Department of Development Studies

MSc Development Studies (2022 entry)

Select year of entry: 2022 2021

Overview

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

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

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

Featured events

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 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

Convenors

Dr Subir Sinha Convenor

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.

Dissertation

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Dissertation in Development Studies	15PDSC999	60	Full Year

Core Modules

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Theory, policy and practice of development	15PDSC001	30	Full Year
Political Economy of Development	15PDSC002	30	Full Year

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
Borders and Development	15PDSH023	15	Term 1
Cities and Development	15PDSH072	15	Term 2
Civil society, social movements and the development process	15PDSH001	15	Term 1
Contemporary India: development challenges and perspectives	15PAIC003	15	Term 1
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
Problems of Development in the Middle East and North Africa	15PDSH019	15	Term 2
Security	15PDSH020	15	Term 1
The Working Poor and Development	15PDSH030	15	Term 2
Labour, Activism and Global Development	15PDSH032	15	Term 2
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

Programme Specification

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

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.

Teaching and Learning

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.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

Fees for 2021/22 entrants, per academic year (Band 5 tuition fee)

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

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 details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's postgraduate tuition fees page.

Scholarships

Commonwealth Shared Scholarships

Application Deadline: 2021-04-09 00:00

Felix Non- Indian Scholarship

Application Deadline: 2021-01-29 00:00