Overview and entry requirements

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

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

See Department of Development Studies

Highlights

• the meanings of development and the challenges it faces
• neoliberalism and its critiques
• industrialisation, labour and capital
• state failure, poverty and insecurity
• gender and class analysis
• NGOs, civil society and social movements
• globalisation, commodity chains and trade
• the agrarian question, peasantry and land

Why study MSc Development Studies at SOAS

• we are ranked number 5 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
• we are specialists in the delivery of languages. Your command of a language at SOAS will set you apart from graduates of other universities

The MSc programme’s emphasis on transferable analytical skills has been of great benefit to the many graduates who have returned to, or taken up, professional careers in development in international organisations, government agencies and non-government organisations. 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.

Who should apply

The MSc Development Studies programme attracts applications from students with a variety of academic and experiential backgrounds. We welcome applications from those who have worked in a broad field of development, but also from students without relevant work experience who can demonstrate a strong interest in, and understanding of, development issues. A good first degree in a social science is preferred.

Explore 

• Development Studies Research
• A Career in Humanitarian Aid and Food Security

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Structure

Students must take 180 credits per year comprised of 120 taught credits (including core, compulsory and optional modules) and a 60 credit dissertation.

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.

This programme allows you to select one of the Department's online optional modules as part of your degree. Further details on the available modules can be found on Distance Learning (PG) Development Studies Modules.

Core Modules

Compulsory Modules

Optional Modules

In addition to the above, the following is selected:

• Modules from the list below to the value of 30 credits
• Open Option module(s) to the value of 30 credits OR a further 30 credits from the modules listed below

Non-Assessed Module

All MSc students in Development Studies are eligible to attend the one-term, non-assessed module Economics for Beginners, which introduces students to basic concepts in microeconomics, macroeconomics, development economics, and statistics and econometrics.

List of Development Studies modules (subject to availability)

Programme Specification

• MSc Development Studies Programme Specification 2020-21 _ SOAS University of London (pdf; 309kb)

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 weekly guided reading and discussions, as well as conventional lecturing.

In addition to the taught part of the masters programme, all students will write a 10,000 word dissertation. Students develop their research topic under the guidance and supervision of an academic member of the Department. Students are encouraged to explore a particular body of theory or an academic debate relevant to their programme through a focus on a particular region.

Contact hours

All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. 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, including reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. 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. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

More information is on the page for each module.

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.

Pre Entry Reading

• Jason Hickel, The Death of International Development 
• S. Chari and S. Corbridge ed. The Development Reader, London: Routledge 2008
• Jane Pollard et al eds. Postcolonial Economies. London: Zed Books. 2011.
• H. Veltmeyer ed. The Critical Development Studies Handbook. London: Pluto Press, 2011.
• N. Vishwanathan et al eds. The Women, Gender and Development Reader, Zed Press, 2011.
• Tariq Khokhar and Umar Serajuddin Should we continue to use the term “developing world”? World Bank Blogs 2015
• Amartya Sen on Development

In addition, please familiarise yourself with some key words and names, including: Boserup, colonialism, de-growth, dependency theory, Eurocentrism, Fanon, Foucault, Gramsci, Gandhi, governmentality, neoliberalism, Ostrom, orientalism, PRSPs, Putnam, rational actor, sustainable development goals, Wallerstein, World Bank.

Tuition fees

Fees for 2022/23 entrants, per academic year (Band 2 tuition fee) 

Fees go up each year, therefore your tuition fee in your second and subsequent years of study will be higher.

Our continuing students, on the same degree programme, are protected from annual increases higher than 5%.

Full fees details can be found on the Postgraduate 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
• National Health and Medical Research Council
• Overseas Development Institute
• Oxfam
• Royal Norwegian Embassy
• Save the Children UK
• The World Bank
• Thinking Beyond Borders
• U.S. Department of State
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees
• WaterAid

Find out about our Careers Service

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