MA Poverty and Development
Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex

During the three terms students will take four compulsory courses and two shorter options. These are taught through lectures and group tutorials and assessed through term papers of 3-5,000 words. Students also write a 10,000 word dissertation on an aspect of poverty reduction. All students will have a personal supervisor from the IDS Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction research team. During the second and third terms there are also compulsory professional skills for development courses, which provide knowledge and resources on using the analytic tools of development studies. 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.

A good honours degree in a social science discipline, and work experience in development-related work. The minimum acceptable level of English language competence is grade 7 overall, and no less than 6.5 in each section of the IELTS test (or equivalent).