The Master of Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies (CADES) is a unique and international advanced Master programme that provides a broad interdisciplinary platform to address development issues and social transformations from an anthropological perspective. The programme brings together students and professionals from all over the world who are involved or interested in social, educational, emancipatory or policy work in the development, or, more broadly, the social sector.

The online MSc International Development builds on the established global reputation of the Development Studies department as one of the top places in the world to study international development. We welcome applications from those who have worked in development, however broadly defined, but also from students without relevant work experience who can demonstrate a strong interest in, and understanding of, issues pertaining to international development.

MSc Education (Policy and International Development) The Policy and International Development pathway focuses on the relationship between education policy and practice and international development. It probes the influence of global policy agendas on education and the contribution that education makes to social justice, economic growth and sustainable development.

MSc Global Development (Labour and Activism) students are encouraged to examine critically the relationship between labour, capitalism, development and poverty. We investigate labour in the contemporary social and economic development of the Global South as well as established and emerging social movements of labour in local, national and international spaces. You will learn to identify and evaluate the relationship between collective agency, policy and vice-versa.

The MSc Research for International Development is a cutting-edge degree funded and supported by the UK’s ESRC (The Economic and Social Research Council). The programme equips you with the theoretical background and analytical skills to inquire into the relationship between theory, research methods and politics in international development.

This MSc Development and Security innovative programme explores the link and tensions between development and security concerns in theory and practice. Specifically, it builds on the unique combination of expertise and experience in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies to Examine the nature of violent conflict in the world today and the international community's response to it

Our Environment, Politics and Development MSc programme provides an advanced theoretical understanding of the relationship between development problems and environmental issues. You will explore these relationships from the perspectives of political ecology, development geography and environmental governance. To illustrate these relationships, we use relevant case studies drawn from across the globe.

The MSc in Migration, Mobility and Development programme offers you the opportunity to combine study and analysis of critical perspectives on development and the related field of migration studies. Our core course reflects the department’s diverse disciplinary and epistemological concerns, and approaches to the study of migration and development through political economy, decolonial, postcolonial, and institutionalist perspectives, drawing from debates in Sociology, Geography, Politics and Anthropology.

The MSc International Development 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.

Who gains from situations of conflict? In what ways can violence affect development? What are the challenges to post-conflict reconstruction? This pioneering MSc Violence, Conflict and Development programme explores the complex links between violent conflict and development, both historically and today.

The MSc in Software Development is designed in collaboration with industry to provide a year of intensive education in software development and is specifically designed for graduates of non-computing disciplines. It has an extremely high graduate employability rate and is the highest-rated MSc computing course for student satisfaction in the UK.

The MSc Development Economics is the flagship Master's programme offered by the SOAS Economics Department. It integrates two fundamental intellectual traditions that our unique Department has cultivated for decades: a rigorous pluralist theoretical approach to economics and a focus on real-world development issues using modern economic analytical tools.

Environmental challenges and development concerns are high on the international policy agenda. Our MSc Environment and Development programme encourages you to consider the politicised interconnections between socio-economic demands (the search for growth) and environmental degradation, as well as the tensions between the state and society’s outlooks.

Our Leadership and Development MSc focuses on the issues that highlight the significance of leadership processes and outcomes in the dynamics of development. Through this programme, you will gain an understanding of the increasingly key role leadership plays in development and transformation, with a focus on global south contexts.

Explore global poverty solutions with our MSc in International Development. Combine theoretical and practical teaching, gain critical insights, and receive personalised support from expert faculty in a supportive and diverse academic community.