Poverty reduction is the ultimate measure of development effectiveness. This one-year MA course is designed to examine thinking, policy and practice on vulnerability and poverty. It provides students with the knowledge and skills to engage professionally with the design, implementation and assessment of national and international efforts to reduce poverty.

At the end of the course students will be able to approach issues in poverty reduction and development with confidence, having gained:

• Knowledge of the main theories, concepts and debates of development in their historical and contemporary context with specialised knowledge on poverty reduction.
• A practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge.
• The ability to engage in an informed and critical way with other professionals from diverse social science backgrounds concerned with poverty reduction and development.
• The ability to use commonly applied research methods and skills, drawing on both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Full programme for 2013 MA Poverty and Development (pdf)

“IDS truly offers a world-class, rigorous and interdisciplinary training in Development Studies, with a focus on both teaching and research within an inter-disciplinary environment.”
Zuki Mqolomba MA Poverty and Development student 2010/11