MSc Research for International Development
SOAS University of London
Key Information
Campus location
London, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 - 2 Year
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
GBP 14,270 / per year *
Application deadline
Request Info
Earliest start date
Request Info
* full-time fees: UK £14,270; Overseas £23,800. Part-time 2 years fees: UK £7,135/year; Overseas £11,900/year. Part-time 3 years fees: UK £4,710/year; Overseas £7,855/year
Introduction
Mode of Attendance: Full-time or part-time
The MSc Research for International Development is a newly established interdisciplinary Taught Masters programme at SOAS, offered jointly by the departments of Economics and Development Studies. This cutting-edge degree is funded and supported by the UK’s ESRC (The Economic and Social Research Council) as part of the Bloomsbury Doctoral Training Centre.
The programme’s unique core module Battlefield of Methods: Approaches to International Development equips students with the theoretical background and analytical skills to inquire into the relationship between theory and method in the domain of international development. The module provides students with knowledge about the plurality of methodological approaches in key areas of international development research, and the policy choices and strategies associated with these. The module offers students the opportunity to engage with a selection of methods used in international development research.
Further training in a variety of research methods is the focus of the other two core modules: Research Methods in Political Economy I and II. RMI covers the necessary statistical methods for social sciences including survey design and regression analysis. It aims to a) introduce students to statistical inference; b) encourage the clear and coherent expression of statistical results, and c) promote the critical reading of statistics within the development literature. RMII addresses sources and methods for the social sciences in the context of the political economy of development.
This programme gives students advanced interdisciplinary training in research methods and topics in Research for International Development. While the programme structure emphasises research methods, students will also have the opportunity to choose from a large number of substantive optional modules. The interdisciplinary nature of the programme is by virtue of both the core modules and options available for a study were drawn from two departments within SOAS: Economics and Development Studies. Students will, therefore, benefit from studying with experts in a variety of fields of international development, and from the wide regional expertise in developing countries and development issues.
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Ideal Students
Who is this programme for?
The degree has been developed to meet the needs of both development practitioners and researchers on international development, including those wishing to pursue an MPhil/PhD in International Development. The programme will suit students with a variety of backgrounds in social sciences, including politics, sociology, economics, and so on. It would also meet the needs of people working, or hoping to work in international agencies, humanitarian organisations, and NGOs. Students with a strong interest in research and research methods will thrive on the MSc distinctive focus on training in research methods.
Admissions
Curriculum
Structure
Students must take 180 credits per year comprised of 120 taught credits (including core, compulsory and optional modules) and a 60 credit dissertation.
Dissertation
- Dissertation in Research Methods for International Development
Core Modules
- Statistical Research Techniques in International Development
- Fundamentals of research methods for Development Studies
Students also take ONE of the following:
- Theory, policy and practice of development
- Political Economy of Development
Optional Modules
Choose modules to the value of 60 credits from the list below:
List of Modules (subject to availability)
- Development Studies
- Aid and Development
- Agrarian Development, Food Policy and Rural Poverty
- Borders and Development
- Cities and Development
- Civil society, social movements and the development process
- Development Practice
- Environment, Governance and Development
- Energy Transition, Nature, and Development in a Time of Climate Change
- Famine and food security
- Gender and Development
- Global Commodity Chains, Production Networks and Informal Work
- Global Health and Development
- Issues in Forced Migration
- Marxist Political Economy and Global Development
- Migration and Policy
- Neoliberalism, Democracy and Global Development
- Problems of Development in the Middle East and North Africa
- Natural resources, development and change: putting critical analysis into practice
- Security
- The Working Poor and Development
- Migrant Labour in the Global Economy
- War to Peace Transitions
- Water and Development: Conflict and Governance
- Water Resources: Justice and Governance
- Economics
Students need to get approval from the Module Convenor in order to take modules from the list below- Economic development of Africa: microeconomic approaches
- Economic development of Africa: macroeconomic approaches
- Political Economy of Development and Change in the Middle East
- Topics in the Political Economy of Contemporary Middle East
- Economic Development in the Asia Pacific region
- China's Economic Transformation
- China and World Development
- Political Economy of Development and Change in South Asia
- Topics in the Political Economy of Contemporary South Asia
- Economic Development of Japan
- Economics of Environment and Development
- Financial Systems and Economic Development
- Gender Economics (PG)
- Global Economic Policy Analysis
- Global Production and Industrial Policy
- Green Finance
- History of Economic Analysis
- Institutions and Governance
- Limits to Growth? (PG)
- Macroeconomics
- Microeconomics
- Theory of financial institutions & policy
- Gender Studies
- Gender in the Middle East
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.
Career Opportunities
Employment
As you graduate from the MSc in Research for International Development, you will have an in-depth understanding of the main debates in international development, and, in particular, of the various methodological approaches underpinning different positions in these debates. You will have acquired foundations for the practice of quantitative and qualitative research methods in the social sciences. You will also acquire more generic skills, including how to organize and present your ideas, both in written form and in different presentational formats (including, for instance, Pecha Kucha style presentations, short project pitching, and more standard academic presentations summing up main contributions in a debate).
With a broad range of skills, MSc RID graduates are highly competitive in the labour market upon graduation and embark on a wide range of career opportunities. These include either the pursuit of doctoral studies, at SOAS or elsewhere, or jobs as policy advisers or researchers in international development, in the public, private sector or third sector.
Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:
- UK government in HM Treasury or the National Audit Office,
- Overseas Development Institute
- Centre for Global Development
- Cleantech Group
- UNICEF
- Save the Children
- International Development Enterprise
- World Vision
Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:
- Chief Head of Strategy
- Monitoring and Evaluation Manager
- Policy Advisor
- Financial Analyst
- Communications Consultant
- Research Assistant
- Researcher in Sustainable Technology Innovation
English Language Requirements
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