Overview and entry requirements 

The BA Global Development 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.

Have you got a passion for addressing the major issues and challenges facing today’s global community?

This stimulating 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.

See Department of Development Studies

Combine Global Development with other subjects 

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, World Philosophies 

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

Why study Global Development Combined Honours at SOAS

• the department is ranked number 2 in the QS World University Rankings in the subject of Development Studies
• SOAS is ranked in the top 5 universities in the UK for producing a CEO or Managing Director, according to new research
• 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

Explore

• SOAS Global Development Studies students collaborate with African farming app
• What is Global Development?

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

May be combined with:

• Arabic+, LT96 BA/GDA
• Chinese+, LT91 BA/GDCH
• East Asian Studies, TT25 EA/GD
• Economics, L170 BSc/DE 
• History, LV91 BA/HGD
• International Relations, LL28 BA/IRGD
• Japanese+, TT22 BA/JGD
• Korean+, TL49 BA/KOGD
• Law, LM91 BA/LWGD
• Languages and Cultures+, T4L4 LCGDYrAb  
• Linguistics, LQ93 BA/GDLG
• Music, LW93 BA/MSGD
• Politics, LL92 BA/POLGD
• Social Anthropology, LL96 BA/SAGD
• World Philosophies, L800 BA/GDWP 

+ 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

Structure

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.

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

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.

Tuition fees

Fees for 2022/23 entrants per academic year

Please note that fees go up each year. 

For full details of undergraduate tuition fees, see our Registry's undergraduate tuition fees page.

Scholarships

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

Employment

A degree from the Department of Development Studies at SOAS will further develop your understanding of the world and how society is organised, with specific focus on violence and conflict, the role of aid, refugees and forced migration. Graduates leave with a range of transferable skills, including critical thinking, analytical skills and cultural awareness.

Recent Department of Development Studies graduates have been hired by:

• Amnesty International
• BBC World Service
• British Embassy Brussels
• Department for International Development
• Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
• Embassy of Japan
• Government of Pakistan
• Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office
• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
• International Labour Organization (ILO)
• KPMG LLP
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
• National Health and Medical Research Council
• Overseas Development Institute
• Oxfam
• Royal Norwegian Embassy
• Save the Children UK
• The World Bank
• Thinking Beyond Borders
• US Department of State
• UN World Food Programme
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees
• WaterAid

Find out about our Careers Service

• 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