King's College London - Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy
MA in Development Studies
London, United Kingdom
MA
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 31,600 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* first application deadline
** International students | UK students: £14,500 per year
Key Summary
Study the sources of global inequality and justice with this Development Studies MA, which boasts an interdisciplinary curriculum and an intersectional perspective.
With this Development Studies MA you will be encouraged to reflect directly on how questions of social justice should be connected to the theory and practice of development, and about race, class, gender and other identities. You’ll use this concept of social justice to investigate the legitimacy of power relations that shape social, political, and economic inequalities between different regions, states, groups and individuals.
You will study the politics of development itself and be empowered to find and advance alternative ways of using development practice to create a better and more just world.
The vision for this programme draws upon the original idea underpinning liberal arts degrees, that is, the goal of liberating students from the constraints of contemporary social structures and cultural practices by fostering their critical understanding of the present, their familiarity with social worlds located in other times and places, and their capacity to imagine and create new social institutions and practices for a more inclusive, equal and sustainable future.
Key benefits
- Learn how to help create a better, more just world. Our innovative and multi-disciplinary curriculum not found elsewhere in the UK enables students to focus on social sciences about development, social justice, and sustainability
- Study across a wide range of topics, exploring the key development issues and relationships that exist between gender, race, class, education, global politics, and the economy. Our programme enables you to shape your degree according to your areas of interest to help create new models of development to foster a socially just and sustainable future for all
- Work with academics who are world-leading in their fields to learn how to apply critical development theories to build better and more effective practices for social justice
- Study in a friendly and supportive Department, located by the Thames in the heart of London
- You won’t just learn the theory – we will empower you with practical, technical skills that will be easily applied to real-world situations and highly sought after by employers
Course essentials
This degree can be taken as part of a joint arrangement with our partner institution, Sciences Po that offers a graduate programme in International Affairs. Please see the Teaching & Structure tab above for more information.
Duration: One year full-time, September to September, two years part-time
Structure
Required modules
You are required to take the following modules:
- History and Approaches to Development Studies (30 credits)
- Dissertation (60 Credits)
You must also take one of the following research methods modules:
- Quantitative Methods for Social Science (15 credits)
- Advanced Quantitative Methods for Causal Inference (15 credits)
- Introduction to Qualitative Methods (15 credits)
- Advanced Qualitative Methods (15 credits)
Optional modules
In addition, you are required to take 75 credits from a range of optional modules, which may typically include:
- Gender, Society & Development (15 credits)
- Poverty, Inequality & Social Policy in Emerging Economies (15 credits)
- Displacement and Development in the Contemporary Era (15 credits)
- Social Justice: Ethnographic Insights (15 credits)
- Global Labour and Development (15 credits)
- Project Management in International Development (15 credits)
- Latin American Development in Historical Perspective: Development Trajectories and Contemporary Challenges (15 credits)
- Climate, Environment, and Uneven Development (15 credits)
- Race, Gender and Development (15 credits)
- Environment and Development: Crises, Power, and Transformations (15 credits)
- Practical and Theoretical Evaluation of Sustainable Development (15 credits)
- Out of these 75 credits, students may take a maximum of 30 optional credits from level 7 modules outside of their programme’s approved module list.
Students may also take an additional modern language module in addition to their 180 credits.
Part-time students should plan to take the required module in their first year worth 30 credits, at least one research methods module worth 15 credits from the list above plus 30 credits of optional modules. During their second year, students will take the required Dissertation module worth 60 credits and 45 credits worth of optional modules to make up 180 credits in total.
Part-time students may also take a maximum of 30 credits of optional modules from other departments within their required number of credits, one module per year, as well as an additional modern language option in addition to their 180 credits. Students are also welcome to attend optional pre-sessional courses during induction week in September. Pre-sessional courses include introductory modules on economics, political theory, political science and public policy.
King’s College London reviews the modules offered regularly to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, the modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.
Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place for all students who elect to study this module.
When you graduate from this Development Studies MA, you’ll be equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to pursue a career in the private, public and third sectors.
Previous graduates from the department have worked in a range of institutions, including:
- NGOs such as OXFAM, Citizens UK, and Save the Children UK
- Think tanks such as Chattom House, Brookings, and Issam Fares Institute in Beirut
- Governments such as the Royal Jordanian Court, the Innovation and Technology Ministry in Croatia, and the State Department in the USA
- International Organizations such as the ILO and UN
- Some have continued their studies to work on PhDs at King’s, as well as at LSE, Po, Oxford, Exeter and more