65 Development Studies Master's Degree Programs

Study our on-campus MPhil/PhD in Development Studies at SOAS to realise your potential to tackle global injustice and transform the world with your research impact. As a PhD researcher, you’ll join a renowned globally diverse research community with access to research and teaching opportunities, as well as a substantial series of seminars presented by leading development professionals and practitioners.

Decision-making is constantly a challenging process with a growing number of variables and expectations to be met in several fields, all directly impacting society. In this Master’s you will acquire the tools to prompt personal and organizational development both for public and non-governmental companies. The Master’s program in International Development and Public Policy responds to the demand for applied training in the fields of Public Policy and Development, tailored to attract high-quality international students from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, from the social sciences and humanities to economics, political science, and engineering.

The master's degree program in Human Developmental Science is a multidisciplinary degree intended to provide both breadth and depth in the study of human development. The required portion of the 32 credit program consists of two parts: The classroom component and the cumulative thesis project or non-thesis option (applied internship). The classroom component is divided into content courses and research related courses. In the content courses sequence students will take two semesters of a core class in human development sequence, two semesters of a statistics and design sequence, and three special topics courses (21 credits). The research related courses consist of two semesters of the research colloquium and one course in responsible conduct in research (5 credit hours). The cumulative project has a research and non research applied track–an applied internship. Students in the research track do a research thesis project with a faculty mentor (6 credit hours) and students in the non research applied track take an additional class and an internship that is approved by both the advisor and program (6 credit hours).

Communication for Development (ComDev) is an interdisciplinary field combining studies on culture, media, communication, and development. ComDev explores communication within contexts of articulating global and local processes of social change. This is a half-time study programme, combining courses on culture, communication, and development and integrating them with practical fieldwork. It explores the use of communication - both as a tool and as a way of expressing processes of social change - within the context of globalisation.

Confront the challenges of achieving just and sustainable development outcomes. Address issues in development policy and debate with experts in anthropology, international relations, political economy, linguistics, public health, human geography, economics and sociology. Benefit from workshops, seminars and conferences in a research-driven environment and industry connections.

In this master’s degree, you will understand the fundamentals of human development and how different cooperation and social economy businesses work. You will acquire the necessary management, financial and organisational tools to lead non-profit entities or to develop transformative projects in your current professional field. 

Japan-Global Development program (JGDP) is a newly established two-year master’s program to provide students the opportunity to learn universal development and growth logic in the fields of politics, economy and management, using Japan’s experiences in economic development and corporate growth as basic case materials. The JGDP was jointly developed by JICA and IUJ under the JICA-DSP.* *JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Development Studies Program (JICA-DSP) ”JICA-DSP” is a program that invites future leaders from partner countries to Japan to complete master’s or doctor’s degrees at Japanese graduate schools, where they learn about Japan’s experiences with its own modernization and development experience with Japanese development cooperation to other countries. JICA and universities in Japan jointly built and offer the JICA-DSP. Students will not only study in their respective academic fields, but will also learn much from modern Japan’s experience of development, which differs significantly from the history of growth and development found in the West. Students can study the “Japanese experience” systematically, including even negative ones, so that they may use this knowledge to contribute to the development of their own countries.

The program is designed for those interested in tackling global challenges through the lens of development, technology, and innovation. It combines insights from policy studies, economics, and technology to help students understand how innovative sol…

This joint master's degree ranks in the top 5 programs in Spain on Cooperation and Sustainability, and its multidisciplinary nature is reflected in the variety of its students, both in terms of fields they come from (Social Work, Economics, Sociology, Architecture, Health Sciences, Law) and their countries of origin, being one of our university´s most international programs.

It can be expected from prospective students to submit an admissions essay or to sit for an examination or do additional modules to enable them to reach the desired level of study.

This Master´s Program is designed to train experts in international development cooperation through a complete program that pays attention to the theoretical and practical dimensions of development cooperation. The general objective of the Master is to provide students with advanced training, of a specialized nature and based on theoretical and instrumental knowledge that will allow them to acquire and develop the necessary skills and abilities to obtain a qualification as a professional in development cooperation.

In order to respond to these two trends, Jagiellonian University launches the International Security and Development program. ISAD aims to foster creative thinking about complex problems of global security and development, as well as to equip students with analytical tools, language expertise, and cross-cultural understanding.

The main objective of this Master´s degree is to train professionals, researchers specialised in the design, processing and control of food products from the point of view of ensuring their quality, safety, and viability, bearing in mind both sensory acceptance criteria and nutritional value. The knowledge, aptitudes and skills acquired by students who study this master’s degree will allow them to join, with a solid base, professional jobs in product development and innovation in RDI departments, or in process control and planning in quality control departments or in research positions in universities or other public or private centres. This Master has a double itinerary: professional and research. The research itinerary will allow the student to follow studies leading to a doctorate.

At least two years appropriate practice experience.

The Máster Universitario en Cooperación al Desarrollo (interuniversity UVEG, UJI, UA, UMH) responds to the need to offer, by the five Valencian public universities, high-level training in Development Cooperation. The complexity and growing concern about development and poverty issues have led international organizations, states and social entities to channel resources to a sector that demands qualified professionals with specific and interdisciplinary training.