GDI is pleased to introduce a new PhD in Development Studies programme, with a Development Economics Pathway, for 2025 entry. The PhD in Development Studies will enable candidates to carry out a piece of in-depth research in a chosen area of interest as part of the Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Doctoral College.

Details of the programme

 

The PhD in Development Studies Programme at the Global Development Institute owes its strength to the diverse nature and quality of research in the department. It offers extensive opportunity for engagement in core development studies issues as well as an opportunity to strive intellectually in a multidisciplinary environment.

The PhD programme has two main streams, a development studies stream and a development economics stream, which candidates can choose between. Once on a stream, all PGRs at GDI will be fully integrated into at least one of our seven research groups.

This new programme allows students to benefit from rigorous training in relevant research methods. While much of the emphasis is on working on individual PhD projects, it also offers opportunities to participate in selected teaching modules. In addition, the PhD Programme offers access to courses on generic skills, including seminars on scientific writing, scientific presentation, and good communication.

The Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Doctoral College, which is housed at the Global Development Institute, also regularly offers workshops, methods training and social activities for PGRs. During the course of the PhD, students will also attend an International Conference (in the UK or outside the UK).

Furthermore, as part of the PhD programme, students will attend research training modules offered by the School that run over both semesters in the first year of study. Students on the development economics pathway will receive bespoke methodological training in their field.

The PhD in Development Studies also offers an opportunity for students to undertake teaching duties at the undergraduate and master’s level.

 

Why join this programme?

 

The existing PhD in Development Policy and Management will continue to cater for those students wishing to focus on the analysis and improvement of development policy and management. However, this new programme constitutes a strategic expansion of our current PhD provision into a new and relevant form.

• Development economics is the largest and most influential sub-field within development studies and one which requires distinct theoretical and methodological expertise. The ability to focus on development economics is beneficial to those looking to have their expertise in development economics reflected in their degree title.

 

• On the other hand, the general programme in Development Studies is a relevant pathway for those students who wish to study development as a process of historical social change, with social, political and environmental, as well as economic dimensions. This core concern with development as a process of change with uneven outcomes is central to the more historically-grounded and theoretically-inclined strand of development studies that GDI has a strong reputation in, but which may not involve a direct focus on issues of policy and management.

 

This distinction between the two programmes – one focused on development as historical change with uneven outcomes and one focused on efforts to challenge these outcomes – is well-understood in the field and aligns with GDI’s distinctive focus and expertise on deeper intellectual concerns as well as policy relevance.

 

Where to learn more?

 

You can find out more about these pathways here, and discover testimonials from our current PhD students here.

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