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Manchester, Nottingham or Sussex for MSc Development Economics

Which university course would you say is best for studying Development Economics? I'm currently looking at Manchester (MSc Development Economics & Policy), Nottingham (MSc Economics and Development Economics), and Sussex (MSc Development Economics) - but curious to hear other suggestions too.

If anyone is doing or has completed one of these courses, I'd be keen to hear your views on how they are. I'm looking for a course that ideally balances the following elements, which may be asking too much!

1. Medium level of maths and technical skills - beyond the basics and lays a strong foundation for professional practice or PhD research, but without spending large amounts of time on proofs, or overly narrow focus on mathematical modelling e.g. inclusive of qualitative, inter-disciplinary approaches.

2. On top of contemporary debates on economics problems, trends in the discipline and methodological innovations - not relying only on standard textbooks of the early 2000s (which appears to be the case with some other courses I've seen).

3. Well-respected development specialism, and open to critical and inter-disciplinary approaches including political economy and economic history, but also credible reputation on mainstream, straight economics.

4. Practical and policy-oriented, especially applied microeconomics. But at the same time, a sufficiently rigorous theoretical basis to leave the door open for PhD research.

Thanks

Reply 1

franca555

Exactly what I want to know...