MSc Development Economics with Placement Year
London, United Kingdom
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2024
TUITION FEES
GBP 25,320 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for overseas student fees +£1,385 placement year fee | home student fees: GBP 12,220 per year +£1,385 placement year fee
Introduction
The MSc Development Economics with Work Placement Year is the flagship Master's programme offered by the SOAS Economics Department.
It combines the two core intellectual traditions nurtured for decades in our unique department: a pluralist approach to economics and a focus on real-world development issues. If you are interested in understanding how the global economy works, what economic challenges and opportunities countries in the Global South face, and what to do about intensifying inequalities and ecological breakdown, this degree is for you.
In macroeconomics, you will engage with different schools of macroeconomic thought on issues like inflation, unemployment, inequality, money creation, climate change and macroeconomic policy. In microeconomics, different theoretical perspectives on issues like market failures, risk, market structures and production are compared and contrasted. In development economics, you are introduced to economic theories and policies for development through a historical, pluralist and decolonial approach.
For your placement year, you will have the opportunity to take part in a full-time, 10– 12-month work placement at an organisation of your choice.
Students in this program can apply for a dissertation co-supervised with key international organisations, such as the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank.
Why study MSc Development Economics with Work Placement Year at SOAS?
- SOAS is ranked 27th in the UK for economics (QS World University Rankings 2023)
- We are top 20 in the UK for student satisfaction with teaching (Complete University Guide 2023)
- We are top 40 in the UK for economics (Complete University Guide 2023)
Admissions
Curriculum
The MSc Development Economics is a taught Masters degree. It consists of eight modules delivered through lectures, classes, and tutorials and a 10,000-word dissertation. The degree is awarded on the basis of examinations written in May and a dissertation which is submitted in September. All students must complete the compulsory Preliminary course in Mathematics and Statistics which is taught over three weeks in August/ September before the start of the core modules of the MSc.
Completion of the placement year comes with an optional additional 60 credits (on top of the mandatory 180 credits that need to be completed for the MSc Development Economics degree).
A complete list of optional modules in the programme is listed below, not all of which are offered in any single year.
Compulsory
- Macroeconomics
- Microeconomics
- Growth and Development
- Econometrics with R Coding
- Essay Writing Workshop - Postgraduate Economics
Guided Options - List A
60 credits to be selected from Guided Options. Regional Modules or Lines of Specialization can be advised by the Department. Students may wish to discuss recommended combinations.
- International Finance
- Political Economy of Institutions
- Political Economy of Development and Change in the Middle East
- Economic Development in the Asia Pacific Region
- Financial Systems and Economic Development
- Evaluation Methods for Economic Policy
- Research Methods
- Advanced Econometrics with R Coding
- Economics of Environment and Development
- Global Economic Policy Analysis
- Advanced Microeconomics
- Advanced Macroeconomics
- China and World Development
- Green Finance
- Economic Development of Africa (PG)
- Data Analytics with Python
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
The 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.
Recent graduates have been hired by:
- Bain & Co
- Bank of America
- Cabinet Office
- Deloitte
- Ernst & Young
- HM Treasury
- KPMG
- NHS England
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- HSBC
- National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi
- UK Civil Service
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- University of Bayreuth
- HM Treasury
- Department for International Development
- PwC
- UNDP
- King’s Investment Fund
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- The World Bank
- EY
- British Chamber of Commerce
- Oxfam
- RBS
Program Leaders
Program delivery
The MSc includes eight taught modules plus a preliminary course in Mathematics and Statistics and a 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.