Department of Development Studies

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Duration
One calendar year (full-time), two (part-time, daytime only). We recommend that part-time students have between two and a half and three days free in the week to pursue their course of study.
Start of programme
September
Attendance mode
Full-time or part-time
Location
On campus
Fees

Home: £12,220
International: £25,320

Course code
M9S3
Entry requirements

We will consider all applications with 2:2 (or international equivalent) or higher.

 

In addition to degree classification we take into account other elements of the application such as supporting statement. References are optional, but can help build a stronger application if you fall below the 2:2 requirement or have non-traditional qualifications.

See international entry requirements and English language requirements.

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MSc Global Development (Labour and Activism) applicants apply for MSc Global Development but can decide to follow the Labour and Activism Pathway upon arrival by choosing the combination of modules required.

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.

We work in a seminar/tutorial formats that encourage critical thinking and participation via an emphasis on the relationship between theory and practice. Programme lecturers are not just research active. We are also activists and have experience of participation in labour and social movements across the world - Latin America, Africa and Asia and Europe and have on-going contacts with such movements as well as with NGOs and international organisations.

Why study MSc Global Development (Labour and Activism) at SOAS?

  • SOAS is ranked 3rd in the world for Development Studies (QS World University Rankings 2024)
  • We are ranked 2nd in the world for Academic Reputation (QS World University Rankings 2024)
  • There is also the opportunity to take virtual work placements. This year MSc students taking the International Development Placement module were offered placements at the Overseas Development Institute, ISEAL, and MSF. (Numbers in this module are capped to 75 students due to limited availability)

Who should apply?

The MSc Global Development (Labour and Activism) programme is for students who wish to understand how labour and collective agency impacts on core processes of development. Our students acquire skill sets that combine theory and practice of labour, social movements and how they interplay with key developmental themes and interventions.

The programme is relevant to students with a strong background in the social sciences in their first degree as well as practitioners and activists from a wide spectrum of organisations and approaches.

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Students must take 180 credits per year comprised of 120 taught credits (including core, compulsory and optional modules) and a 60 credit dissertation.

Open modules: Students can choose up to 30 credits from other Departments as open options.

Important notice

The information on the website reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. The modules are indicative options of the content students can expect and are/have been previously taught as part of these programmes. 

However, this information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change. 

Core module

Compulsory module

Guided modules

A minimum of 30 credits to be selected from Guided options. If International Development Placement is not available, the two remaining guided options should be taken.

A further 15 credits can be selected from Open options.

Open options

Students can take a maximum of 15 credits from the School-wide open options list, including languages.

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Our teaching and learning approach is designed to support and encourage students in their own process of self-learning, and to develop their own ideas, responses and critique of international development practice and policy. We do this through a mixture of lectures, and more student-centred learning approaches (including tutorials and seminars). 

Teaching combines innovative use of audio-visual materials, practical exercises, group discussions, and weekly guided reading and discussions, as well as conventional lecturing.

Dissertation

In addition to the taught part of the masters programme, all students will write a 10,000 word dissertation. Students develop their research topic under the guidance and supervision of an academic member of the Department. Students are encouraged to explore a particular body of theory or an academic debate relevant to their programme through a focus on a particular region.

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. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

SOAS Library

SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.

Pre-entry reading

  • Bernstein, H. 2007, ‘Capital and labour from centre to margins’.
    Keynote address for conference on Living on the Margins.
    Vulnerability, Exclusion and the State in the Informal Economy, Cape
    Town, 26-28 March 2007. (PDF available to view) 
  • Breman, J. 2013. At Work in the Informal Economy of India: A
    Perspective from the Bottom Up. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Chen, M. 2012. The Informal Economy: Definitions, Theories and
    Policies WIEGO Working Paper No. 1 
  • Davis M. 2006. Planet of Slums. London: Verso. (PDF available)
  • Federici, S. 2004. Caliban and the Witch, NY: Autonomedia. (PDF available)
  • Ferguson S., McNally D. 2015. ‘Precarious Migrants: Gender, Race and
    the Social Reproduction of a Global Working Class’, Socialist Register
    51 (Link to abstract and PDF)
  • Freund B. 1988. The African worker. Cambridge University Press.
  • Linebaugh P. and Rediker M. 2008. The Many Headed Hydra: Slaves,
    Sailors and Commoners and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary
    Atlantic. Boston: Beacon Press. (PDF available)
  • Lockman Z., 2008. “Reflections on Labor and Working-Class History in
    the Middle East and North Africa”, in Jan Lucassen ed. Global Labour
    History. Bern: Peter Lang.
  • Pun Ngai. 2005. Made in China. Duke University Press
  • Silver B. 2003. Forces of Labour: Workers' Movements and Globalization
    Since 1870. Cambridge University Press. (PDF available)
  • Standing, G. 2014. The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class, London:
    Bloomsbury academic.
  • Wright M. 2006. Disposable Women and other myths of global Capitalism.
    New York: Routledge. (PDF available)

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A degree from the Department of Development Studies at SOAS will further develop your understanding of the world and how society is organised, with specific focus on violence and conflict, the role of aid, refugees and forced migration. Graduates leave with a range of transferable skills, including critical thinking, analytical skills and cultural awareness.

Recent graduates have been hired by:

  • Amnesty International
  • BBC World Service
  • British Embassy Brussels
  • Department for International Development
  • Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
  • Embassy of Japan
  • Government of Pakistan
  • Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
  • International Labour Organization (ILO)
  • KPMG LLP
  • Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
  • National Health and Medical Research Council
  • Overseas Development Institute
  • Oxfam
  • Royal Norwegian Embassy
  • Save the Children UK
  • The World Bank
  • Thinking Beyond Borders
  • US Department of State
  • UN World Food Programme
  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees
  • WaterAid

Find out about our Careers Service.

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