Best development studies school in UK?

Any link for UK development studies departments ranking? Kind of confused......IDS, SOAS, IDPM, East Anglia...the best school in the UK?

Reply 1

Mad4footie

Original post by google06

Any link for UK development studies departments ranking? Kind of confused......IDS, SOAS, IDPM, East Anglia...the best school in the UK?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2008/dec/18/rae-2008-development-studies

Sussex is not on there for some reason, but I've heard it's pretty good.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2

drive like june

There is also ODID at Oxford and IDD at Birmingham... check the RAE published in 2008, I think they have development studies rankings.

Reply 3

mj0911

Cambridge has a (relatively new) course in international development, and LSE does as well - the London unis can be great for internship opportunities as many of the big aid agencies are london-based. As far as I know Oxford is considered extremely strong theoretically, and IDS/Sussex is considered to be great for methodology/practical training. SOAS has a very strong reputation in development studies (I applied for my PhD there), and LSE is pretty strong too (also applied for PhD).

Reply 4

google06

RAE doesnt have Sussex. But hv heard that IDS is the best out there. And LSE isnt that great when it comes to dev studies. hv applied to ids, soas, idpm and uae. got an offer from idpm...waiting for other schools. but stl in dilemma.

Reply 5

der.verrueckte

Oxford's, Queen Elizabeth House. All the way.

Reply 6

drive like june

Original post by google06

Well yeah, probably because IDS is separate from Sussex. Sussex has it's own international development department which only offers 'international development studies' at the undergrad level, so I doubt it would submit anything to the RAE.

Reply 7

Kafka is magic

Hi, this is my anecdotal response amongst all the other anecdotal responses in this thread. I am currently in the latter stages of a Msc 'Sustainable Development' course at a University of London College.

I think there are a number of issues with your question. The first is what exactly you mean by 'development studies' departments. If you mean just that, then the 'best' list will be as long as the total list as there simply arn't that many independent development studies departments in the UK. If you are willing to broaden your search to include geography departments which have a recognised development geography branch, then you will be considering more options (this is exulding all the other areas concerned of/with 'development' such as politics, sociology, area studies etc). Secondly, I think you need to make a distinction between whether you are looking at a vocationally orientated course or a more academic/theoretical one (i.e. some courses are clearly designed to guide you into developmental career - say with the UN - whereas some are designed to prepare you for PhD research). The last issue is defining the 'highest ranked' department in something of the nature of 'development'. Arguably, 'development' is not like other academic disciplines and is not really an academic discipline at all. It is an endeavour, a project - its subject matter is constantely changing and so are its methods and techniques, it responds to and seeks to change the world in an every changing configuration of ways. On what terms you judge the 'success' of such an endeavour is basically impossible to come to. And if you did, it would change tomorrow.

In my experience the most important 'development' instititue in the last 30 years has been Sussex - in terms of links with political institutions, methodological approaches and theory. It has led the post-structuralist turn in general, particularly in terms of things like modern conceptions of famines, participation and participatory methods, sustainable development, rural development and livelihoods approaches.

A few people are inevitably mentionting Cambridge and Oxford in this thread. Although I have no reason to call myself an expert, they do not hold the same gravitas as such institutions as Sussex, Soas and UEA in the development field.

Reply 8

google06

well, that was a general question. but it seems IDS is the best out there when it comes to practical orientation and many of the south asian policies framework are developed there.

no more opinions?

Not sure how it's ranked but this looks like an interesting joint program with Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin. Includes fieldwork in Rwanda.

http://www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies/prospectivestudents/courses/taught/listing/atozpg.php?course_id=192

Reply 11

mj0911

Original post by google06

well, that was a general question. but it seems IDS is the best out there when it comes to practical orientation and many of the south asian policies framework are developed there.

LSE is actually pretty good for development studies (I will probably choose it over SOAS for my PhD) and more practically oriented than Oxford's course (which is the strongest theoretically) plus you have the added benefit of a strong reputation in general (people all over the world have heard of LSE, not so much UEA etc) and the base in London which gives you access to all sorts of internships (also a strength at SOAS). Anyway my point is don't write it off if you have the grades to get in - you will be working from people all over the world if you work in international development, and not necessarily people who have a handle on what are the best specialist ID courses in the UK, so in terms of career prospects after it's worth taking into consideration. Obviously UK based development agencies will have a better idea of the strengths of UK courses, but relying on that might narrow your prospects - more likely your CV will be in front of a non-UK national in an international NGO/agency. Anyway, the most important thing is work experience so take a look at what courses really offer you the chance to do internships/work with development agencies. Everyone's idea of what is 'best' will differ according to their own perceptions and their own interests.