Course summary
This programme is designed for anyone involved in conceptualising or administering policies related to the Global Development Challenges. It is especially suitable if you are already involved in planning development strategies, currently working for a non-governmental or governmental organisation in the development field, or planning for a career in development. The programme combines an intellectual and academic approach with policy-oriented and empirical studies of development. It addresses three separate, but related, facets of the development process:
- Analysing what development means.
- Studying the processes of planning (external aid, regional disparities, environmental factors, poverty and industrialisation).
- Examining how development policies may be delivered and administered, analysing the importance of effective political and bureaucratic structures, and evaluating the contributions of NGOs and other external bodies.
Assessment method
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/media/postgraduate/admissions-statements/2025/msc-international-development.pdf
How to apply
International applicants
The University of Bristol welcomes applications from international students and accepts a wide range of qualifications for postgraduate study. If you study or have studied at a university outside the UK, please select the relevant page for further information on qualifications, scholarships and education representatives in your country/region: bristol.ac.uk/international/countries
Entry requirements
You will typically need an upper second-class honours degree or an international equivalent in any discipline. If you are currently completing a degree, we understand that your final grade may be higher than the interim grades or module/unit grades you have achieved during your studies to date. We will consider your application if your interim grades are currently slightly lower than the programme's entry requirements and may make you an aspirational offer. This offer would be at the standard level, so you would need to achieve the standard entry requirements by the end of your degree. Specific module requirements would still apply. We will also consider your application if your final overall achieved grade is slightly lower than the programme's entry requirement. If you have at least one of the following, please include your CV (curriculum vitae / résumé) when you apply, showing details of your relevant qualifications: - evidence of significant, relevant work experience in one of the following sectors: NGOs, Government Departments, Think Tanks (minimum of six months in a paid role); - a postgraduate qualification in any discipline. See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/international/countries/
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| Channel Islands | £8900 | Year 1 |
| England | £8900 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £8900 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £8900 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £8900 | Year 1 |
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.
For more information, please view the programme page on our website.
Provider information
University of Bristol
Beacon House
Queen’s Road
Bristol
BS8 1QU