Career paths
The SOAS MSc in Development Economics and the critical approach to economic and development issues it provides is a gateway to various job opportunities in international organisations, governments, NGOs and private companies. The advanced nature of the programme also serves as an excellent foundation for PhD studies.
The objectives of the programme are:
- To enable students to apply the principles of economic analysis to the design of economic policy
- To teach postgraduates the technical and analytical skills to qualify them to practice as professional economists
- To enable practicing professional economists to improve and update their skills and knowledge
- To impart the skills and knowledge that enable students to progress towards PhD research
Aims
Students will benefit from studying with experts in development economics within the Department. More broadly, students will benefit from the Department's Political Economy of Development seminar series and other open lectures offered in the School.
Teaching & Learning
The MSc includes eight taught modules plus a preliminary course in Mathematics and Statistics and an 10,000-word dissertation.
The courses are taught in seminar groups and lectures. The degrees are awarded on the basis of assessed coursework, examinations and the dissertation.
The MSc degrees are taught over a period of twelve months of full-time study within a structured programme. In the case of part-time study, the degrees will be taught over two or three years. Four modules are studied each year, with the dissertation normally being completed in the second year.
Contact hours
All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.
As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. In the Department of Economics, most postgraduate modules have a two hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.
Lectures
Most modules involve a 2-hour lecture as a key component with linked seminar or tutorial classes.
Seminars
At Masters level there is particular emphasis on seminar work. Students make full-scale presentations and are expected to write papers that often require significant independent work.
Dissertation
Students are required to complete a 10,000-word dissertation in applied economics.
With a student population of around 4,000 from over 100 countries, our relatively small size ensures that we offer a friendly and welcoming environment while at the same time being able to take advantage of all University of London facilities.
- International class
- International faculty
- International study tours
- Issuance of foreign diploma and certifications
