BA Development Studies and...

Programme Code: See May be Combined With

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

Have you got a passion for addressing the major issues and challenges facing today’s global community? The BA Development Studies Combined Honours Degree is a 3-year full time degree (or 4 years when combined with a Language) draws upon the significant expertise of our academic staff. This exciting programme examines key topics in international development, while analysing the roles and impact of a wide variety of regional and international actors. By the time you graduate, you will have cultivated a deep knowledge of the causes of - and responses to - poverty, marginalisation and vulnerability in developing countries and the process of dramatic social, economic and political change. Additionally, the nature of the Combined Honours degree enables you to develop a specialist niche for yourself by studying a second subject.

What subjects can you combine it with?

Other disciplines -  Economics, Geography, History, International Relations, Law, Linguistics,  Middle Eastern Studies, Music, Politics, Social Anthropology, South Asian Studies, South East Asian Studies, Study of Religions

Languages – African Studies, Arabic, Burmese, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Japanese Studies, Korean, Persian, Swahili, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Vietnamese

Why study Development Studies Combined Honours at SOAS?

• we are specialists within the humanities including in key topics such as international development, gender development, violence and conflict, environmental sustainability, the role of aid and trade in promoting development, as well as refugees and forced migration
• our staff have unrivalled practical knowledge across the discipline and regularly inform organisations such as the UN, NGOs and international governments
• as well as the curriculum knowledge you will also obtain a rich historical and cultural knowledge about the countries and regions in which you may work in
• you will be able to flexibly structure your programme using our Open Options modules to take advantage of the expertise of our other departments, including the opportunity to learn a language
• allows you to develop a specialist niche alongside your history degree by utilising the global expertise of one of our other departments

Apply now via UCAS or visit our upcoming Open Day.

Find out more about how to apply.

Find out more about our Development Studies department page.

Click through to view:

• What is Development Studies?
• Taster Lecture: Should we give to charity?

May be combined with:

• African Studies, (TL59 BA/DVSAF)
• Arabic+, (LT96 BA/DVSA)
• Burmese++, (LT9H BA/DVSBU)
• Chinese+ , (LT91 BA/DVSCH)
• Economics, (LL91 BA/ECDVS)
• Geography**, (LL97 BA/GEDVS)
• History, (LV91 BA/HDVS)
• Indonesian++, (LT93 BA/IDVS)
• International Relations, (LL28 BA/IRDS)
• Japanese (TT22)
• Japanese Studies (TT23)
• Korean+, (TL49 BA/KODVS)
• Law, (LM91 BA/LWDVS)
• Linguistics, (LQ93 BA/DVSLG)
• Middle Eastern Studies, (TL6X BA/MESDVS)
• Music, (LW93 BA/MSDVS)
• Persian, (LTY6 BA/PDVS)
• Politics, (LL92 BA/POLDVS)
• Social Anthropology, (LL96 BA/SADVS)
• South Asian Studies++, (3 Years) (TLH9 BA/SASDVS)
• South Asian Studies+, (4 Years) (TL38 BA/SASDSYA)
• South East Asian Studies, (TLJ9 BA/DVSSEA)
• Study of Religions, (LV96 BA/DevStSR)
• Swahili+, (LTY5 BA/SWDVS)
• Thai++, (LTXJ BA/THDVS)
• Tibetan+, (LTXH BA/DVSTI)
• Turkish+, (LTX6 BA/TUDVS)
• Vietnamese++, (LT9J BA/VDVS)

+ 4-year degree with (compulsory) one year abroad
++ 3 or 4-year degree with option of one year abroad
** Taught at King’s College London and no longer available from 2018/19

Key Information Set data

Click on a combined programme to load KIS data

Students take 120 credits per year composed of core and optional modules, which allows for students to design their own intellectual journey while maintaining a strong grasp of the fundamentals.

Highlights include:

• Introductions to key issues in international development, such as gender and development; violence and conflict; environment and development; the role of aid and trade in promoting development; refugees and forced migration
• Exploring the history of development, and the interaction of changing theories of development with practice and policy
• The possibility of undertaking an independent study project, researching a development studies related topic of your own choosing
• The opportunity to specialise through a range of options, including HIV/AIDS and Development, Global Forced Migration and Development, Development Practice, NGOs and Development.

YEAR ONE

Students take 60 credits in Development Studies. The remaining 60 credits may be completed through their other subject and/or open options.

YEAR TWO

Students take the core module Comparative Studies on Development. The remaining 30 credits for Development Studies modules may be taken from the Year Two Development Studies options or any Year Two undergraduate Economics or Politics option available to Development Studies; any Year Two Geography module run by King's College London; or an Open Option (a Language module or a non-language module from another department). The remaining 60 credits must be taken from the other department named in the degree. Students on a joint Language degree having taken three language modules in the first year must do the first and second year compulsory modules in Development Studies in their second year.

YEAR THREE

Students choose 60 credits in specialist Development Studies options; 30 credits may be an Independent Study Project or an Open Option (a Language module or a non-language module from another department). Students on a joint Language degree will take the Year abroad in Year 3.

YEAR FOUR

Students who have combined Development Studies with a language follow the Year 3 syllabus.

Year One

Students take two core units in Development Studies. The remaining two units may be completed through their other subject and/or open options.

The two remaining units can be taken from the other degree subject

Where a particular degree combination requires students to take 3 core modules in their first year as part of the other department named in the degree, students will be expected to take one DS core module in their first year, and the second module in their second or third year (depending on when they take their year abroad).

Year Two

Students take the core module Comparative Studies on Development. The remaining Development Studies module units may be taken from: One unit or two half units from the Year Two Development Studies options; any Year Two undergraduate Economics or Politics option available to Development Studies; a language of Africa or Asia; any Year Two Geography course run by King's College London. The remaining two units must be taken from the other department named in the degree.

Year Two Development Studies Options

Year Two Geography Courses (KCL)

Refer to the 'BA Geography and...' page, or contact Dr Debby Potts (debby.potts@kcl.ac.uk) at KCL to discuss module choices.

Year Two Economics Options

N.B. 153400003 Introduction to Economic Analysis is a prerequisite for all of the options below.

Year Two Politics Options

Year Three

Students choose two further units in specialist Development Studies options; one unit may be an Independent Study Project or an open option. Students returning from a Year Abroad having taken three language units in the first year must do the first and second year compulsory units in Development Studies in their third year. Please note that final year students may not take any introductory level modules, including languages.

Year Three Development Studies Options

Year Three Economics Options

Year Three Politics Options

Year Three Geography Courses (KCL)

Refer to the 'BA Geography and...' page, or contact Dr Debby Potts (debby.potts@kcl.ac.uk) at KCL to discuss module choices.

Year Four

Students who have combined Development Studies with a language follow the Year 3 syllabus.

Programme Specification

• Programme Specification 2016/17 (pdf; 238kb)

Disclaimer

Teaching & Learning

Modules are taught through a combination of lectures and tutorials, usually one hour a week of each. Sometimes, one follows the other in a two-hour bloc. Sometimes, the tutorial is at a different time or on a different day than the lecture.

Tutorials are sessions in which students are expected to present reports and take a lead in discussions.

Depending on the size of the class, some intermediate and advanced level modules are less strictly divided between a formal lecture and a tutorial discussion, and instead, the topic is briefly introduced by the lecturer, followed by a seminar discussion. Advanced level modules, which are usually taught in one two-hour bloc, often take this format.

The Independent Study Project (ISP)

This module can be taken by final-year students only. It is the equivalent of a dissertation and its aim is to provide an opportunity for students to conduct original historical research on their own initiative, to engage in in-depth analysis of particular subjects and to use a range of primary historical sources. There are no formal classes and is assessed by a single 10,000-word dissertation (including notes but excluding bibliography).

Year abroad

If Development Studies is combined with a Language in a four-year degree programme, students spend a study year abroad in their third year.

Learning Resources

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.

Tuition Fees

Full details of undergraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's Undergraduate Tuition Fees page.

Fees for 2017/18 entrants. The fees below are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. 

Scholarships

For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section

The degree structure allows students to develop their understanding of the world, other peoples’ ways of life and how society is organised, with specific focus on violence and conflict, the role of aid, refugees and forced migration.

Skills gained include:

• specialist knowledge of human rights, international development and politics
• choosing to study a combined degree programme will increase the breadth of your knowledge, and will develop additional skills
• the ability to think laterally and employ critical reasoning
• analytical skills
• problem-solving skills
• the ability to formulate sound arguments
• ability to interpret and explain complex information clearly
• communication and presentation skills

Graduates go on to work in development planning and in government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Other career paths include journalism, the civil service, banking and the social and educational services. Others are interested in specialising further through postgraduate studies, not only in Development Studies, but also in Economics, Politics, Social Anthropology, Law, Geography, History and Languages.

Find out more about Development Studies Graduate Destinations.

Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:

• BBC World Service
• Bloomberg
• British Red Cross
• British Counci
• Department for International Development (DfID)
• Palestine Red Crescent Association
• Save the Children
• UNICEF Ethiopia

Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:

• Coordinator of Education
• Development Policy Officer
• Freelance Broadcast Journalist
• Human Rights Officer
• Manager of Fundraising, Communications and Administration
• Project Support Officer
• Marketing Analyst
• Resourcing Executive

• How to Apply
• UCAS website
• Request a prospectus
• Got a question - use our enquiry form (opens a new window)
• Funding options
• English language requirements
• Tuition Fees
• Admissions Contacts