Overview and entry requirements 

The MSc Development Economics is the flagship Master programme offered by the SOAS Economics Department. It combines the two core intellectual traditions nurtured for decades in our unique Department: a pluralist approach to economics and a focus on real-world development issues.

As pluralism in economics becomes more prominent and needed, you will find courses that offer either pluralism or development, but not both. If you are interested in understanding how the global economy works, what economic challenges and opportunities countries in the Global South face, and what to do about intensifying inequalities and ecological breakdown, the MSc Development Economics is for you.

See Department of Economics

Why study MSc Development Economics at SOAS

• we are 12th in UK for course satisfaction Guardian League Tables 2021 and 5th in London Complete University Guide 2021
• it provides rigorous and pluralist training in economics with a focus on development
• it advances a Global South perspective on real-world economic issues for a changing world
• it addresses intersecting inequalities and ecological challenges across foundational modules and optional ones

Career paths

The SOAS MSc in Development Economics and the critical approach to economic and development issues it provides is a gateway to various job opportunities in international organisations, governments, NGOs and private companies. The advanced nature of the programme also serves as an excellent foundation for PhD studies.

Student profile

Explore 

• Economics at SOAS: my experience as a postgrad student
• Social reproduction and a just post-COVID world

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September intake only

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Structure

The MSc Development Economics is a taught Masters degree. It consists of eight modules delivered through lectures, classes, and tutorials and an 10,000-word dissertation. The degree is awarded on the basis of examinations written in May and a dissertation which is submitted in September. All students must complete the compulsory Prliminary cours in Mathematics and Statistics which is taught over three weeks in August/ September before the start of the core modules of the MSc.

The MSc Development Economics consists of five core modules and three optional, each worth 15 credits. In addition, A 10,000-word dissertation on an approved topic is compulsory and accounts for 60 credits.

A complete list of optional modules in the programme is listed below, not all of which are offered in any single year.

Dissertation

Taught Component

Core Modules

All students will take the following core modules:

Compulsory Modules

All students will take EITHER  Advanced Macroeconometrics (previously Advanced Econometrics A) OR Advanced Microeconometrics (previously Advanced Econometrics B)

Taught Component for students with a strong background in Econometrics

For students with a strong background in Econometrics, the following alternative combination of modules is available; they will take both Advanced Econometrics A and Advanced Econometrics B without having to complete Econometrics first and will take all the core modules listed above.  

Guided Options

All students will take optional modules to the value of 45 credits from the list of modules below. Students with a strong background in Econometrics have the option of not taking Econometrics (Term 1 core module) and taking instead optional modules to the value of 60 credits. 

List of Modules (subject to availability)

Programme Specification

• Msc Development Economics Programme Specification (pdf; 166kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

The courses are taught in seminar groups and lectures. The degrees are awarded on the basis of assessed coursework, examinations and the dissertation.

The MSc degrees are taught over a period of twelve months of full-time study within a structured programme. In the case of part-time study, the degrees will be taught over two or three years. Four modules are studied each year, with the dissertation normally being completed in the second year.

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. In the Department of Economics, most postgraduate modules have a two hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

More information is on the page for each module.

Lectures

Most modules involve a 2-hour lecture as a key component with linked seminar or tutorial classes.

Seminars

At Masters level there is particular emphasis on seminar work. Students make full-scale presentations and are expected to write papers that often require significant independent work.

Dissertation

Students are required to complete a 10,000-word dissertation in applied economics.

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

Preliminary Mathematics and Statistics Course

Our MSc programmes attract students with a wide range of backgrounds including many who have worked for a few years before coming to SOAS. Our popular quantitative courses are designed to be accessible to all of our students including those with a relatively small quantitative component in their first degree.

Our well-received quantitative courses focus on applying basic methods used in empirical research. They equip students to carry out their own high quality empirical work and critically evaluate research, with relatively little emphasis on advanced econometric theory and mathematical proofs.

Our econometrics teaching begins with a three-week preliminary course in mathematics, statistics and computing.  The objective of the course is to review the basic quantitative skills assumed once formal teaching commences. This course is compulsory — further details.

Tuition fees

Fees for 2021/22 entrants, per academic year (Band 4 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 details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's postgraduate tuition fees page.

Scholarships

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

Employment

Economics graduates leave SOAS with a solid grounding in statistical skills and an ability to think laterally, take a global perspective, and employ critical reasoning.

Recent graduates from the Department of Economics have been hired by:

• Deloitte
• NHS England
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
• HSBC
• National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi
• University of Bayreuth
• HM Treasury
• Department for International Development
• PwC
• UNDP
• King’s Investment Fund
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• The World Bank
• EY
• British Chamber of Commerce

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