International Development MA

Core modules:

Professional Skills for Development

In this module, which is taught across several departments drawing in a range of multi-disciplinary expertise, students gain a critically engaged understanding of professional practice in international development and develop a range of professional skills for future career paths.  Through the module students will learn to apply academic training to real-world situations, with a strong focus on employability-related skills.



Students will be taught about a set of key transferable and employability skills in keeping with the Sheffield Graduate Attributes before being given the option to choose between one of three specialist skill development tracks for hands-on group work.   The key transferable skills covered will include communications, project design and fundraising, policy analysis and consultancy work, ethics and cultural sensitivity.  Whichever of the specialist tracks they choose, students will work on a group-based project output and an individual written assessment.  While acquiring some specialist skills, all students will reflect on all key transferable skills offered in the first half of the module.

15 credits

Ideas and Practice in International Development

This module introduces students to key theoretical debates in international development. Co-taught by the Departments of Geography, Politics, Urban Studies and Planning, and Sociological Studies, it takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring how thinking about development has changed over time, and why it has changed. The module also encourages students to think about the relationship between development theory and development practice.  It is spread over two semesters, in order to maximise the synergies between the core content of this module and the various other core and optional modules that students will take across the year.  The first semester focuses on the overarching questions of how development has been understood and conceptualised from the colonial period to the present. The changing development paradigms presented through weekly lectures are explored in depth through fortnightly seminars, each of which focuses on a set of key questions about changing theoretical perspectives and their implications for policy. The second semester then shifts focus onto a set of critical issues for policy and practice, including (for example) global health, migration, technology, urbanization and development finance.  The overall aim of the module is to build students' understanding of the origins of the idea of international development, changing debates about its meaning and purpose, and the implications of these for policy and practice.

30 credits

Optional modules:

Theory and Debates in Food Security and Food Justice

Food Security and Food Justice are areas of increasing importance at local, national, transnational and global scales. Political and non-political agents at multiple scales have recognised that Global Hunger and Food Security (of which Food Justice is a primary component) is a key challenge requiring urgent interdisciplinary investigation and problem solving. There remains limited agreement as to how best to approach these issues. This module provides students with a background to the problems encompassed within the food security/food justice nexus by drawing on academic and policy debates that focus on both the macro as well as the micro impacts. By looking across food systems, the module also critically evaluates different strategies for mitigating the impacts of food insecurity and injustice. In addition to academic, knowledge and critical thinking skills, the module will help students to develop the following attributes: Communication, Networking, Collaboration, Influencing, Inclusivity, Defining Purpose, and Growth Mindset.

15 credits

The Science of Environmental Change

This module gives students a critical understanding of the science behind historical and recent environmental change. The module covers the core debates in environmental change, the science behind these changes, methods for detecting environmental change, and the impacts of these changes, and projected future changes.

15 credits

Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the discipline underpinning both effective public health practice and research into the causes, control and prevention of disease. Knowledge and understanding of epidemiological concepts and methods is a basic requirement for effective public health practice.

This module will provide an introduction to epidemiology covering key epidemiological concepts; measures of disease; association and causation; confounding and bias. It will also introduce research designs including cross-sectional, ecological, cohort, case-control and intervention studies and introduce population health measures such as screening.

15 credits

Critical Reflections in Global Health

Global health has been described as the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organised efforts of society, with the goal being the attainment of biological, physical, and mental well-being of all members of society. In this module we take an inter-disciplinary approach to explore these themes.

Aligned with the themes of our key reader (7th edition of the Oxford Textbook of Global Public Health) we will consider some of the key concepts of global health, explore some of the determinants of health, and consider some of the key function / methods applied to address global health issues. We will then reflect on these themes in relation to the practice of global health through the lens of specific health challenges. Throughout the module themes such as inequalities in health, complexities in our response, and the political, social, and economic context within which we work will be repeatedly raised and discussed. 

In delivering this module we are excited to have secured the expertise of regional, national, and international leaders and experts who will share their learnings on a diverse range of subjects that include socioeconomic and health inequalities, health intelligence, and sexual and reproductive health. In relation to the sharing of experiences and expertise, and in stimulating engaged discussion, throughout the module you will be encouraged to develop and use a reflective learning approach to consider shifts in your perception and understanding of the issues raised.

15 credits

Global Health and Global Politics

Situated within contemporary approaches to International Relations and International Political Economy, this module will introduce you to the global politics of health, addressing health as both a global issue, and also as a quintessentially political one.

During this module, you will chart the recent rise of health as an issue of 'high politics', examine the relationship between individual and population health and the global political economy, explore the ways in which institutions by which health is governed at the global level, and analyse some of the key contemporary issues and challenges in contemporary global health governance. In doing so, we will be applying a variety of different 'lenses' (including feminist, decolonial and human rights-based approaches) to understand how these might affect what are seen as global health priorities - and what should be done about them.

Through the seminars and assessments, students on the module will further develop a variety of different skills including the analysis of issues from different perspectives, writing for policy and other non-academic audiences, presentation skills, and working as part of a team.

30 credits

Development and the State

You will explore and critically assess the political economy of development by focusing on the interplay between processes of economic transformation and the political strategies pursued by states in the name of national development. This is an interdisciplinary module, asking you to draw on development studies, the political economy of growth and transformation, and comparative capitalisms.

To begin, you will review the most salient theoretical themes in approaches to capitalist development. This will put you in a position to understand more specific theorisations of capitalist development as a state strategy in a world characterised by uneven and combined capitalist development. You will then shift your focus more specifically to the state, bringing the more generic issues reviewed at the start of the module into a focused 'developmental' framing. 

By the end of the module, you will be able to undertake ambitious evaluative work in which normative questions are asked and the prospects for capitalist development are considered.

30 credits

Hate, Hope and Digital Misinformation

The module explores contemporary issues that affect the relationship between digital media and society in the global context. It focuses on digital media and dis/misinformation (for example debates around fake news), the relationship between misinformation and online extremes (such as online hate, conspiracy theories, or online radicalisation), and attempts to counter these phenomena (including fact-checking and the creation of digital counter-narratives). These developments are contextualized in relation to longstanding debates about the ways that power, inequality and the political economy of the mainstream media shape the availability and visibility of information. The module takes examples from around the world and applies relevant theories to their analysis.

15 credits

Contemporary Challenges: Refugees and Asylum

Contemporary Challenges explores a key contemporary challenge in depth and applies key concepts in Sociology (e.g. class, race, nationalism, democracy) in analysing it. The focus of the challenge will change on a 3-4 yearly basis.
In its first iteration, the module focuses on Brexit: ideas of class and 'the left behind', English nationalism, nostalgia for empire, the media, and some of the impacts of Brexit in relation to everyday life. In doing so the module will develop a deeper understanding of the reasons behind the vote for the UK to leave the EU, as well as some of its consequences.

15 credits

Foundations of GIS

This module introduces students to the core principles and skills of GIS. It covers the major sources of data used to study the lived environment and the variety of ways it can be displayed to aid both understanding and analysis. The module has a particular focus on techniques used in the analysis of socio-economic and demographic data and its potential applications. It is taught through a combination of lectures and practical workshops using ArcGIS software.

15 credits

Optional modules:

UK-Based Field Class

This optional, UK-based field class provides you with the opportunity to explore and engage with development issues through practical fieldwork experiences. Central to the module is a focus on developing critical reflectivity on the nature of development in a particular globalised and historicised context. You will have the opportunity to practise and build on research skills learnt in Semester 1 as well as dealing with issues of ethics, power and co-produced development research and practice. You will work in-person with UK partners or conduct remote or hybrid research with overseas partners, you will develop transferable skills through teamwork and engagement with a variety of stakeholders.

For field trips to run we require a minimum number of students to sign up for these modules. This varies depending on the specifics of individual field trips. If this number is not reached, the field trip will be cancelled. To assist with planning, this module must be selected by the end of the Semester One Add/Drop period.

15 credits

Environment, Society and Development: Key Issues, Debates and Concepts

This module engages critically with the key theoretical debates that shape the relationships between the environment, society and international development. By looking at current questions in development theory and their relationship to development practice in the context of the Anthropocene and environmental change, it encourages students to think critically about the ways in which interdisciplinary approaches define issues and problems, and the theoretical viewpoints that inform their actions. The module is taught primarily through seminars: these structure students' learning, and provide an environment in which they can develop their skills in researching, presenting and debating arguments drawn from the academic literature on international development.

15 credits

International Development Fieldclass

This optional field class module provides you with the opportunity to explore and engage with development issues through practical fieldwork experiences, and to enhance your understanding of grass-roots development organisations.

Central to the module is a focus on developing critical reflectivity on the nature of development in a particular globalised and historicised context. You will have the opportunity to practise and build on research skills learnt in Semester 1 as well as dealing with issues of ethics, power and co-produced development research and practice.

You will work with an International partner, and you will develop transferable skills through teamwork and engagement with a variety of stakeholders.

For field trips to run we require a minimum number of students to sign up for these modules. This varies depending on the specifics of individual field trips. If this number is not reached, the field trip will be cancelled. To assist with planning, this module must be selected by the end of the Semester One Add/Drop period.

15 credits

Managing Climate Change

This module aims to provide students with a strong understanding of the social and physical science of climate change with relevance to international development. This understanding is then applied to consider the challenge of living with climate change in the Global South. The module is taught through seminars and lectures. Lectures introduce and impart factual knowledge while seminars allow discussion and an emphasis on applying key concepts to practical situations. Together these structure students' learning, and provide an environment in which they can develop their skills in researching, presenting and debating arguments drawn from the wide ranging literature on climate change.

15 credits

Health Promotion

Health Promotion enables people to take control over and improve their own health.  It builds on knowledge from behavioural science that individual behaviour and health are determined by the social, physical and economic environment.  This module will consider the nature of health promotion from a global perspective, the associated ideological dilemmas, current understanding of individual and group behaviours, methods of promoting health and the evaluation of health promotion.  The module will use the 5 key principles within the Ottawa Charter applied to health promotion as a framework.  Case studies will be used to give students practical examples of health promotion in different countries.

15 credits

Public Health Informatics

Public Health Informatics is a module designed to look at how informatics and information technology can be used to help address some of the major issues in public health. Public health informatics was traditionally defined as the systematic application of information and computer science and technology to public health practice, research, and learning (Yasnoff, 2000). In this module, we examine this rapidly changing field, using a combination of lectures, individual and group exercises and self directed learning. Key issues around the local, national and international contributions that technology can make to public health are critically examined and students are given a theoretical and practical grounding in this increasingly important discipline.

15 credits

Communicable Disease Control

Health protection is one of the cornerstones of public health. The control of communicable diseases is one of the major functions of health protection. This module will cover the principles of surveillance, outbreak management, immunisation programmes, and prevention and control of infectious diseases. It will also present a broad range of common infectious disease topics including HIV, tuberculosis, meningitis, diarrhoeal illnesses and hospital acquired infections. This module would provide the essential foundations for students intending to undertake the Faculty of Public Health Part A/Diploma examination.

15 credits

Using Policy to Strengthen Health Systems

The module seeks to build on students' own experiences and knowledge of policy and public health systems. During the module, you will work individually and also in groups to develop a critical understanding of policy within particular public health systems. You will consider how policy to strengthen public health systems is developed and how improvements might be targeted at any combination of the regional, national, district, and community levels.

In the module, policy is interpreted broadly as 'purposeful and deliberate actions' through which efforts can be made to reshape or address issues within public health systems and is about power and politics (cf. Gilson, 2012). Public health systems are understood both as public health systems (covering, for example, health protection, health promotion and health care public health) and, more narrowly, as health care systems. The module is suitable for students with a broad public health and health care knowledge, but also for those with more limited experience.

15 credits

Global Politics of Climate Change

This module explores the politics of global anthropogenic climate change, one of the central challenges - if not the single greatest challenge - of our age. By combining theoretical, case study and normative analysis, you will consider the nature and causes of climate change; global, national and local attempts to limit and mitigate it; its current and projected future impacts; and the possibilities of climate change adaptation. Topics discussed will range from the UN climate regime to Extinction Rebellion, from the origins of our global fossil fuel economy to the politics of renewables, and from 'climate refugees' to the political economy of carbon offsetting.

30 credits

Political Economy of Global Environmental change

Global environmental politics grapples with the key issues that shape the survival of life on Earth in the future.  Climate collapse, biodiversity loss, pandemics and pollution are just some of the problems that shape our everyday lives. Tackling them is an increasingly urgent agenda for international organisations, governments, NGOs and the wider public. To understand the origins of, the drivers of and the possible solutions to environmental degradation we need to examine them not just as matters of science, but also as wide ranging social, political, economic and cultural issues. 

In this course, you will be introduced to the major debates in the political economy of the environment. 

You will examine central debates around climate change, the Anthropocene, planetary boundaries, biodiversity loss, population, environment-conflict dynamics and human-animal relations. You will also discuss the potentials and pitfalls of different 'green' solutions such as degrowth, renewables, geoengineering, Nature Based Solutions, protected areas and green economy. You will explore these debates by analysing the different approaches to tackling global environmental change and use case studies to illuminate wider conceptual debates.

30 credits

Feminist and Decolonizing Approaches to International Relations: Bodies, Coloniality, Knowledge

This module problematizes core IR concepts and themes through an alternative 'geopolitics of knowledge' that comprises postcolonial, decolonial, feminist and queer, Marxist and post-Marxist approaches to IR theory. The first part provides an understanding of key moments, processes, actors and practices in the emergence of the modern system of sovereign states. The second part interrogates key concepts and themes in IR, including violence, the body, capitalism, globalization, sovereignty and anarchy, hierarchy and hegemony/empire, and indigeneity. In place of the 'West versus the Rest', the module will examine the imperial dimension of these themes while revealing the mutually constitutive relations between metropoles/colonies in the formation of modernity both materially and ideationally.

30 credits

Capitalism and Crisis

During this module, you will explore the relationship between capitalism and crisis through the prism of the causes of, and fallout from, the 2008 crash.

You will unpack the core concepts of the module - capitalism and crisis - and gain a brief historical overview of pre-2008 economic crises to contextualise and compare the main content of the module. You shall then go on to survey competing explanations of the 2008 crisis, by starting narrow (i.e. regulation of banking) and then broadening out (i.e. evolution of capitalism).

By the end of the module, you will have examined the economic and political fallout of  the 2008 crisis, be able to debate the extent to which the crisis was truly global, and discuss the variety of political responses to the crash.

30 credits

Cities of Diversity

Acknowledging diversity within cities is increasingly regarded as central to successful planning, urban development and city making and is a very hotly debated issue currently, particularly with #MeToo, tensions in the post-Brexit context and the aftermath of Trump! But what do we mean by diversity and what theories exist to help us understand it? This module will focus on various aspects of diversity in the form of differing social identities (such as age, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and gender - including focusing on masculinity within cities) but also critically explore the ways in which diversity is understood by policy makers and city managers. The module will focus on cities in both the global South and North and consider the significance of migration in relation to diversity in both contexts. The module will rely on a critical engagement with literature from the discipline of geography, planning, urban studies and development studies.

15 credits

Citizen Participation in Planning and Development

Recent decades have seen a proliferation of initiatives to involve citizens in policy-making, planning and urban governance. There is widespread agreement that 'citizen engagement' can play a positive role in democratizing urban development. However, public participation raises a range of significant challenges for urban professional practice. This module will draw on critical debates about the roles citizens and publics can and should play in shaping the city to reflect on the theory and practice of participation. The module is taught through seminars which structure learning, and help students to research case studies of participatory initiatives.

15 credits

Urban Informality

The overall aim of this module is to critically examine informality, with a particular but not exclusive focus on cities of the Global South. The module relies on a mixture of lectures, seminars and student-led group work, with the latter focusing on an in-depth case study of a selected city. It explores patterns and causes of informality and discusses the strengths and limitations of a range of theoretical approaches. It also analyses the success of different real-world urban planning responses (understood in broad terms), including government-led, donor-led and community-focused ones, in addressing key urban issues in the context of informality.

15 credits

Core modules - choose from:

Research Foundations with Placement

This module allows students to develop and manage an individual, interdisciplinary research project.  The module aims to help students to develop and apply research skills and an appreciation of the issues involved in managing a research project; to develop an understanding of the role of research in relation to theoretical and practical dimensions of the chosen discipline; and to further and deepen knowledge in their chosen area of international development. The module combines an independent research project with experience of working (in-person or virtually) with a development related organisation.  Students make a detailed analysis of an issue, topic or problem agreed with their host organisation, develop a research proposal, carry out research while on placement, and produce both a dissertation and a shorter consultancy-style report based on their dissertation findings. The module is supported by lectures, seminars, fieldwork and one-to-one supervision.  It includes core research methods required to undertake a dissertation at Masters level in the field of International Development, which are assessed through a 2,500-word research proposal in the Spring, and a final 10,000-word dissertation alongside the 2,500-word placement report at the end of Summer.

60 credits

Research Foundations without Placement

This module allows students to develop and manage an individual, interdisciplinary research project.  The module aims to help students to develop and apply research skills and an appreciation of the issues involved in managing a research project; to develop an understanding of the role of research in relation to theoretical and practical dimensions of the chosen discipline; and to further and deepen knowledge in their chosen area of international development. The module involves a supervised research project carried out either independently or as an attachment to a wider UoS research project.  Students make a detailed analysis of an issue, topic or problem agreed with their dissertation supervisor, develop a research proposal, carry out research, and produce a dissertation.  In the case of students working with a UoS research project, they will also engage with the Research Lead (who will usually, but not always, be their supervisor). The module is supported by lectures, seminars, fieldwork and one-to-one supervision.  It includes core research methods required to undertake a dissertation at Masters level in the field of International Development, which are assessed through a 2,500-word research proposal in the Spring, and a final 12,500-word dissertation at the end of Summer.

60 credits