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?

Programme Code: See May be Combined With

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

May be combined with:

• African Studies, (TL59 BA/DVSAF)
• African Studies (including year abroad)
• Arabic+, (LT96 BA/DVSA)
• Chinese+ , (LT91 BA/DVSCH)
• Economics, (LL91 BA/ECDVS)
• History, (LV91 BA/HDVS)
• 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)
• Middle Eastern Studies (including year abroad)
• Music, (LW93 BA/MSDVS)
• Persian, (LTY6 BA/PDVS) ( + Compulsory Year Abroad which is split between 2 countries)
• 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)
• South East Asian Studies (including year abroad)
• Study of Religions, (LV96 BA/DevStSR)
• Turkish+, (LTX6 BA/TUDVS)

+ 4-year degree with (compulsory) one year abroad
++ 3 or 4-year degree with option of one year abroad

Key Information Set data

Click on a combined programme to load KIS data

Students take 120 credits per year composed of Core, Compulsory and Optional modules.

Core modules: A core module is required for the degree programme, so must always be taken and passed before you move on to the next year of your programme.

Compulsory modules: A compulsory module is required for the degree programme, so must always be taken, and if necessary can be passed by re-taking it alongside the next year of your programme.

Optional modules: These are designed to help students design their own intellectual journey while maintaining a strong grasp of the fundamentals.

YEAR 1

Core Modules

• Students also take 60 credits from second subject

YEAR 2

Core Modules

• PLUS choose additional compulsory module(s) from Year 2 Development Studies Options list below to the value of 30 credits

• Students also take 60 credits from second subject

YEAR 3

Guided Option

• Choose module(s) from Year 3 Development Studies/Economics or Politics options list below to the value of 30 credits

Students must also either: 

• Choose module(s) from Year 3 Development Studies/Economics or Politics options list below to the value of 30 credits

or

• Choose Language or Non-Language Open Option Modules to the value of 30 credits

Second Subject

Students then also take 60 credits from their second subject

**Please note that final year students may not take any introductory level modules, including languages.

LIST OF MODULES (subject to availability)

Year 2 Development Studies Options

Year 2 Economics Options

Year 2 Politics Options

Level 5 Langauge Module

Choose a level 5 language module

Year 3 Development Studies Options

Year 3 Economics Options

Year 3 Politics Options

Programme Specification

• BA Development Studies and... Programme Specification (pdf; 245kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

Our teaching and learning approach is designed to support and encourage students in their own process of self-learning, and to develop their own ideas, responses and critique of international development practice and policy. We do this through a mixture of lectures, and more student-centred learning approaches (including tutorials and seminars). Teaching combines innovative use of audio-visual materials, practical exercises, group discussions, and guided reading as well as conventional lecturing. Assessment of most modules is through a combination of coursework and written examination.

The introductory and core modules provide the solid disciplinary grounding, whilst options allow students to develop deeper expertise in areas of their own interest. In their final year, students have the opportunity to complete either an Independent Study Project, an extended 10,000 word essay, supervised by one of the Department staff; or an assessed Professional Placement.

Contact Hours

All full-time undergraduate programmes consist of 120 credits per year, in modules of 30 or 15 credits. They are taught over 10 or 20 weeks. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study (see Approaches to teaching and learning at SOAS). It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. In the Department of Development Studies, most undergraduate modules have a 2-hour lecture and a 1-hour tutorial every week.  A few modules, which are jointly taught with PG students, have a 1-hour lecture and a 1-hour tutorial every week.

More information is on the page for each module.

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 2020/21 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