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. This programme provides a solid interdisciplinary social science formation in development theory and practice and develops students’ capacities for independent and critical analysis.
Highlights include:
- 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
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.
Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings
Start of programme: September
Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time
Who is this programme for?: Find out more in our upcoming free Webinar: MSc Development Studies Webinar - 22 March 2019, 11am The 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.
Entry requirements
- We will consider all applications with 2:ii (or international equivalent) or higher. In addition to degree classification we take into account other elements of the application including supporting statement and references.
- Subjects Preferred: Social Science
- duration:
- One calendar year (full-time) Two (part-time, daytime only)
We recommend that part-time students have between two and a half and three days free in the week to pursue their course of study.
Fees 2020/21
- UK/EU fees:
- £13,360
- Overseas fees:
- £22,840
Fees for 2021/22 entrants. This is a Band 5 fee. The fees are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. Further details can be found in the Fees and Funding tab on this page or in the Registry Postgraduate Tuition Fees page
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 here.
Dissertation
Core Modules
Compulsory Modules
- Choose modules to the value of 30 credits from the Development Studies modules list below
Optional Modules
Choose module(s) to the total value of 30 credits from:
- module(s) from the Development Studies list below to the value of 30 credits
- open option modules to the value of 30 credits from another department
- module from the Development Studies list below to the value of 15 credits
- open option modules to the value of 15 credits from another department
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)
Module |
Code |
Credits |
Term |
Agrarian Development, Food Policy and Rural Poverty |
15PDSH026 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Aid and Development |
15PDSH027 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Battlefields of Method: Approaches to International Development Research |
15PDSC008 |
30 |
Full Year |
Borders and Development |
15PDSH023 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Cities and Development |
15PDSH072 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Civil society, social movements and the development process |
15PDSH001 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Contemporary India: Issues, Methods and Approaches |
15PAIC003 |
30 |
Full Year |
Critical Insights in Forced Migration |
15DISD229 |
30 |
|
Development Practice |
15PDSH013 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Environment, Governance and Development |
15PDSH050 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Energy Transition, Nature, and Development in a Time of Climate Change |
15PDSH048 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Famine and food security |
15PDSH022 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Feminist Political Economy and Global Development |
15PDSH073 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Fundamentals of research methods for Development Studies |
15PDSH017 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Gender and Development |
15PDSH010 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Global Approaches to Peace |
15PDSH074 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Global Commodity Chains, Production Networks and Informal Work |
15PDSH024 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Global Health and Development |
15PDSH051 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Issues in Forced Migration |
15PDSH015 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Marxist Political Economy and Global Development |
15PDSH053 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Migration and Policy |
15PDSH029 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Natural resources, development and change: putting critical analysis into practice |
15PDSH031 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Neoliberalism, Democracy and Global Development |
15PDSH054 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Partnerships Beyond Borders: NGOs, Social Movements and Civil Society in Transnational Development |
15DISD230 |
30 |
|
Problems of Development in the Middle East and North Africa |
15PDSH019 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Security |
15PDSH020 |
15 |
Term 1 |
The Politics of Gender and Feminism in Development |
15DISD231 |
30 |
|
The Working Poor and Development |
15PDSH030 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Labour, Activism and Global Development |
15PDSH032 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Understanding Violence, Conflict and Development |
15DISD019 |
30 |
|
Water and Development: Commodification, Ecology and Globalisation (Development Studies) |
15PDSH049 |
15 |
Term 2 |
Water Justice: Rights, Access and Movements (Development Studies) |
15PDSH041 |
15 |
Term 1 |
Human and Critical Security Studies |
15DISD213 |
30 |
|
Programme Specification
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department. Please read the important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.
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
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.
Pre Entry Reading
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
Full details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's Postgraduate Tuition Fees page.
This is a Band 5 tuition fee.
Fees for 2021/22 entrants. The fees below are per academic year. Fees go up each year, therefore, your tuition fee in your second & subsequent years of study will be higher. Our continuing students, on the same degree programme, are protected from annual increases higher than 5%.
Full-time |
Part-time 2 Years |
Part-time 3 Years |
UK Students |
Overseas Students |
UK Students |
Overseas Students |
UK Students |
Overseas Students |
£13,360 |
£22,840 |
£6,680 |
£11,420 |
£4,450 |
£7,610 |
Scholarships
Application Deadline: 2021-01-29 00:00
Application Deadline: 2021-01-29 00:00
Application Deadline: 2021-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2021-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2021-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2021-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2021-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2021-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2021-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2021-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2020-02-20 15:00
Application Deadline: 2020-02-20 15:00
Application Deadline: 2020-02-20 15:00
Application Deadline: 2020-06-05 15:00
For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section
A postgraduate degree from the Department of Development Studies at SOAS will further develop your understanding of the world, other peoples’ ways of life and how society is organised, with an emphasis on transferable analytical skill. These skills have been of great benefit to the many graduates who have taken up professional careers in development in international organisations, government agencies and non-government organisations. This, in addition to your detailed subject knowledge, will also equip you with a set of other specific skills, including: critical skills; the ability to research extensively; a high level of cultural awareness; and the ability to solve problems.
Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:
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 Public Sector Reform Unit - Government of Sierra Leone Republic of Mozambique National Parliament Royal Norwegian Embassy Save the Children UK The World Bank Thinking Beyond Borders U.S. Department of State UN World Food Programme UN High Commissioner for Refugees WaterAid |
Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:
Chief Economist Global Communications Director Director for Climate Change and Environment Head of Research and Consultancies Development Director Regional OVC programme coordinator Head of Operations Country Director Bureau Chief Desk Officer on Pakistan Affairs |
Policy Analyst Partnership Liaison Officer Fundraising and Communications Manager Development Policy Officer Environmental Economist Journalist Human Rights Officer Country Director - Indonesia Relationship Banker - Africa Desk Policy Analyst/Economist |
For more information about Graduate Destinations from this department, please visit the Careers Service website.
A Student's Perspective
Prior to undertaking the MSc in Development Studies at SOAS, I worked at a private sector organisation as a consultant and researcher.
Edwin Price