries and a diverse range of backgrounds who work or are interested in development issues and the environment.

This course is also offered at Postgraduate Diploma level for those who do not have the academic background necessary to begin an advanced Master’s degree. The structure of the Diploma is identical except that you will not write a dissertation. If you are successful on the Diploma you may transfer to the MSc, subject to academic approval.

See the website https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/geography/coursefinder/mscpgdippractisingsustainabledevelopment.aspx

Why choose this course?

- Our teaching staff have wide experience in different developing regions and economies in transition, including Latin America, the Caribbean, South, East and South-East Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Staff have also worked with indigenous and marginalised communities in North America.

- You will benefit from a diverse range of teaching and learning strategies including tutor-led discussions and seminars, oral presentations, role-playing, problem-solving and group work.

- You will be well prepared for a career in the development and environment field as the course is very highly regarded.

- The course can be used as part of an ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) research training pathway for PhD study. This indicates that the content and approach of our academic research training is of a very high standard.

- You will be provided with training in skills needed to research and assess sustainable development, such as research design, project development, environmental monitoring, geographic information systems (GIS), participatory

Department research and industry highlights

The Politics, Development and Sustainability (PDS) group consists of over 20 research-active staff, 35 PhD students and 50 Master’s students on four MSc programmes. We are committed to conducting collaborative research which seeks to understand and contribute to addressing problems of social inequality, environmental destruction and injustice. The breadth of its members’ research places it in an ideal position to contribute to theoretical and policy debates on key challenges facing Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean today.

Course content and structure

The course is divided into three compulsory elements. Students studying for the Postgraduate Diploma do not undertake the dissertation.

Core course units:
Sustainability, Development and Governance
This course will equip students with a detailed understanding of the development of sustainable development as a discourse. Students will explore key sustainability issues such as climate change, globalisation, and human responses with an emphasis on the emergence of environmental governance as a means to pursue sustainability.

Technology and Development
This course provides you with an introduction to the role of technology in development, focusing particularly on mobile phone and computer technologies. The course combines an understanding of key theoretical debates and how technologies have been applied in diverse sectors such as health and education. The course also includes training in the use of GIS (geographical information systems) within a development context.

Sustainability, Development and Society
You will develop a detailed understanding of key social / environmental relationships incorporating contemporary issues in the geographies of sustainability. These will include \'risk society\', sustainable cities, and the impacts of corporate sector activities on the environment. You will also understand the challenges to sustainable development at household and community levels, with a focus on community-based approaches to sustainable development.

Participatory research
This course combines detailed understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of participatory research and methods with practical experience of using different participatory research techniques. These include participatory diagramming, participatory video and participatory environmental monitoring.

Research Training
You will be provided with training in a range of methods to enable you to plan, carry out and complete a piece of research. There are three modules in this element:
- Social Research Methods Training - provides a range of social science methods for field research and analysis.
- Quantitative Methods for Graduates - provides basic statistical concepts and procedures used in empirical research.
- Development and Environment Research Training - provides guidance for planning, developing and undertaking research in a development and environment context.

Dissertation (MSc only)
The dissertation is of between 12,000 and 15,000 words, on a topic of your choice which has been approved by the supervisor. It requires both secondary and primary research, and the demonstration of originality in integrating theoretical and practical research methods in tackling a particular problem. You will be encouraged to carry out your dissertation in collaboration with an organisation in the field of development and environment.

Community Volunteer Project
You will undertake an independent volunteer project which will give you practical experience in gaining sustainability related work experience in a non-for profit organisation. The project will enhance your employability whilst and provide an opportunity to gain practical experience of third sector organisational objectives, cultures and practices.

Elective course units:
ICT4D
This course gives you the opportunity to develop deeper understandings of cutting-edge applications of ICT4D research and practice. Topics covered include environmental change and Green ICT, open development and subversive forms of technology use, and logics of inclusion and exclusion in ICT programmes. You will also examine project planning, monitoring and evaluation in the field of ICT4D.

Business Ethics and Enterprise
The aim of the course is to equip students with the moral frameworks and critical abilities necessary to understand the role of business in society from an ethical perspective. The course will cover different types of business including large publicly traded multinationals, small and medium sized enterprises, social enterpises and family firms. Students will be expected to understand the different issues in these organizational types and to articulate moral arguments from a range of different perspectives.

International Sustainability Management
This course provides participants with an understanding of how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) informs sustainability management issues in large, transnational organisations. It will focus on issues such as consumption and sustainability as dichotomised between the apparently incompatible tensions of economic and environmental interests.

Other courses Geopolitics and Security / PIR / Management / Computer science

On completion of the course graduates will have:
- an understanding at an advanced level of the relationships between, and complexities of, social, economic, political and environmental aspects of sustainable development

- an understanding at an advanced level of how the key issues in sustainable development theory influence policy and impact on practice

- the ability to critically analyse complex or contradictory areas of knowledge in aspects of sustainable development.

Assessment

Assessment is carried out by a variety of methods including coursework and a dissertation.

Employability & career opportunities

Past students of the course are now employed by international development and environment agencies, national policy making and implementing agencies, higher education institutions, private sector natural resource companies and NGOs; as environmental and development workers, activists, teachers and researchers. Many of our alumni are also currently undertaking doctoral programmes in the UK and abroad.

How to apply

Applications for entry to all our full-time postgraduate degrees can be made online https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/postgraduate/applying/howtoapply.aspx .

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Who is this programme for?:

The programme is for students who want to analyse and work on social change for the working poor in developing countries. It is highly relevant to anyone working or intending to work on labour and labour-related social movements in development agencies and NGOs, labour and solidarity movements, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and to activists in both developed and developing countries. We welcome students with a strong background in the social sciences in their first degree, as well as practitioners and professionals working in the areas of development, labour and employment relations, social movements and other related fields.

A unique Programme

This innovative new programme offers students the opportunity to study labour conditions and relations, social movements of labour and their contributions to development processes and changes in the South. It is the first and only MSc programme in the UK dedicated to Labour, Social Movements and Development. It provides a critical examination of the links between labour, capitalism, development and poverty. It investigates labour in contemporary social and economic development of the South as well as classic and newly emerging social movements of labour in local, national and international spaces. Students will also have the opportunity to experience labour campaigns and policy-making in practice by participating in our interactive sessions on designing and implementing international, regional and national labour campaigns and policies. The MSc draws on the expertise of Department of Development Studies staff in labour, social movements and development in Latin America, Africa and Asia, and on our contacts within such movements, as well as with NGOs and international organisations.

The MSc in Labour, Social Movements and Development explores different theories and methods for the study of the working poor in the South, and offers a critical examination of the links between labour, capitalism, development and poverty, and of the role of social movements and international initiatives for labour.

Highlights include:

- Labour process and organisations: development trajectories and divisions in the South

- A comparative history of labour and social movements in countries such as China, Korea, India, South Africa, Brazil and the Middle East

- Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives, codes of conduct and anti-sweatshop campaigning

- The impact of neoliberalism and globalisation on workers in the South

- Informalisation of labour, casualization and precarious work

- Feminisation of labour

- The worst forms of exploitation: forced labour and child labour

- Rural labour, migrant labour and labour in Export Processing Zones

- Household and reproductive labour

- The International Labour Organisation, international labour standards and decent work

- Practices and theories of local, national and international labour campaigns.

The unique regional expertise at SOAS allows students of the MSc in Labour, Social Movements and Development to specialise in some of the most dynamic parts of the developing world. The programme’s emphasis on transferable analytical skills will be of great benefit to graduates who return to, or take up, professional careers in international organisations, government agencies and non-governmental organisations and movements. Students also benefit from the wide range of modules on offer, both within the department and across the School, allowing them to create individualised interdisciplinary programmes.

The department has a Labour, Movements and Development research cluster (http://www.soas.ac.uk/development/research/labour/) which carries out research activities linked to labour, social movements and development.

Visit the website http://www.soas.ac.uk/development/programmes/msc-labour-social-movements-and-development/

Structure

- Overview
There are four main components to this degree: three taught modules and a 10,000 word dissertation. All students take a core module, Labour, Social Movements and Development. They then select one of two further modules: Political Economy of Development or Theory, Policy and Practice of Development. Through these modules students build their analytical skills and knowledge of the main issues and debates in Development Studies.

- Specialisation
Students also take optional modules (one full unit module or two half-unit modules), allowing them to specialise in particular areas of development and potentially to develop a dissertation in a related theme. By tying these to their individual dissertation topic, students design their degree to suit their own interests and career development goals.

Students should be aware that not all optional modules may run in a given year. Modules at other institutions are not part of the approved programme structure.

Programme Specification

Programme Specification 2015/16 (pdf; 79kb) - http://www.soas.ac.uk/development/programmes/msc-labour-social-movements-and-development/file101781.pdf

Materials

- SOAS Library
SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.

Teaching & Learning

Modules are taught by a combination of methods, principally lectures, tutorial classes, seminars and supervised individual study projects.

The MSc programme consists of three taught modules (corresponding to three examination papers) and a dissertation.

- Lectures

Most modules involve a two hour lecture as a key component with linked tutorial classes.

- Seminars

At Masters level there is particular emphasis on seminar work. Students make full-scale presentations for each unit that they take, and are expected to write papers that often require significant independent work.

- Dissertation

A quarter of the work for the degree is given over to the writing of an adequately researched 10,000-word dissertation. Students are encouraged to take up topics which relate the study of a particular region to a body of theory.

Employment

A postgraduate degree in Labour, Social Movements and Development from SOAS provides graduates with a portfolio of widely transferable skills sought by employers, including analytical skills, the ability to think laterally and employ critical reasoning, and knowing how to present materials and ideas effectively both orally and in writing. Equally graduates are able to continue in the field of research, continuing their studies either at SOAS or other institutions.

An MSc in Labour, Social Movements and Development is a valuable experience that provides students with a body of work and a diverse range of skills that they can use to market themselves with when they graduate.

For more information about Graduate Destinations from this department, please visit the Careers Service website (http://www.soas.ac.uk/careers/graduate-destinations/).

Find out how to apply here - http://www.soas.ac.uk/admissions/pg/howtoapply/

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MSc in Development Management

This MSc provides learning opportunities, culminating in a research project that will enhance your capacity to manage development. If you have responsibility for development interventions, you will find your practice challenged and developed. If you are a professional – engineer, health worker, educationalist, banker, for example – working in development contexts, you will develop an understanding of those contexts, and a grasp of the skills necessary to negotiate them. And if you are thinking about moving into development work, you will find a guide to the world you are entering and build up a variety of skills needed to manage development.

Key features of the course

• Links a critical understanding of theory with the realities of development, policy and practice
• Develops key skills, including strategic thinking and planning, relationship building, mapping and modelling, negotiation and brokering
• Builds the research skills needed to create evidence-based understandings of development management problems and to make cases for change
• Encourages critically reflective practice, produces practitioners willing and competent to ask questions about how development is being managed, and how it might be managed better.

This qualification is eligible for a Postgraduate Loan available from Student Finance England.

Modules

There are two routes through this qualification:

•Route A for students starting their studies from May 2015 onwards
•Route B for students who started their studies before May 2015. If you are following this route you must complete your studies by 31 December 2021.

For both routes, we recommend that you study Capacities for managing development (T878) before Institutional development (TU872).
If you are interested in international development, and in particular if you are new to the subject, we recommend that you begin with the optional module Development: context and practice (T877) before moving on to T878 and TU872.
You must finish your MSc with the Development management project (TU874).

You can find additional information about postgraduate development management studies on the OU Development Policy and Practice website.

Route A – to gain this qualification, you need 180 credits as follows:

90 credits of compulsory modules:

Compulsory modules

• Capacities for managing development (T878)
• Conflict and development (T879)
• Institutional development (TU872)

Plus

60 credits from this list (or 30 credits plus 30 credits from any other postgraduate modules):

Optional modules

• Business, human rights law and corporate responsibility (W822)
• Development: context and practice (T877)
• Leading healthcare improvements (K827)
• Making environmental decisions (T891)
• Managing systemic change: inquiry, action, and interaction (TU812)
• MBA stage 1: management: perspectives and practice (B716)
• MBA stage 1: management: perspectives and practice (fast-track) (BXFT716)
• Problem solving and improvement: quality and other approaches (T889)
• Project management (M815)
• Thinking strategically: systems tools for managing change (TU811)

Plus

Compulsory module

• Development management project (TU874)

Route B – to gain this qualification, you need 180 credits as follows:

60 credits of compulsory modules:

Compulsory modules

• Capacities for managing development (T878)
• Institutional development (TU872)

Plus

90 credits from this list (or 60 credits plus 30 credits from any other postgraduate modules):

Optional modules

• Business, human rights law and corporate responsibility (W822)
• Conflict and development (T879)
• Development: context and practice (T877)
• Leading healthcare improvements (K827)
• Making environmental decisions (T891)
• Managing systemic change: inquiry, action, and interaction (TU812)
• MBA stage 1: management: perspectives and practice (B716)
• MBA stage 1: management: perspectives and practice (fast-track) (BXFT716)
• Problem solving and improvement: quality and other approaches (T889)
• Project management (M815)
• Thinking strategically: systems tools for managing change (TU811)

Plus

Compulsory module

• Development management project (TU874)

The modules quoted in this description are currently available for study. However, as we review the curriculum on a regular basis, the exact selection may change over time.

Credit transfer

If you have already completed some successful study at postgraduate level at another institution you may be able to transfer credit for this study and count it towards this Open University qualification. If you wish to apply to transfer credit you must do so as soon as possible as it may affect your choice of OU modules. If you are awarded credit for study completed elsewhere, you may find that you need to study fewer OU modules to complete your qualification with us. Visit our Credit Transfer site for more information and details of how to apply for credit transfer.

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The Master of Development Studies equips students with knowledge and tools for understanding and researching today’s development issues. The coursework of this programme lays the foundation for studying development in multidisciplinary perspective, covering theoretical and practical aspects. We address contemporary challenges arising from globalization, and transition students to the dissertation portion of the program through training in research methodology. Elective courses focus on major issues in development: poverty and inequality, industrialization, the role of institutions, sustainable development, and entrepreneurship.

INTRODUCTION

The Master of Development Studies is a multidisciplinary programme that sets to provide solid grounding in development from theoretical, conceptual, historical and contemporary perspectives, as well as a good grasp of empirical research, policy analysis, and development in practice particularly applicable to development scholars, practitioners and policymakers. The programme exposes students to development theories and a wide range of topics related to development. The students are also trained to conduct research in development studies.



ENTRY REQUIREMENT

A Bachelor degree with a minimum of CGPA 3.0 or equivalent and sufficient knowledge of development studies or relevant field.



PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

CORE COURSES (24 Credits)

- Philosophy and Methodology of Research

- Research Project

- Development Theory and Practice

- Globalization and Development



OPTIONAL COURSES (A+B)



(A) AT LEAST 3 OPTIONAL COURSES (9 Credits)

- Poverty and Inequality

- Sustainable Development and Environmental Management

- Entrepreneurship and Development

- Institutions, Industrial Development and Economic Growth

- Economics of Education

- Gender and Development Issues



(B) NOT MORE THAN 3 OPTIONAL COURSES (9 Credits)

- The Malaysian Economy

- Economic Development and Planning

- Public Economics

- Islamic Banking and Finance

- Public Policy Analysis

- Social Policy and Development

- Planning Community and Development



PROGRAMME DURATION

Minimum: 2 Semesters

Maximum: 8 Semesters



LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS (For International Applicants)

Minimum TOEFL score of 550 or;

Minimum IELTS overall band score of 5.5



FEES STRUCTURE

AVERAGE FEES*

MALAYSIAN

RM 14,130.00*

INTERNATIONAL

RM 27,867.50*

*Subject to change

Facilities

The faculty is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as two computer teaching laboratories equipped with LCD and statistical software with a total capacity for 105 students, a student computer laboratory for 51 students and five lecture theatres.

In addition, the beautiful new building for postgraduate studies, houses 15 seminar rooms, a computer laboratory with a capacity for 54 computer workstations, 2 conference halls with a capacity of 100 persons each and 3 wireless LAN coverage (WiFi) zones within the faculty.

Indeed, FEA is one of the few premier institutions that can provide such quality, in terms of facilities.

Career Opportunity

- Government agencies ( federal, state, local and others)
- International development agencies
- Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
- Non-profit organizations
- Educational services (universities, colleges and others)
- Policy and research bodies

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This programme examines development planning in the context of environmental concerns in urban areas of the Global South. It challenges mainstream approaches to development, focusing instead upon transformative action for environmental justice. Many of our graduates go on to help shape future sustainable development agendas in local government, international agencies and civil society organisations.

Degree information

The focus of this degree is the complexity and variety of current environmental problems in urban regions, their causes and impacts, and the possibilities and limitations of environmental planning and management. Students learn how to respond to processes that generate social and environmental change, and how to develop strategies to steer urban environmental planning towards sustainability and environmental justice.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme consists of three core modules (90 credits), one or two optional modules (30 credits), and a dissertation (60 credits). A Postgraduate Diploma, three core modules (90 credits), one or two optional modules (30 modules), full-time nine months, is offered.

Core modules
-The Political Ecology of Environmental Change
-Environment and Sustainable Development in Practice
-Urban Environmental Planning and Management in Development

Optional modules
-Adapting Cities to Climate Change in the Global South
-Disaster Risk Reduction in Cities
-NGOs and Social Transformation
-Food and the City
-Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture: Knowledge Systems in the Global South
-Sustainable Infrastructure and Services in Development
-Urban Water and Sanitation, Planning and Policy
-Socially Sensitive Development in Practice
-Social Development and Poverty Reduction: From Theory to Practice
-Managing the City Economy
-Housing policy, programme and project alternatives
-The City and Its Relations
-Urban Development Policy, Planning and Management

Not all modules may be available.

Dissertation/report
All MSc students submit a 10,000-word dissertation on a topic related to the main themes of the programme. The topic can be chosen to enhance career development or for its inherent interest.

Teaching and learning
The programme comprises reading, essay writing, critical discussion and project work, facilitated through lectures, seminars, workshops, extensive fieldwork and discussions with practitioners covering theoretical and practical tasks and case study analysis. Assessment is through coursework, examinations, and the dissertation.

Careers

Most previous graduates of this programme are now engaged in professional activities, ranging from local and national government, consultancy firms and national and international NGOs, to United Nations programmes and international aid agencies the world over.

Examples of organisations where graduates are employed include:
-Public Sector: DEFRA and DfID (UK), Ministerio das Cidades (Brazil) and many other local government organisations
-International Agencies and NGOs: UNEP, UNDP, UN-Habitat, JICA, GIZ (former GTZ), InsightShare, Save the Children, and WWF
-Think tanks, academic and research organisations: IIEED, Stockholm Environment Institute, Resources for Development Center, WaterWise and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport
-Private companies: HappoldConsulting, EcoSecurities, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Dialogue by Design, and BioRegionalQuintain.

Top career destinations for this degree:
-Ethical Trading Specialist, Tesco
-Research Analyst, WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature)
-Research Associate, Rethinking Cities Ltd.
-EngD Technologies for Sustainable Built Environments, University of Reading
-Graduate Project Officer, Leicester City Council and studying Certificate in Permaculture, Permaculture Association

Employability
Our programme equips students with several interdisciplinary and transferable skills including report writing, data collection and analysis, communication, research and project management skills and teamwork.

Our students network with diverse organisations in the UK and internationally, and in the field they may work directly with local public and private partners. Academic staff are involved in research, consultancy and development practice, influencing global debates on development such as UNFCCC negotiations, the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Habitat III agenda. Students can meet alumni and other individuals and groups forming part of this network, which is concerned with issues of socially just and sustainable development in the Global South.

Why study this degree at UCL?

This programme offers an in-depth theoretical and practical understanding of socio-environmental change, equipping graduates with the skills required to face global challenges in urban regions while being sensitive to local contexts.

For the last 60 years the Development Planning Unit at UCL has championed forms of development planning that promote social justice in the context of rapid urbanisation in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The programme provides opportunities to interact with leading thinkers in development planning and students will join an international network of researchers and practitioners.

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This MSc offers a critical approach to 'people-centred' development, addressing the challenges for equitable citizenship in the context of social diversity and globalisation, particularly in urban contexts. Participants engage in a critical analysis of the theory and practice of social development alongside gaining the skills required to be a reflective social development practitioner.

Degree information

The programme objectives are to give participants a solid grounding in social analysis skills and perspectives, rooted in social theory around identity, inequality, and social change processes. Students learn how development interventions can best support the citizenship claims of diverse groups of women and men, and girls and boys living in the Global South, and consider the role of the social development practitioner in this endeavour.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of three core modules (90 credits), either one or two optional modules (totalling 30 credits) and a dissertation (60 credits). A Postgraduate Diploma (full-time nine months) is offered, comprising three core modules (90 credits) and one or two optional modules (30 credits).

Core modules - all three of the following:
-Social Policy and Citizenship
-Social Diversity, Inequality, and Poverty
-Social Development in Practice

Optional modules - one or two optional modules, totalling 30 credits, usually including the following, among others:
-NGOs and Social Transformation
-Communication, Technologies and Social Power
-Gender in Policy and Planning
-Participatory Processes: Building for Development
-Disaster Risk Reduction in Cities
-Post Disaster Recovery: Policies, Practices and Alternatives
-Critical Urbanism Studio I and II
-Housing as Urbanism: Housing Policy and the Search for Scale
-Housing Policies: Practical Dimensions and Alternative Options
-Neo-Structuralism and the Developmental State
-Political Economy of Development: Land, Food and Agriculture
-Political Economy of Development: Industrialisation and Infrastructure
-Adapting Cities to Climate Change in the Global South
-Sustainable Infrastructure and Services in Development
-Urban Water and Sanitation, Planning and Politics
-Transport Equity and Urban Mobility
-Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture: Knowledge Systems in the Global South
-The City and Its Relations: Context, Institutions and Actors in Urban Development Planning
-Managing the City Economy

Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project related to the main themes of the programme, culminating in a dissertation report of 10,000 words (60 credits). Topics may be chosen to enhance career development or for their inherent interest.

Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, practical classroom exercises, and fieldwork within the UK and abroad. Student performance is assessed through coursework, examinations, and a dissertation report as well as an assessment of practical work, including the international fieldwork group report.

Fieldwork
The programme incorporates group fieldwork in London and in a selected country of the Global South. The cost of flights, visas, necessary vaccinations, accommodation, and fieldwork-related travel and facilitations costs, are incorporated within the programme fees. Meals and other expenditure must be covered by the student.

Careers

Graduates of this Master's programme are likely to find employment as officers for local and international NGOs, as officers for international organisations, as officers in local or national government departments and as consultants. Some graduates pursue an academic career, either through doctoral studies or through teaching and research in a number of prestigious universities.

Top career destinations for this degree:
-Head of Strategy Funding, Global Witness
-Researcher, Chinese Federation of Trade Unions
-Development Consultant, World Bank Group
-Corporate Responsibility Manager, Odebrecht
-Project Co-Ordinator, Thamani Youth of Kenya

Employability
Graduates of this programme are able to link theory to practice, critically reflect, and negotiate complex social relations as well as facilitate social processes in a context of diversity - all key transferable skills in the job market. Graduates have secured jobs in a variety of sectors and countries and built fulfilling careers in social development.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The programme introduces students to critical, analytical and practical skills that will be of use in their future careers, whether as academics, social development practitioners or advocates for the need to place the 'social' at the centre of development. Students have an opportunity to critically examine relevant bodies of knowledge, current debates and field experience in primarily urban contexts, and to consider the challenges of making development policy, planning and practice more socially responsive.

Students on this MSc benefit from the strong practical component, which includes fieldwork assignments in London and an international field trip to a city in the Global South. This trip provides the opportunity to develop practical skills, use tools for participatory action research, and reflect on the roles and responsibilities of social development practitioners.

The practice-based components of the programme also provide students with the opportunity to network with organisations and professionals working in the social development sector. In a complementary series of careers sessions, students can network with Development Planning Unit alumni and partners who are working in relevant fields.

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The MA in International Development is a unique interdisciplinary programme taught by academics, practitioners and policymakers to understand the multifaceted political, economic and legal processes that shape development. It is suitable for students seeking to understand the field of international development as well as for practitioners who already have substantive experience. It provides conceptual tools and practical skills for a variety of careers in international affairs.

The programme seeks to contribute to a critical understanding of contemporary issues in development and provides practical tools for a future engagement. It considers theoretical, practical and ethical issues by interrogating development discourses, objectives and effects, and by seeking to understand forms of inclusion/exclusion and intervention in societies. Issues covered include economic development, poverty eradication, legal empowerment, public-private partnerships, social entrepreneurship, trade and privatisation, informal economies and finance, and technological initiatives.

The programme is offered jointly by the School of Politics and International Relations, Kent Law School and the School of Economics, to provide you with an interdisciplinary approach to development and to allow you to specialise in your field of interest, such as development economics, development and migration, development and conflict, or human rights. You may choose between an economic stream and a politico-legal stream, complemented by a wealth of elective modules from various departments.

Visit the website https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/55/international-development

About the Brussels School of International Studies (BSIS)

The Brussels School of International Studies (BSIS) is a multidisciplinary postgraduate School of the University of Kent. We bring together the disciplines of politics, international relations, law and economics to provide in-depth analysis of international problems such as conflict, security, development, migration, the political economy and the legal basis of a changing world order.

We are a truly international School: our students are drawn from over 50 countries. The strong international composition of our staff and student body contributes significantly to the academic and social experience at BSIS (http://www.kent.ac.uk/brussels/studying/index.html). Being located in Brussels allows us to expose students to the working of major international organisations, such as the EU and NATO, and to the many international and non-governmental organisations based here. Students also have the opportunity to undertake an internship with one of these organisations.

Course structure

We are committed to offering flexible study options at the School and enable you to tailor your degree to meet your needs by offering start dates in September and January; full- and part-time study; split-site options, and allowing students to combine two fields of study leading to the award of a degree that reflects both disciplines.

Specialisations

The MA in International Development allows students to choose secondary areas of specialisation from the range of programmes offered at BSIS. Thus, a focused programme of study can be constructed by studying International Development in the context of International Relations; Conflict and Security; Human Rights Law and other subject areas we cover.

This leads to the award of an MA degree in, for example, 'International Development with Human Rights Law'.

Standard and extended versions

The LLM is offered in both a standard version (90 ECTS credits) and an extended version (120 ECTS credits) and in each case students may take the programme with or without a secondary specialisation. Those on the extended version will take more modules to gain extra credit.

Programme aims

The programme aims to:

- provide a postgraduate qualification of value to those intending to pursue a career in the field of international development

- provide a detailed knowledge and a high level of understanding of a range of specialised subject areas

- provide access to a range of disciplinary perspectives on international development, in the framework of an interdisciplinary graduate school with cognate programmes in international relations, conflict analysis, international law, and migration studies

- provide a sound knowledge and systematic understanding of the institutional structures and policy fields of international development

- provide a degree of specialisation in areas of international development of individual interest from among the range of options that are available and which require you to engage with academic work that is at the frontiers of scholarship

- encourage you to develop a critical awareness of the discourses and practices associated with the field of international development, particularly in contexts which are perceived to be controversial or in a state of evolution

- provide you with a research-active learning environment which gives you a good grounding in the study of the contending approaches and issues in international development, and allows you to place the subject in its proper context within the broader field of international studies

- encourage you to develop critical, analytical, communicative and problem-solving skills which can be applied to a wide range of contexts (transferable skills).

- develop skills in the written presentation of arguments in a manner which meets relevant academic conventions

- contribute to widening participation in higher education by taking account of past experience of applicants in determining admissions whilst ensuring that all students that are admitted possess the potential to complete the programme successfully

- develop your general research skills and personal skills (transferable skills), in particular through a substantial dissertation.

Careers

The School of Politics and International Relations has a dedicated Employability, Placements and Internships Officer who works with students to develop work-based placements in a range of organisations. Centrally, the Careers and Employability Service can help you plan for your future by providing one-to-one advice at any stage of your postgraduate studies.

Many students at our Brussels centre who undertake internships are offered contracts in Brussels immediately after graduation. Others have joined their home country’s diplomatic service, entered international organisations, or have chosen to undertake a ‘stage’ at the European Commission, or another EU institution. Our graduates have gone on to careers in academia, local and national government and public relations.

A postgraduate degree in the area of economics is a particularly valuable and flexible qualification that can open the door to exciting careers in many professions. Our graduates have gone on to work as economists in international organisations, the financial sector, business, UK and overseas governments, and to further postgraduate training and academic careers at Kent, UK and overseas universities. Recent MSc graduates have gone on to work for companies in the UK such as BNP Paribas, AXA, FactSet and PwC.

Kent has an excellent record for postgraduate employment: over 94% of our postgraduate students who graduated in 2013 found a job or further study opportunity within six months.

Find out how to apply here - https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/apply/

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The production, reproduction and transformation of urban space via socially, economically, and environmentally just methods presents a complex challenge for professionals. This MSc combines cultural, social, economic, political and spatial analysis to recalibrate the urban design project, presenting a holistic response in which informality and marginality are central features.

Degree information

The programme will equip students with a political economy understanding of space; a comprehension of the needs, abilities, aspirations and forms of resistance of urban dwellers; the ability to respond with strategically co-ordinated proposals to leverage local abilities to meet local needs; and an ability to critically engage with the practice of urban design and architecture in developmental processes – particularly in the Global South.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of three core modules (90 credits), two optional modules (30 credits) and a development and planning report (60 credits).

Core modules
-Transforming Local Areas: Urban Design for Development
-Participatory Process: Building for Development
-The BUDD Studio: Building and Urban Design Practice

Optional modules
-Critical Urbanism Studio I. Learning from Informality: Case studies and alternatives
-Critical Urbanism Studio II: Investigative Design Strategies for Contested Spaces
-Disaster Risk Reduction in Cities
-Post Disaster Recovery: Policies, Practices and Alternatives
-Housing Policy, Programme and Project Alternatives
-Housing as Urbanism: Housing Policy and the Search for Scale
-Adapting Cities to Climate Change in the Global South
-The Political Ecology of Environmental Change
-Sustainable Infrastructure and Services in Development
-Urban Water and Sanitation, Planning and Politics
-Social Policy and Citizenship
-Gender in Policy and Planning
-The City and its Relations: Context, Institutions and Actors in Urban Development Planning
-Urban Development Policy, Planning and Management: Strategic Action in Theory and Practice
-Transport Equity and Urban Mobility
-Industrialisation and Infrastructure
-Food and the City
-Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture: Knowledge Systems in the Global South
-NGOs and Social Transformation

Please note, the availability of some modules may be dependent on student numbers.

Dissertation/report
All MSc students submit a 10,000-word report on a topic related to the main themes of the programme. The topic can be chosen to enhance career development or for its inherent interest.

Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of weekly lectures, seminar presentations, group exercises and workshops. The BUDD studio includes a fieldwork project in an urban reality of the global south, developed in partnership with local organisations, networks of communities, slum dweller federations, universities and governments alike. Students are encouraged to explore different tools, concepts and ideas throughout the programme and test these during the field project. Assessment is through coursework, design work, written examinations and the 10,000-word report.

Careers

The programme enables graduates to work in NGOs and local government – facilitating community organisations and households to improve their living conditions. Graduate destinations range from UK-based organisations in the public, private and community sectors, to governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, which operate in a development capacity in the South. Recent graduates have also been employed by international NGOs and aid and development agencies and architectural and design practices. Some graduates return to their home countries and engage in urban design and architecture practice, teaching, or research of urban development there; others have successfully sought employment away from their own countries.

Top career destinations for this degree:
-Architectural Assistant, Foster + Partners
-Architectural Designer, Thinking Development
-Research Assistant/PhD in Development Planning, UCL
-Urban Designer/Visual Designer, Nanjing Yangtze River Urban Architectural Design Co. Ltd
-Project Manager, Home Office

Why study this degree at UCL?

The UCL Bartlett is the UK's largest multidisciplinary faculty of the built environment, bringing together dozens of scientific and professional specialisms required to research, understand, design, construct and operate the buildings and urban environments of the future.

The Development Planning Unit is an international centre concerned with promoting sustainable forms of development, understanding rapid urbanisation and encouraging innovation in the policy, planning and management responses to the economic, social and environmental development of cities and regions, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Its programmes are supported by international agencies as well as by national and provincial governments.

The Building and Urban Design in Development (BUDD) programme in particular reflects on the necessity of design practices to contribute to changing the mainstream paradigm of working with the urban poor, with communities and the city itself.

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This MSc equips students with the analytical, methodological and practical expertise needed to positively contribute to development in countries where they are actively involved. Students acquire the tools necessary to respond to a diverse range of problems including productive capacity, intersectoral integration, economic and social diversification, and self-sufficiency.

Degree information

Students develop the ability to analyse the development process and to formulate appropriate policies for meeting development goals. The field trip, conducted in a developing country, provides the opportunity to study the problems encountered in development, and the cultural, administrative and institutional context in which decisions are made.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme consists of four core modules (90 credits), optional modules (30 credits) and dissertation (60). A Postgraduate Diploma, four core modules (90 credits), optional modules (30 credits), full-time nine months, is offered. A Postgraduate Certificate, four optional modules (60 credits), full-time 15 weeks or flexible study over a period of up to two years, is offered.

Core modules - four core modules
-Contemporary Approaches to Development Management
-Development in Practice
-Critical Ideas of Development Conceptions and Realities
-Society and Market: Private Agency for Development

Recommended optional modules include:
-Adapting Cities to Climate Change in the Global South
-Cost Benefit Analysis: Theory and Practice
-Critical Urbanism Studio I - Learning from Informality: Case Studies and Alternatives
-Critical Urbanism Studio II - Investigative Design Strategies for Contested Spaces
-Disaster Risk Reduction in Cities
-Food and the City
-Gender in Policy and Planning
-Housing as urbanism: housing policy and the search for scale
-Housing policies: practical dimensions and alternative options
-Industrialisation and Infrastructure
-Land, Food and Agriculture
-Neo-Structuralism and the Developmental State
-Social Diversity, Inequality and Poverty
-Social Policy and Citizenship
-The City and Its Relations: Context, Institutions and Actors in Urban Development Planning
-The Political Ecology of Environmental Change
-Transport Equity and Urban Mobility
-Transforming Local Areas: Urban Design for Development
-Urbanisation and Development
-Or any other open MSc module in The Bartlett School of Planning.

Please note: not all optional modules listed above may be available.

Dissertation/report
All MSc students submit a 10,000-word paper on a topic related to the main themes of the programme. The topic is chosen by the student in dialogue with the Programme Director.

Teaching and learning
The programme consists of reading, essay writing and individual and group project work, in the context of lectures, seminars, workshops, case study analysis, and a field trip abroad. In recent years field trip destinations have included Uganda and Ethiopia. Student performance is assessed through coursework, unseen examinations and a final dissertation report.

Fieldwork
The overseas fieldwork trip is a practical research-based residential that helps draw the various elements of the degree together.
The DPU will cover the following costs of the field trip: return flights, visas, travel insurance, accommodation and fees, and costs of local experts and inputs. However, food, local travel and incidental expenses of a personal nature will not be covered by the DPU.

Careers

Graduates are engaged in a diversity of professional activities including local, regional and national government, consultancy firms, national and international NGOs, United Nations programmes and international aid agencies. A small proportion of graduates pursue advanced research degrees while several work as academics in leading universities or as independent consultants.

Top career destinations for this degree:
-Project Manager, London Borough of Camden
-Administration Officer, Pakistani Government
-Coordinator, Department of Development Administration and Planning
-Campaigning Researcher, Gaia Foundation
-Consultant, United Nations Development Program (UNDP)

Employability
The central objective of this programme is to equip participants with the analytical, methodological and practical expertise necessary to make a positive contribution to the development effort in countries with which they are engaged.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The Development Planning Unit (DPU) at UCL is an international centre concerned with promoting sustainable forms of development, understanding rapid urbanisation and encouraging innovation in the policy, planning and management of cities and regions, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Its programmes are supported by international agencies and by national and provincial governments.

This MSc examines and analyses the theory and practice of development administration at international, national and regional levels to provide participants with an understanding of the processes generating social change and with the skills and abilities to respond.

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MSc International Development Studies

If development aid is just a waste of money, how can we find a better way to improve the livelihoods of people? With regions and countries fighting for land, water, and resources, how can we help people recover from conflict and war? How can we transform the right to food, water, and a clean environment into reality? These are just a few examples of issues relating to development studies.

The International Development Studies programme allows you to develop a critical understanding of development theories. You will learn to plan and conduct research. You acquire the skills to translate your finding into development policies, intervention strategies and institutional innovations. You will learn to include the diverging views of various stakeholders and to work in multidisciplinary teams.

Programme summary

This programme deals with worldwide processes of development and change related to livelihoods, agro-food networks and the environment in a dynamic international context. Special attention is given to exclusion processes, equity, unequal access to resources and sustainability. Social, economic, political, technological, and environmental change is studied from various perspectives and at different levels. You will develop a critical understanding of recent development theories, learn to plan and conduct research, and acquire skills to translate research findings into recommendations for policies and intervention strategies. You will learn to include the diverging views of various stakeholders and to work in multidisciplinary teams. Depending on your previous education, you can follow one of the specialisations. .

Specialisations

Students can choose one of the following three specialisations after consultation with the study advisor. The selected specialisation mainly depends on your academic background.

Sociology of Development
This specialisation focuses on social transformation processes, especially the local consequences of globalisation and environmental change, and the way people cope with uncertain circumstances. Themes studied include natural resource degradation, refugees, migration, post-disaster reconstruction, social unrest, poverty, and lack of access to resources crucial to the livelihoods of people. This specialisation applies sociological and anthropological perspectives to development problems with special attention given to understanding the differing interests and views of numerous actors. You can choose a major in Disaster Studies, Environmental Policy, Sociology of Development and Change, or Rural Sociology.

Economics of Development
The central themes in this specialisation are the role of agriculture in development, food security and the global food crisis, regional economic issues, sustainable use of natural resources, rural-urban income disparities, and issues related to poverty and the role of institutions. These themes are examined from a microeconomic perspective to gain insight into the behaviour of individuals and institutions, as well as from a macroeconomic perspective to obtain insight into development processes at regional and national levels. You can major in Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy, Development Economics, Environmental Economics and Natural Resources, or Regional Economics.

Communication, Technology and Policy
In this specialisation, social transformation and sustainable development are examined with a specific focus on communication, technological innovations, and policy processes. An important theme is how technologies and policies are developed in the interaction between various parties (e.g. governments, social organisations, and citizens) and the role of communication in these processes. Another theme is the relationship between technological change (in the agricultural and food sectors), institutional processes and social transformation. You can choose a major in Knowledge, Technology and Innovation, Law and Governance, or Strategic Communication.

Your future career

Graduates are employed in various (inter-) national organisations as a programme/ project coordinator, trainer, consultant, advisor, policymaker or researcher. You could work, for example, as policymaker in a government or semi-governmental institute, as programme coordinator or advisor in an international (non-)governmentalorganisation or (consultancy) company, or as researcher and/or teacher at a university or research institute. Examples of organisations include: FAO, World Bank, European Union, UTZ Certified, Oxfam Novib, Rabobank Foundation, CARE, Sustainalytics and UNICEF.

Alumnus Luckmore Jalisi.
“I have really benefitted from what I learnt during my studies. This master has opened doors for me." Luckmore did the specialisation Sociology of Development and conducted both his internship and thesis research in a refugee camp in Uganda. These experiences were important in getting him his job as Youth and Governance Advisor at ActionAid in Liberia. “I support postconflict youth development programmes based on a human rights approach, and develop monitoring & evaluation tools for governance and youth development work. I draw on the knowledge and skills acquired during my studies and my classmates from Wageningen remain valuable contacts in my network.”

Related programmes:
MSc Development and Rural Innovation
Health and Society (specialisation)
MSc Applied Communication Science
MSc International Land and Water Management
MSc Leisure, Tourism and Environment
MSc Management, Economics and Consumer Studies

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This Master's degree will be of particular interest to anyone wishing to develop an anthropological understanding of global development, policy and practice and their local impacts. Its combination of anthropology with other international development disciplines provides a good grounding for anyone wishing to use an anthropological perspective when working in multidisciplinary teams. It provides a solid base for those planning a career in development agencies, the non-governmental sector and other international organisations, and for those working in such institutions who wish to take a larger role in the direct provision of services or policy development. It is also relevant for people interested in policy research, in journalism and in undertaking advanced research in international development, anthropology and related fields.

The programme will help you to develop a critical and theoretical understanding of the issues, processes and institutions central to global poverty, inequality and development. It will help you to develop a thorough understanding of theories and methods in anthropology and to apply these to the field of international development. It will enable you to contrast anthropological perspectives on development with those of other disciplines.

The programme's core modules aim to improve your skills in evaluation and analysis, enabling you to participate critically in debates on the changing nature of the multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental institutions designed to address development issues, the context in which they operate and the constraints they face.

You will also have the opportunity to choose from a range of thematic option modules and to undertake a dissertation that examines development from an anthropological perspective. The option modules and dissertation allow you to tailor your programme according to your personal or career interests.

The transferable skills you will develop/enhance during the programme include the capacity to analyse debates and issues in development, team-working, and written and oral communication. You will also learn to locate and analyse qualitative and quantitative data on development from printed and electronic sources.

Why study this course at Birkbeck?

We offer multiple approaches to the study of societies and cultures, human geography, and sustainability, poverty and development, as well as community and citizenship, at local, regional and global levels.
This programme is ideal if you want to further your knowledge of, or are planning a career in, development agencies, international organisations, NGOs, or related areas.
Develop transferable skills, including critical analysis of debates and issues in development, team-working, written and oral communication, and qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
One of the unique strengths of our Department of Geography, Environment and Development Studies is the breadth of research interests of our staff. Subsequently, we offer a very wide range of courses that reflect the disciplinary breadth of development and globalisation, while also allowing you to engage with other disciplines, such as anthropology and sociology.
You will be surrounded by committed fellow students from all cultures, backgrounds and career stages who are eager to share their experience and expertise with their peers.
Ours is a vibrant research culture, powered by a shared passion for learning and intellectual engagement among our academics and students. We have a strong commitment to social justice, which informs and shapes much of our cutting-edge research.
We have strong links with the London International Development Centre, which can enhance your employability.
We offer excellent student support and have a wide range of world-class research resources.

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From natural and human-made disasters, complex emergencies and conflict to environmental sustainability and community development, this globally-focused course explores real-world problems and how to conceptualise and address them.

You will learn how to prepare for, and respond in a crisis. You will develop the planning skills to help minimise impact and avert problems where possible. You will develop advanced knowledge, project management and analytical skills whilst developing a specialism in an area of your choice.

The course is supported by the Disaster and Development Network (DDN) hosted by Northumbria University , which can lead to placements across the world. Our highly employable graduates have moved into a range of exciting careers, including in the UN, governments, development, humanitarian aid organisations, charities and local authorities.

Learn From The Best

Our MSc was the first of its kind in the world. Over the last 16 years our staff and graduates have informed policy at an international level, regularly advising and researching with the United Nations and national development organisations.

With many modules directly relating to the research expertise of teaching staff, you will learn from lecturers who lead knowledge creation in their specialist fields. Through collaborations with scholars, practitioners and senior policy makers across the world, our academics have connections with organisations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, national Emergency Management and Environment Agencies, as well as international and national charities and governments in a range of countries around the world.

You will benefit from our outstanding links with research groups and networks including the University-hosted Disaster Development Network (DDN) which is involved with research and enterprise activities on a global scale.

Teaching And Assessment

In this rapidly expanding field, you will learn through real scenarios and case studies, live research projects, developing your personal and professional responses to disaster and development challenges.

Guided through lectures, seminars and workshops by staff with vast experience in applying their expertise to current world issues, you will develop the knowledge and practical skills needed to prepare for, take action within, and recover from a crisis. You will develop research and methodology skills. You will also develop a specialism in an area such as health and wellbeing in disaster management, integrated emergency management, or exploring a specific thematic subject of your own choice. The course culminates in a Masters dissertation which can take the form of a traditional research dissertation or a work related project.

Assessment is designed to provide an authentic learning experience, using techniques and approaches common in professional practice and subject-based academic research and consultancy. We provide constructive ongoing and forward feedback to develop your understanding within and between modules.

Learning Environment

If you’re looking for specialist software packages or group study areas, our facilities have been developed to help you through your studies.

We also make use of technology in module delivery. Modules take a ‘virtual field study’ approach where real-world examples are brought into the classroom via video clips, podcasts and online discussions with external experts and practitioners.

Lecture materials, learning resources and assessment details are accessible on the eLearning portal (Blackboard), a university-wide system that also provides access to discussion boards where you can communicate with your fellow students and lecturers.

Module Overview
KE7001 - Approaches to Project Management (Core, 20 Credits)
KE7003 - Subject Exploration in Disaster and Development (Optional, 20 Credits)
KE7004 - Themes in Sustainable Development (Core, 20 Credits)
KE7005 - Disaster Risk Reduction and Response (Core, 20 Credits)
KE7006 - Health and Well-being in Disaster and Development (Core, 20 Credits)
KE7007 - Integrated Emergency Management (Optional, 20 Credits)
KE7015 - Research or Work Related Dissertation (Core, 60 Credits)
KE7022 - Postgraduate Research Methods (Core, 20 Credits)

Research-Rich Learning

Research-led teaching and learning is used to guide you from the start to the end of the course. We embed research into lectures, seminars and workshops, drawing on staff and visiting lecturers’ research findings and consultancy.

You will be encouraged to debate key readings and actively engage in critical discussion of research strategies in interactive seminars and workshops. This is reinforced by assessments where you critically evaluate case studies, concepts, applications and research outputs.

Our research into Disaster and Development was ranked by judges representing UK Government Departments and Research Councils among the top 20 impact case studies within the Research Excellence Framework for contribution towards global development. DDN has been researching and facilitating the implementation of disaster risk reduction strategies to improve community resilience in some of the world’s poorest communities since 1994, working with communities in Bangladesh, Mozambique, Nepal, Pakistan and Zimbabwe.

Northumbria is one of three Europe wide groups to represent Europe and Africa in the new Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes, and a leading member of a new UK national research network for implementing the UK research strategy for the Sendai Framework.

Our contribution is supported through the global MSc, doctoral alumni and the annual Dealing with Disasters conference.

Give Your Career An Edge

This postgraduate course is designed to support the development of those seeking to enter a career in the disaster and development fields, as well as to broaden and deepen the career options of those already working in the field. Our connections with professionals working in the sector ensure that the course content is aligned with current practice and relevant to the world, while staff research helps to inform new innovations, reflected in modules on the MSc also.

The course is supported by the Northumbria-based Disaster and Development Network (DDN) and there are also links to the Gender and Disaster Network. Connections that could lead to placements in countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, the Philippines, India, Nepal, Australia and a number of African countries as well as with EU and UK-based organisations.

Your Future

Our graduates are highly employable, equipped with the skills to address hazards, disasters, risks, vulnerabilities and complex emergencies, working with/in relief and development organisations, national authorities and emergency services at a local or global level.

Graduates go on to careers in a diverse range of related areas.

Our graduates work in roles, for example, as a: Emergency Planner or Emergency Planning Manager; Disaster and Development Academic and/or Researcher; Business Contingency Manager; Humanitarian and United Nations Consultant; Deputy Head of Field Officer of the Office of the United Nations for Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA); and are often working for the Environmental Agency, Local Authorities and International, National, Regional and Local Non-Governmental Offices - often at managerial level.

A number of students who already worked in the sector have subsequently progressed to senior roles in United Nations bodies, World Vision and UK Emergency Planning. Others have successfully gone on to PhD research before pursuing a career in academia in a range of countries around the world, both so-called developed and developing.

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Overview

The MSc International Development provides a multidisciplinary social science-based analysis and understanding of international development.

Students undertaking this programme will:

- Conduct a comprehensive review of current issues in international development policy and practice.
- Study a critical in-depth analysis of specific aspects of international development relating to specific areas of interest.

We also encourage diversity of intake in terms of experience, qualifications and interests to stimulate the mutual experience and learning.

This programme has a limited intake of students per year, fostering a friendly and supportive learning environment.

The excellence of the research undertaken within the Department of Social & Policy Sciences has been recognised by the award of the prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2011.

Visit the website http://www.bath.ac.uk/study/pg/programmes/msc-inte-deve/

Core Units

- Foundations of international development
- Economics for international development
- Sociology & social anthropology of development
- Policy and politics of developing countries
- Critical skills for international development and policy research
- Academic research skills and dissertation preparation

Optional units

- Critical issues in social development
- Globalisation & economic insecurity: social policy challenges
- Globalisation 2: political economy of globalisation
- Management of development
- World politics: conflict, security & development
- Sustainable development: natural resources and sustainability
- Wellbeing & human development 2: ethics and public policy
- Wellbeing assessment in public policy and development practice

Students can also study one regional research specialism from South Asia, Africa and Latin Americaas part of an international development extended essay

View Programme & Unit Catalogue (http://www.bath.ac.uk/catalogues/2015-2016/sp/sp-proglist-pg.html#DB) for further information.

Learning and teaching

Our programmes are modular, consisting of self-contained units, taught and assessed on a semester basis. As you progress through each semester and successfully pass the unit assessments, you will receive credit for the units, thus providing you with a clear indication of your academic progress.

Teaching takes the form of lectures, classes and seminars. Lectures are quite formal, whereas classes and seminars involve interaction between the lecturer and a small number of students for study skills and discussion.

Methods of assessment

Assessment consists of a combination of coursework essays, class exercises, projects and oral presentations.

We also place strong emphasis on developing presentation and discussion/communication skills, which in many units is part of the assessed work.

Careers

The Social & Policy Sciences department is committed to ensuring that postgraduate students acquire a range of subject-specific and generic skills during their training.

Our graduates generally go on to work in a wide variety of organisations, such as:

- Social research in universities and research institutes, government, business, voluntary organisations and international organisations.
- Public policy analysis at local, national and international levels.
- Public information and campaigning within organisations concerned with wellbeing, sustainability and social justice.

About the department

The Department of Social & Policy Sciences (http://www.bath.ac.uk/sps/) includes academics from social policy, sociology, social work and international development.

The international excellence of our research (http://www.bath.ac.uk/sps/research/) was recognised by the award of the prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2011.

We are committed to advancing learning and knowledge through teaching and research. Our Department collaborates with a wide range of users at the local, national, European and global levels.

Postgraduate programmes:
We offer a wide range of postgraduate programmes. Our postgraduate teaching strongly reflects our research and our links to policy-makers and development institutions at the national, European and global level.

Our Department also has an active MPhil/PhD research programme. We take great pride in fostering a friendly and supportive learning environment.

Seminar series:
We run a lively and well attended postgraduate research seminar series. Each of the Research Centres run seminar series and conferences associated with their research activities. The University of Bath also has a Research in the World public lecture series where key national and international academics are invited to speak.

Main areas of research

We are an internationally-recognised research-intensive department with a strong focus on policy and practice and a commitment to contribute to social wellbeing and social justice.

We draw together academic staff with backgrounds in Social Policy, Sociology, Social Work and International Development and work closely with colleagues in Psychology, Economics, and Health.

We also have an active and vibrant community of research students (http://www.bath.ac.uk/sps/research/research-students/) undertaking their own research alongside our academic staff.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.bath.ac.uk/hss/graduate-school/taught-programmes/how-to-apply/

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The Human Resources and Development Management pathway is aimed at those who are interested in management in the public, state or NGO sectors in developing, transitional or newly-industrialised countries. This is primarily a public sector management, not a business management, programme, although some of the themes covered are relevant to both sectors. The pathway encourages students to consider and analyse how a changing global environment has shaped the ways in which work is organized and managed and how ideas about leadership and management may be applied differently across cultures and contexts.

The pathway explores the relationship between hard and soft approaches to the analysis and practice of management, for example between human resources management and human resource development, between leadership and management and between vertical bureaucracy and decentralised collaborative management. The pathway considers the interaction between organizational structure, culture, power and motivation in public administration and in international organizations.

Who is the programme for?

The programme is designed for officials, policy analysts and researchers concerned with economic and social development. They may work in central or local government, public enterprises, non-governmental organisations, and research or training organisations. The programme is also appropriate for those who are hoping to enter a career in the field of development.

About the School of Government and Society

The School of Government and Society is one of the leading UK and International centres for governance, politics, international development, sociology, public management, Russian and European studies.

Established in 2008, the School comprises three Departments: Politics and International Studies (POLSIS); International Development (IDD) and Local Government Studies (INLOGOV).

POLSIS: The Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS), one of the largest and most academically vibrant departments of Political Science and International Studies in the UK. In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF) Politics and International Studies at Birmingham was ranked the 6th best in the power rankings highlighting the large number of staff in POLSIS producing world-leading and internationally excellent research.

IDD: Be part of global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Contribute to conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction. Help build capacity of nations and communities to adapt to climate change. Study with us to gain the skills and knowledge essential for working in international development in the 21st Century.

INLOGOV: The Institute of Local Government Studies (INLOGOV) is the leading academic centre for research and teaching on local governance and strategic public management. We enrich the world of local public service with research evidence and innovative ideas, making a positive difference.

Funding and Scholarships

There are many ways to finance your postgraduate study at the University of Birmingham. To see what funding and scholarships are available, please visit: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding

Open Days

Explore postgraduate study at Birmingham at our on-campus open days.
Register to attend at: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/visit

Virtual Open Days

If you can’t make it to one of our on-campus open days, our virtual open days run regularly throughout the year. For more information, please visit: http://www.pg.bham.ac.uk

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This course focuses on the analysis of management, planning and policymaking aspects of the development process. It is designed for social science graduates, or for those working in institutions such as central and local government, parastatal organisations, nongovernmental organisations and multilateral or bilateral aid agencies involved in the management of development activities in developing countries.

It aims to blend theory and practice and seeks to explain policy behaviour through an integrated approach, drawing on a range of disciplinary perspectives.

Aims

-Provide an opportunity for you to deepen your understanding of management, planning and policy-making in economic, social and political spheres of development.
-Provide you with a thorough conceptual framework and the skills necessary to analyse effectively the relationships between development management and development processes.
-Develop professionally-oriented skills related to formulating, investigating and implementing different forms of development management.
-Provide a wide range of options for advanced training in areas of specialist expertise relevant to development and management.
-Develop advanced competencies in transferable areas, including developing reasoned arguments, gathering, organising and using evidence and information from a wide variety of sources, undertaking both team-based and independent work to deadlines, and both written and verbal forms of communication.
-Assist you in developing your specialist area of expertise within development management, and applying your understanding and skills through supervised individual research culminating in a dissertation.

Special features

An overseas field visit is an integral part of the programme. The cost of the visit is covered by the course fee. Recent fieldtrip locations have included Uganda, Ghana, Sri Lanka and India.

Countries to be visited may change their immigration and visa regulations at short notice. We cannot guarantee that where visas are required for the field course, they will be granted. Planning will ensure that, in the unlikely event this occurs, affected students are not academically disadvantaged.

Teaching and learning

Part-time students complete the full-time programme over 27 months. There are NO evening or weekend course units available on the part-time programme, therefore if you are considering taking a programme on a part-time basis, you should discuss the requirements with the Programme Director and seek approval from your employer to have the relevant time off. Timetabling information is normally available from late August from the Programme Administrator and you will have the opportunity to discuss course unit choices during induction week with the Programme Director.

Career opportunities

This course will prepare you for employment in a range of development-related fields, including research, policy and practice. A wide range of transferable skills will be developed, including analytical and professional skills. Many of our alumni have gone onto careers in public service, the NGO/charitable and private sectors at national and international levels, as policy officers, managers, consultants or development practitioners - while others have pursued further academic study leading to a PhD and academic careers. Since its foundation, the Global Development Institute (GDI) has trained over 7000 individuals from 170 different countries.

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