Development Studies

• The programme is for those intending to pursue careers in teaching and/or research in the general field of development or the specialist areas offered as optional subjects; government officials wishing to expand their knowledge of various aspects of development; and those working in this field in international agencies or in non-governmental organisations concerned with development.
• Every year a few students from this programme may be selected to collaborate with major development organisations including DFiD and Oxfam as part of their MSc dissertation.
• You will be encouraged to attend our annual series of practitioners' talks and annual Economics seminar series.
• The programme is offered by the Centre for Development Studies, a leading institution in the UK for postgraduate study and research in the area of economic development.
• Economics in the Business School at Glasgow is ranked in the top 10% worldwide in the fields of central banking, economics of strategic management, European economics, efficiency and productivity, international finance, international trade, macroeconomics, monetary economics, open macroeconomics, public economics, and transition economics; we are ranked in the top 25% of institutions worldwide in economics research.

Programme overview

• MSc: 12 months full-time

Teaching is based on formal lectures also allow opportunities for class discussion. Some courses also involve lab sessions with students using specialised software, for instance in the study of econometrics.
The programme consists of three compulsory and four optional courses. MSc candidates also write a 12,000-15,000 word dissertation.

Compulsory courses

• Growth and development
• Development policy
• Dissertation and research methods training.

Optional courses

• Aid and development
• Basic econometrics
• Environmental economics
• Financial institutions and markets in developing countries
• Foreign direct investment and development
• International trade
• Policies for sustainability and development
• Project planning, appraisal and implementation
• The economics of inequality and deprivation
• The IMF world bank and economic growth
• Theory and principles of sustainability.

Optional courses are also offered in economic and social history, politics, Central and East European studies, and sociology, anthropology and applied social sciences. You can also take a non-credit introductory course to economics offered before semester 1 begins.


Career prospectsOur graduates go on to successful careers in international organisations, government ministries, academia and research institutions, non-governmental organisations, banks and other financial institutions.