DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

Why Study Development Studies?

Development Studies, also called International Development Studies, is an interdisciplinary programme of study. In Development Studies, we are concerned with expanding capabilities and opportunities for all individuals, families, communities, countries and the world at large to live free lives and pursue choices that they value. We focus on the role and form of markets, states, and civil society in the improvement of poverty and the progress of human well-being in the Global South.

While Development Studies is grounded in the Social Sciences, its impact and application extents to technical fields such as Agriculture, Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), Water Management, Engineering, Medicine, Business, Forestry, Climate Change, and Mining, among many others. Hence, by studying Development Studies, your expertise will be required in public service, private practice and non-profit organisations involved in social, economic and political change and reform, empowerment, gender mainstreaming, the redress of poverty, and development communication, among other fields. You will be able to design, plan, implement, monitor, evaluate and close development projects and programmes at local, regional, national and international levels.

To study Development Studies, you can enrol for the IIE Bachelor of Social Science degree with a study area in Development Studies, offered at IIE MSA.

Following completion of your three-year Bachelor’s degree, you can articulate into the IIE Bachelor of Social Science Honours, and subsequently, a research IIE Master of Philosophy in Arts.

What are My Development Studies Career Outcomes?

When you successfully complete a specialisation in Development Studies, you will be able to pursue careers in government and both local and international development institutions such as the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the African Development Bank, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNICEF, and local and international NGOs such as World Vision, Operation Hunger and Oxfam, among many others. They will be employable as:

• Development Planners
• Development Consultants
• Development Projects/Programmes Officers/Managers
• Development Planning Officers/Managers
• Socio-economic and Marketing Researchers
• Social and Environmental Impact Analysts
• Monitoring and Evaluation Specialists
• Corporate Responsibility or Social Investment Officers/Managers
• Community Engagement Advisors
• Social Sector Managers
• Gender and Development Experts
• Community Development Experts