Key information
- Duration:
- 1 year full time, 2 years part time
- Start date:
- September 2020
- Apply by:
- 1 August 2020 (international), 1 September 2020 (UK/EU)
- 1st in the world for development studies (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019)
Having recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, this is one of the longest running degrees on gender and development.
At IDS, our groundbreaking work challenges ideas about gender. We work with nuanced, fluid perspectives on gender and sex, and the ways they interact.
You’ll gain a solid understanding of debates in feminist thinking, and link them to gendered policy and programming. You’ll develop in-depth knowledge and capacity for gendered analysis of specific issues such as:
- women’s empowerment
- political economy and the environment
- masculinities and patriarchy.
You’ll benefit from our international research faculty’s expertise and our strong working relationships with partner organisations around the world.
I had amazing classmates from all over the world. It was so rewarding to discover commonalities and particularities in our personal and professional experiences.”Nayelli Torres Salas
Gender and Development MA
Masters and PhD events
Meet us on campus or online
Our experts
Your course teachers are all active in the field, working on high-level policy-oriented programming and cutting-edge academic research funded by UK and European research councils, and philanthropic organisations from across the world.
Research Design
- 15 credits
- Spring & Summer Teaching, Year 1
This module aims to provides you with a practical introduction to reseach methodologies and methods. The module will combine practical exercises with structured sessions that introduce different research paradigms and principles of research design, issues around qualitative and quantitative data collection and management, analysis and intepretation, and key debates around epistemology, methodology and ethics.
To support you in developing concrete research skills and obtaining a 360-degree overview of the research cycle the module will focus on semi-structured interviewing and survey design and analysis. The merits and weaknesses of these methods will be discussed against alternatives (for example focus groups interviews, participant observation and participatory statistics) and each session will highlight the ethical and political implications of the various choices that make up a resarch design. You will be encouraged to reflect on the issues and dilemmas highlighted by the module as researchers, evaluators and commissioners of research in relation to the context in which they might do or make use of research.
Dissertation Gender and Development
- 45 credits
- Summer Teaching, Year 1
Following the submission date for Semester 2 coursework, you're required to undertake an individual project based on original research, which culminates in a ten thousand word dissertation. Most students will rely on secondary sources.
Primary data collection (fieldwork) is not essential, although you may wish to conduct a short period of fieldwork during the summer.
If you wish to undertake primary fieldwork, you will have to take one of three methods courses offered in Semester 2.
You must identify a supervisor and submit a Certificate of Approval for their dissertation by the end of May. Supervisors will guide you on developing your argument, structuring your dissertation and additional readings.
Gender, Identity and Inclusion
- 30 credits
- Autumn Semester, Year 1
The changing shape and role of the state and the rise of the corporate/private sector as an important player in development are important institutional changes in the contemporary social development arena, whilst development programmes and policies articulated through different sectors also impact on processes of social change and gender relations.
Different women and men respond to these changing institutional arrangements differently.
You examine these issues by focusing on selected sectors of development policy, such as education, the environment and social protection, and sexual health.
We consider how these areas may interact with questions of gendered identity, agency and wellbeing.
The Politics of Gender
- 30 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
During this module, you explore women's political representation and the biases in formal political institutions and systems.
The role and history of women's movements in civil society and the nature of their relationship with the state are also explored.
Following this, theories of the state and of organisational change are reviewed in relation to development institutions, to identify effective strategies for, and constraints to, institutionalising gender-sensitive approaches to development policy.
Theoretical Approaches to Gender and Development
- 30 credits
- Autumn Semester, Year 1
You are introduced to key conceptual tools and building blocks for understanding gender in development.
You consider what we mean by "gender" and how different understandings of gender have come to frame approaches to Gender and Development.
You move from considering insights from feminist theory in understanding gender identity and gender relations, to exploring the ways in which GAD has involved a radical rethinking of conventional understandings of the household and the economy and has addressed questions of power and empowerment, identity and difference.
Aid and Poverty: the Political Economy of International Development Assistance
- 15 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
International development assistance (aid) has apparently strong theoretical justification, and rich countries are increasing their aidflows to unprecedented levels in pursuit of poverty reduction. But the political economy of aid is becoming more polarised as global security concerns and global trade reform influence the purposes and practice of aid. Critics are many and anthropological, economic and political science analyses the dominant aid paradigm.
This course provides you with a historically-grounded assessment of international development assistance and its potential to reduce poverty through detailed treatment of the arguments for and against aid. There will be a strong emphasis on the new aid architecture as well as the special circumstances of 'fragile' states and the role of aid.
Climate Change and Development
- 15 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
This course provides you with an understanding of the science, politics and developmental implications of climate change and disasters, focusing on the perspectives of poor households, communities and developing countries. You will assess the overlaps between disasters, climate change and poverty, focusing on climate change adaptation and disaster risk-reduction approaches, critically analysing options to reduce negative effects and harness opportunities. You will also examine the social, political and economic drivers of vulnerability, considering how policy processes at different scales influence risk management activities and local coping strategies.
Competing in the Green Economy
- 15 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
Globalisation of production changed the way firms compete in the global economy. More recently, the emergence of China, Brazil, India and other 'rising powers' as key global economic actors has created new sources of innovation but also tougher competition in the global economy.
You examine in particular the implications for countries in the rest of Asia, Latin America and Africa: how do these new conditions impact firm competitiveness in developing countries? How can they use the new opportunities being created to upgrade their position in global value chains? How can they avoid the worst pitfalls associated with the new global competition? How can national sources of competitiveness (firms, clusters and their policy networks) be leveraged for overall better economic performance and structural change?
Development in Cities
- 15 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
You learn how development in cities is critical for the delivery of Sustainable Development Goals.
You examine how:
- more than half of humanity lives in urban areas and poverty is urbanising
- cities are places of economic growth and opportunity
- urbanisation is accompanied by rising inequalities, security and safety concerns and challenges to sustainability.
You look at key concepts and challenges, and the necessity to understand cities as quantitatively and qualitatively different from, but closely connected to, the rural contexts for which much of the traditional development approaches have been devised.
You learn the key frameworks for understanding and learning about the unique challenges of development in cities.
Governance of Violent Conflict and (In)security
- 15 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
You examine fundamental questions that armed conflicts and political violence raise about the role and relevance of the state and the process of governance.
You evaluate alternative approaches to the explanation of conflicts, together with their incorporation in the conflict- assessment frameworks used by policy-makers.
You study:
- the role and limits of external interventions in preventing and managing violent conflict
- the problems of governance in unstable and insecure political environments
- post-conflict reconstruction and the legitimacy and capacities of the state
- the control and reform of security institutions
- the 'design' of political institutions to facilitate the management of conflict and situations of non-war armed violence associated, for instance, with high levels of crime.
Health and Development
- 30 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
Despite 20th-century medical and technological advances, health status is desperately low in many parts of the world and millions of people lack access to basic services. This course examines health systems in the face of the major developmental and organisational challenges of the 21st century. The course takes a fresh approach to the political economy of health care, examining health systems as 'knowledge economies' - ways of organising access to expert knowledge or expertise, embodied in both people and products - and focuses on how health systems could better benefit the poor.
Nutrition
- 15 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
This module is intended to equip you with an understanding of: the causes, extent and distribution of global undernutrition and its consequences; what works in terms of direct and indirect interventions to address undernutrition; and mechanisms designed to raise the political profile, commitment and leadership behind undernutrition reduction.
The module will be taught by a mixture of lectures and seminars and will be grouped under the following topics:
- Introduction to course: the nature of undernutrition - determinants and consequences
- What works: immediate level interventions
- What works: underlying indirect interventions
- Addressing the basic causes - approaches to the politics and economics of undernutrition
- The enabling environment: transforming leadership, commitment and resources, the role of metrics, accountability mechanisms and real time surveillance
You will be encouraged to participate actively and reflect on your learning throughout the module through non-assessed groupwork. To assess individual progress a final assessment will be held at the end of the course.
Poverty, Violence and Conflict
- 15 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
This course will assess conflict shocks and examine their differences relative to other socio-economic shocks. This will draw on both existing literature on conflict and the history of conflict analysis within different social sciences. You will examine the difficulties or research in conflict areas, including measurement, ethical concerns, and security concerns, and assess where we stand in terms of empirical knowledge. You will critically review the latest research on micro-level analysis of conflict, going on to examine the impact of conflict shocks on households and individuals, drawing on insurance and risk theory, and assess the impact of conflict on education, health and poverty. You will then examine preventive policies including the potential role of social protection in preventing conflict and post-conflict situations. The course, finally, will turn to an assessment of the role of international institutions, NGO's and community-driven initiatives in the context of conflict-affected 'fragile' states.
Public Financial Management
- 15 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
States in developing countries frequently lack the resources, administrative capacity and legitimacy needed to reproduce themselves and pursue their goals and the goals of society. This course explores the behaviour of states through the lens of public finance. How do states manage international capital flows, including FDI, debt, and aid? What domestic sources are available without excessively burdening economic actors or coercing popular sectors? How do states prioritise and allocate their resources in ways that deepen democracy, manage macroeconomic balances, pursue efficiency, and improve distribution?
We will address these questions by considering the following four broad themes: capital flows (including FDI, debt, and aid); revenues (rents and tax); budgeting; and the political economy of public finance.
Reflective and Creative Practice for Social Change
- 15 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
You explore diverse methods of reflective practice and their uses in facilitating change with professionals, activists, communities, organisations, and movements.
You examine critical, experiential, creative and transformative approaches to learning and reflection, including Western traditions of reflexivity (e.g. feminist, postcolonial, critical and participatory scholarship) and approaches from other cultures, spiritual traditions and the creative arts.
With a focus on learning by doing, and linking practice with theory, you inquire into the ways in which reflective practices can transform personal experience as well as patterns and relationships within groups, organisations and wider systems.
Depending on student interest, methods of reflective practice are explored in relation to participatory and qualitative research, organisational learning, monitoring and evaluation, facilitation, community development, adult education, gender analysis and processes of social and political empowerment.
Theory and Practice of Impact Evaluation
- 15 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
This module teaches elements of impact evaluation methods of welfare programmes in developing countries. It is designed for an audience of social scientists and is presented at a low-medium level of technical difficulty. Statistical and econometric methods of impact evaluation are presented together with sessions on theory-based evaluation and practical issues of management and design. The module is not only designed for researchers interested in conducting impact evaluations, but also for those interested in overseeing, commissioning or studying impact evaluations conducted by other researchers.
The module offers a balanced combination of substantive content and application of that content in various ways. After an introductory lecture, you will form small groups with other students taking the module and will identify a policy relevant issue and a specific public intervention to evaluate. Lectures will be followed by group-work sessions in which participants will learn how to build the components of a full evaluation design. Each group work session will conclude with one or two short presentations. Two of the group work sessions will be structured as computer labs where you will learn how to use specialised software. In a concluding session, groups will present their evaluation design to the other participants and the presentations will be collectively discussed.
Unruly Politics
- 15 credits
- Spring Semester, Year 1
Unruly Politics is a framework being developed for appreciating modalities of political action in the contemporary world.
The focus of this framework is on political actions which escape, exceed or transgress 'civil' forms of civic and democratic engagement in that they characteristically take forms that are juridically illegible, extra-legal, disruptive of the social order, strident or rude, whether this be in the form of riots and revolts or through the use of humour, disruptive aesthetics or eroticism in engagements with power.
Drawing from recent developments in continental and other philosophy and political praxis this module introduces you to theoretical approaches while using ethnographic, activist and citizen narratives of disruptive events, and unruly modalities of action in the everyday.