The Department currently has 52 research students, working on a range of research topics in many parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. We are particularly interested in potential research students who wish to work in one of the main Departmental Research Clusters, namely: Labour, Movements and Development; Neoliberalism, Globalisation, and States; Violence, Peace and Development; Water for Africa; Migration, Mobility and Development; Agrarian Change and Development; Development Policy, Aid, Institutions and Poverty Reduction
Research students are encouraged to attend weekly training sessions to introduce them to a number of practical techniques and vocational skills utilised within the development profession; fortnightly seminars on topics relevant to Development Studies and, where appropriate, post-experience workshops.
Before applying for a research degree, please read the following notes on How to write your Research Proposal
For all queries regarding applications and proposals please contact the the Research Admissions Tutor, listed on the drop down list at the top of the Development Studies Staff page
Academic Staff and their Research Areas
Professor Gilbert Achcar BA(Lyons) BA, MA(Lebanese University Beirut) PhD(Paris VIII)
Middle East and north Africa; social and political theory; international relations; globalisation; sociology of religion
Professor Christopher Cramer BA, PhD(Cantab)
Africa: economics of Africa, political economy of development, political economy of war and peace in southern Africa, and the economics of cashew production, processing and trade
Dr Jonathan Di John BA (Harvard) PhD(Cantab)
Development economics, economic growth, institutional economics, taxation in less developed countries, the political economy of oil states, political economy of industrial policy in Latin America, especially of Venezuela, Columbia and Brazil
Professor Jonathan Goodhand BA, PGCE(Birmingham) MSc, PhD(Manchester)
South and Central Asia; complex political emergencies, humanitarian aid; NGO capacity building, aid, conflict and development
Professor Laura Hammond MA, PhD(Wisconsin)
Horn of Africa; Ethiopia; Somalia; forced migration; resettlement; returnees; remittances; international assistance
Dr Adam Hanieh BSc (Adelaide) MA (Al Quds) PhD (York)
Political economy, labour migration, Middle East politics, Gulf Cooperation Council, migration development and remittances class and state formation internationalisation Palestine
Dr Colette Harris PhD (Amsterdam, NL) Gender and micro-political power. This includes exploring the relationship between masculinities, femininities, and violence, and between gender and religion.
Dr Michael Jennings BA, MA(Oxon) PhD(London)
Politics and history of development processes in sub-Saharan Africa, governance, civil society, non-governmental organisations and faith-based organisations, and social aspects of health in Africa
Dr Tania Kaiser BA(Bristol) MPhil, DPhil(Oxon)
East Africa, West Africa, Sri Lanka; conflict and development; forced migration; refugees; humanitarian interventions
Dr Jens Lerche MA, PhD(Copenhagen)
South Asia; agrarian political economy; rural labour relations; governance and development
Dr Anna Lindley MA (Leeds), DPHIL (Oxon)
Global migration dynamics, politics and experiences; displacement and refugees; transnationalism and remittances; Somali mobilities; immigration politics and policy; immigration detention; migrant access to justice; civic mobilisation around migration
Dr Thomas Marois BA, MA (Alberta), PhD (York)
Mexico, Turkey; Political economy of banking, finance, and development; state-owned banks; privatization; state-capital-labour relations; state theory; internationalization
Professor Zoe Marriage BA(Oxon) MSc, PhD(LSE)
Sierra Leone, Rwanda, DR Congo and Sudan; political and psychological processes of violence and assistance, rural policy
Dr Alessandra Mezzadri MSc, PhD (London)
International trade, global commodity chains, industrial development and labour markets in developing countries, social structures and inequality; structures of production and labour in the Indian export-oriented garment industry
Professor Peter P Mollinga MSc PhD (Wageningen NL) PD/Habil. (Bonn)
South Asia, Central Asia; comparative political sociology of water resources and development; technology and agrarian change; boundary work in natural resources management; interdisciplinary social theory.
Dr Paolo Novak MSc, PhD (London)
Afghanistan; Pakistan; refugees; borders; governance; international intervention
Professor Carlos Oya Licenciatura(Madrid) MSc, PhD(London)
West Africa, Southern Africa, agrarian political economy; poverty; rural labour; government-donor relations; research methods
Dr Tim Pringle BA (Leeds); PhD (Warwick) East Asia, labour relations in China and Vietnam, trade union reform in China and Vietnam, labour and social movements in China, labour migration in China
Professor Navtej K Purewal BA (Vassar College), MA (SOAS, London), PhD (Lancaster) Bordering logics; feminism; gender and social policy; reproductive rights; girls' education; coloniality; neoliberal development; South Asia; India and Pakistan
Dr Althea-Maria Rivas BA (McGill), MPA (Concordia), PhD (Sussex) Humanitarian intervention, post-conflict reconstruction, the politics of global development, everyday violence in post-conflict settings, gender (in)security, violence and development, race, racism and development, peace and justice, emotion and conflict, the relationship between peace, forgiveness and justice, black and indigenous feminisms, feminist and decolonial theory and pedagogy, postcolonial conversations on resistance and development, research methods and ethics. Regional focus: Central Asia, West and East Africa.
Dr Matteo Rizzo MSc, PhD (SOAS) Economics of Africa, the political economy of development
Dr Subir Sinha BA(Delhi) MA, PhD(NorthWestern)
South Asia: institutions of development, NGOs, social movements; the environment, common property institutions and resource use.
Dr Leandro Vergara-Camus BA (UQAM, Montréal); MA (UNAM, México); PhD (York, Toronto) Political economy of Latin America, social and peasant movements, alter-globalisation movements and social change, alternative development, agrarian issues, and bio-fuels and energy politics.
Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings
Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time
Entry requirements
Fees 2021/22
- UK fees:
- £4,486
- Overseas fees:
- £20,000
Fees for 2021/22 entrants. 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
Professor Peter P Mollinga Convenor