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The graduate programme in Development Studies offers two different graduate degrees: the MSc in Development Studies and the Graduate Diploma in Development Studies.

MSc (Development Studies)

The MSc in Development Studies provides participants with an interdisciplinary understanding of the process of development and with a range of skills to enable them to work effectively in the field. The programme is also designed to develop participants’ existing skills by critically evaluating these from the perspective of a number of disciplines. The programme is structured to suit the needs both of recent graduates who have taken a degree in a relevant discipline – such as economics, sociology, geography, history, politics, agriculture - and more mature graduates who are working in development agencies or who have returned from assignments in developing countries and wish to broaden their range of skills and their understanding of the development process. This programme can be taken on as a full-time or as a part time programme.

In order to graduate, students must successfully complete 90 credits. 60 credits must be derived from coursework. Most modules are worth 10 credits although there may be some individual variation. Students must also complete a dissertation of 12,000 words.

Graduate Diploma in Development Studies

The main objective of the Graduate Diploma in Development Studies is to provide participants with an interdisciplinary understanding of the process of development and with a range of skills to enable them to work effectively in the field. The programme is also designed to develop participants’ existing skills by critically evaluating these from the perspective of a number of disciplines. This programme can be taken on as a full-time or as a part time programme.

In order to graduate, students must successfully complete 60 credits of coursework. Most modules are worth 10 credits although there may be some individual variation.

Further Module Details

Sample of the options open to both programmes.  For more detailed information please refer to the Graduate Studies Handbook 2009-10.

Politics of Development (POL 40100)

This course introduces students to key concepts, theories and themes in the political life of developing countries. The first part of the course explores the legacy of colonialism and the nature of the post-colonial state, the role of nationalism in the construction of the post-colonial order, political participation and the role of the military, and the impact of the Cold War on the developing world. The second part of the course focuses on key themes in the politics of the developing world including religion, ethnicity and gender. The module concludes with a focus on the related issues conflict, democratization and human rights.

Human and Economic Development (POL 40780)

The course provides an introduction to the theory and evidence on human and economic development. The main goal is to allow students to analyze policy debates surrounding economic growth and human development from a broad and rigorous analytical base. Topics covered include, macroeconomic development; poverty and inequality, analyses of institutions; health and education; demography; industrialization; international integration; and country evidence.

Research Design (POL 40640)

The aim of this module is to equip students to write a thesis proposal.

Governing the Global Economy (POL 40820)

This module will introduce students to International Political Economy (IPE) as a theoretical basis for understanding change and governance in the global economy.  The centrality of political institutions and ideas in moulding and determining economic outcomes will be emphasised, as will concepts such as `hegemony’ and `critical theory’ (how institutions, ideas and economic relations change over time).  The module will then use IPE as a guide to exploring different global economic issues, including: international trade; foreign investment; development aid; conflict; and the roles of organisations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation.

International Relations I (POL 40050)

This course offers an introduction to the field of International Relations. It first aims at providing all students with a good understanding of such diverse theories as Realism, Neorealism, Neoliberal Institutionalism and Pluralism. The second part of the course provides a basic overview of the field of International Political Economy, including sessions on the politics of trade, finance, and development. Throughout the course, the emphasis will be on providing students with methodological tools and theoretical concepts that have relevance beyond the topics dealt with. Some of the more general questions to be answered are: How should a fully-specified theory look like? And how can theories be examined convincingly? In-depth discussions of the assignments will revolve around these questions.

The International Politics of the Middle East (POL 40090)

This module will introduce students to the international politics of the Middle East and to theoretical and conceptual issues key to an understanding of the political life of the region. The module will engage broadly with the impact of the international system and international actors on the Middle East. Specific topics to be covered will include the international context of state formation in the region; the emergence/construction of the modern state system; the influence of the ‘superpower’ during the Cold War; political economy; conflict, the Middle East and the international system; and the contemporary impact of external factors.

Development and Global Justice (POL 40130)

That our world is characterized by severe and widespread poverty is generally held to be not merely unfortunate or regrettable, but unacceptable. Indeed, when confronted with facts, such as that 170.5 million children are involved in hazardous work, or that some 880 million people lack access to basic health services, most will assert that someone is morally required to provide the means and resources to bring about changes in policies or institutional arrangements to eliminate or at least mitigate these problems. Extreme inequalities in the development prospects of persons across the world (and between nations) are also often condemned. There are nevertheless very substantial disagreements about who is responsible for addressing these matters, and what efforts they should take to do so. This course will attempt to shed light on these pressing issues by examining two fundamental questions: (1) how should poverty and development be understood; and (2) how should ethical responsibilities to remedy poverty and promote development (or reduce inequalities in development) be conceived and distributed amongst different individual and institutional agents?

Key Issues in Human Rights (POL 40210)

This module offers an introduction to the theoretical foundations and key issues of human rights. It aims to enable students to (i) analyse critically and evaluate texts, positions and arguments; (ii) identify  and develop informed opinion on central issues and problems in human  rights policy and implementation.

Development Management (POL 40070)

The primary focus will be on practical aspects of development management and the processes of appraising, planning, implementing and evaluating development interventions and will explore in a practical way such aspects as integration of a rights based approach, mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues e.g. gender equality and HIV/AIDS and building partnerships in development management. It is intended that this course should enable participants to better understand the processes of development management in a range of different contexts including Government, Non-Governmental Organisations, and bilateral and multilateral development agencies.

The course will critically explore efforts to improve aid effectiveness through better development management, and the roles that different actors can and do play in these processes. How the international development aid system is structured and how it operates; its main institutions and instruments and how well these are working will be examined, as will how the different levels interact with one another and with recipient governments and civil society to channel aid. The continuum from emergency/relief to rehabilitation/recovery to development will be analysed and the different development management challenges in these contexts identified.

Food Security (POL 40020)

The course aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills to critically analyse food security and insecurity concepts and examines the theories that explain the processes of hunger and famines in developing countries. We will examine the multidimensional problem of rural poverty and vulnerability (the root cause of hunger and malnutrition) in poor countries. This is followed by examining micro-level social and economic constraints affecting people’s livelihoods using the Sustainable Livelihood Approaches (SLA). Then it is imperative at this stage to look at macro-levels models of agricultural growth stages and social and economic change theory focusing on the historical experience of developed nations and the role of agriculture in poverty reduction in developing countries. Few sessions will be devoted to understanding the constraints affecting the resources available to poor food deficit countries such as land, capital (human, financial), and water. A special session will focus on food security at global level and provide some analysis of global supply and demand for food and it will conclude by looking at future threats to food security. The final two sessions will introduce policy approaches to women in development, gender and development and gender mainstreaming and gender issues and food security.

Comparative Ethnic Conflict (POL 40260)

This module begins by offering a typology of approaches to the  resolution of ethnic conflict, and goes on to consider in detail a range of strategies adopted by states in recent times. These include various forms of ‘ethnic cleansing’ and other approaches that are based on principles that would be generally seen as politically unacceptable,  but the module focuses in particular on more conventional strategies, such as federalism and consociational government.

Africa in Crisis? (POL 40320)

This module will encourage thought and discussion around the economic, social, political and cultural conditions of African countries, and how these conditions have evolved over time.  Some key concepts that will be focused on include: the appropriate role of the African state; the legitimacy (or the lack of it) of Africa’s territorial structures and units; economic reform; civil society; democratisation; conflict; and the foreign policies of actors such as the European Union, the USA and China.  Specifically, the course will explore these concepts through a detailed analysis of the history, present situation and possible futures of African state formations and their relationships to different African societies.

Europe and Asia Relations (POL 40730)

This module explores selected themes in the development of contemporary relations between Europe and Asia, from the theoretical and empirical perspective of comparative regionalism in world politics. Regional theory, economic cooperation, regional security, democratisation and human rights, and political culture are the principal substantive themes dealt with, within and between both regions.

Political Economy of Transition (POL 40810)

The course provides a theoretical framework for understanding the political economy of employment restructuring during a transition to a market economy. This framework is used to understand regional outcomes in labour markets, capital markets, corporate governance and voting patterns in transition economies. Students will learn to interpret  evidence from company and household surveys, and the statistical yearbooks for CIS and CEE countries, to understand the impact of employment restructuring under political constraints on Macroeconomic outcomes, Labour Markets, the New Private Sector, Regional Polarisation, the Banking sector, Foreign Direct Investment,  Income Inequality amongst other things. Schumpeterian theories of restructuring will be validated using case studies across transition economies and in developing countries during periods of trade liberalisation.

Media and US Foreign Policy (AMST 40030)

This course will focus on the roles of media in the making and representation of United States foreign policy.  It introduces students to critical debates on the relationship between media, war and diplomacy and draws on scholarship from media studies and international affairs as well as primary media content.  It covers a range of media, including print journalism, photojournalism, television, cinema, and the internet.  Historical coverage moves from WWII to the current 'war on terror' and considers throughout the connections between military and media technologies.