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Development Studies at University of Oxford - UCAS

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2023 - 20242024 - 2025
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Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (October/November 2022). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas The two-year MPhil in Development Studies will provide you with a rigorous and critical introduction to development as a process of managed and unmanaged change in societies in the global South. Our students go on to careers in development policy or practice or for further study in the field. Course objectives The course will introduce you to development studies as an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary subject. It covers the intellectual history of development, the paradigm shifts and internal conflicts within the discipline and the contemporary relevance of research to development policy and practice. Course structure The course comprises five elements: foundation courses, research methods, the core course, the thesis and two option courses. In the first year, you will study two out of three foundation courses:

  • Economics
  • History and Politics
  • Social Anthropology
If you have no previous training in economics you must take this as one of your foundation courses; otherwise you must take the other two. You will also follow a course in research methods for the social sciences, comprising sessions on research design and qualitative and quantitative methods. Thesis workshops offer preparation for your research. Additional sessions will be held on aspects of fieldwork ethics and safety, library resources and software and computerised databases. The core course, also taken in the first year, is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary course with two component modules:
  • Theories of Development
  • Key Themes in Development
You will spend the summer following your first year working on a thesis. You will choose the topic, with the guidance of your supervisor, and, in most cases, spend some of the summer doing research and gathering data. In the second year, you will take your chosen option courses and continue work on your thesis. More information can be found in the course handbook on the department's course page. Supervision You will be allocated a general supervisor who will support your academic development and with whom you will meet regularly. Supervisors are allocated based on your research interests, fit with the supervisor’s expertise, and staff availability. In your first year, you will identify someone to supervise your thesis, typically someone from the MPhil core staff. You will also have a college advisor whom you may consult on issues concerning your personal wellbeing. The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Oxford Department of International Development. It is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Oxford Department of International Development.

Entry requirements

For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Additional fee information

For complete and up-to-date information about fees and funding for this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.
Development Studies at University of Oxford - UCAS