King's College London - Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy

MSc in Emerging Economies and International Development

Structure

Required modules

You are required to take the following modules:

• Topics in the Analysis of Emerging Economies (15 credits)
• Development Theory and Emerging Economies (15 credits)
• Dissertation (60 Credits)

You must also take at least one 15-credit methods module, out of the following four:

• 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 the remaining credits from a wide range of options that may typically include:

• Gender, Society & Development (15 credits)
• Poverty, Inequality & Social Policy in Emerging Economies (15 credits)
• The Political Economy of Market Reforms (15 credits)
• Multinational Enterprises, Global Value Chains & Local Development (15 credits)
• Comparative Public Policy Analysis In Emerging Economies (15 credits)
• Industrial Development: Strategy and Competitiveness (15 credits)
• The Politics Of Managing Public Finances In Emerging Economies (15 credits)
• Industrial Economics & International Development (15 credits)
• Social Justice: Ethnographic Insights (15 credits)
• Education & Development (15 credits)
• Health Policy and Healthcare Systems in Emerging Economies (15 credits)
• Advanced Quantitative Methods for Causal Inference (15 credits)
• Advanced Qualitative Methods (15 credits)
• Quantitative Methods for Social Science (15 credits)
• Introduction to Qualitative Methods (15 credits)
• Practical and Theoretical Evaluation of Sustainable Development (15 credits)
• Project Management for International Development (15 credits)
• Climate, Environment, and Uneven Development (15 credits)
• Political Economy of Latin America: Development Trajectories and Contemporary Challenges (15 credits)
• Displacement and Development in the Contemporary Era (15 credits)
• Governing Complex Societies: Federalism, Decentralisation & Development (15 credits)

Up to 30 credits from departments across the university, including the possibility of taking a language module, subject to approvals(the external modules and the language option would normally be included in the required number of credits for the programme, 180 credits).

Part-time students should plan to take two required modules in their first year worth 30 credits, at least one 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.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis 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.

During this Emerging Economies and International Development MSc, you’ll combine distinct disciplinary training on subjects like development theory and practice, poverty and inequality, gender, and social policy with applied case studies on specific middle-income countries and regions.

It’s your opportunity to explore key questions relating to international development. You’ll learn why some countries grow fast while others stagnate, and why some countries are more equal than others. You’ll study the development strategies that exist at national and international levels, and explore the historical developments that influence contemporary problems and solutions. You’ll discover how the world is reconfigured by changes in geopolitical relations and question whether economic growth is the main development goal or problem.

By focusing on middle-income countries, you’ll get the chance to think through successes and failures, problems and solutions of a world that actively seeks social, political and economic change.

The multidisciplinary syllabus of this Emerging Economies and International Development MSc straddles a range of disciplines including politics, anthropology, sociology, economics, and history. The curriculum provides intellectual perspectives from the Global South and the Global North and is taught by a truly diverse teaching body of experts from across the world.

To begin, you will build your knowledge of development theory and practice relevant to middle-income countries. You’ll develop your research skills and gain a wider understanding of specific topics of analysis, such as social justice, inequality, labour, trade and markets, institutions and politics.

You will also get the opportunity to explore your perspective of development through a list of optional modules. You’re invited to mix and match modules that cover research methods, development topics, development practice and specific regions to specialise further.

When you study this Emerging Economies and International Development MSc, you’ll join a dynamic and innovative department that works closely with students to develop expertise in the field of international development and in middle-income countries that can be particularly attractive to the labour market.

And thanks to our location in the heart of London, you can benefit from our close links with NGOs, think tanks, charities, and research organisations, as well as other Universities and the cultural sector.

You will graduate with a deeper knowledge of key contemporary issues, regional expertise, an understanding of research methods and a range of critical skills that you can apply in the development sector.

Would you prefer to focus more on the political economy of emerging markets, including states, markets and the institutional basis of growth? If so, take a look at our Political Economy of Emerging Markets MSc.

As an Emerging Economies and International Development MSc graduate, you will be equipped with a combination of research training, development practice skills and subject knowledge that can be applied in a number of international development roles as well as in national policy.

The expertise and skills you learn in this programme are very attractive to the labour market and will enhance your employability in the development sector, both within the UK and other OECD countries, as well as within emerging economies.

But you’ll also be able to use your transferable skills in a number of alternative careers, such as in consultancy organisations, in private sector companies with global operations, or in policymaking.

Graduates of the Emerging Economies and International Development MSc have gone on to work in roles in:

• Development Think Tanks
• International Non-Governmental Organisations
• Government and policy
• Consultancy and advisory bodies
• Labour rights consultancy
• Women’s rights consultancy
• United Nations
• Social enterprises