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We are the UK association for all those who research, study and teach global development issues
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Call for PhD Masterclasses is now OPEN
What is your PhD really saying, and where could it go next?
DSA PhD student members are invited to apply for one of 20 places to participate on an exclusive Masterclass intermediately before the DSA2026 conference. The Masterclass will pair students with leading experts in development studies to provide focused, constructive feedback on their PhD projects, helping them sharpen their central claims, clarify their contribution, identify publication opportunities, and think strategically about impact and career pathways.
Application process
Deadline for applications: 2 March 2026
All those wishing to participate in the PhD Masterclass MUST also register and pay to attend the DSA2026 conference.
Please submit an abstract (up to 500 words) to conference(at)devstud.org.uk outlining your PhD project and the specific challenge you would like to focus on during the Masterclass (for example: working with elites, generalising from a small or messy dataset, applying concepts developed in other contexts, navigating theory–data tensions, or identifying publication pathways).
Please note that submissions must not exceed 500 words. Deadline for submission of abstracts: 2 March 2026
Applicants will be notified by 30 March with the committee’s decision.
The masterclass sessions are highly popular and demand exceeds the number of places available. The DSA regrets that not everyone who applies will be allocated a place and priority will be given to those applicants whose work aligns closely with the conference theme.
Masterclass format:
Each successful applicant will be allocated a 45-minute slot in a small-group Masterclass designed to provide focused, high-quality academic mentoring.
This time will be used to give a short presentation (10 mins), engage with feedback from a discussant (5 mins) and participate in a more general discussion around the issues raised. The aim is for participants to receive excellent, focused feedback, from the experts/discussants and audience members, but also to highlight issues that may be common to other researchers in the audience so we can collectively consider how to address them.
Four parallel Masterclass streams will run from 10:30-13:00 on 7 July, each chaired by members of the DSA Council and/or University College Dublin.
Ahead of the Masterclass, successful applicants will submit a four-page paper expanding on their abstract by 31 May 2026 . This will be shared with their assigned discussant and with other participants in their group, allowing everyone to arrive prepared for serious, substantive engagement with each project. Experts and discussants are leading academics who are part of the DSA and/or the University College Dublin.
Experts and discussants will be leading academics who are part of the DSA and/or University College Dublin.