MA International Development Practice

Implementing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the biggest challenge facing our planet today. The dynamic MA in International Development Practice (MIDP) at University of Galway focuses on the wide-ranging social, economic, political and environmental challenges of our rapidly changing world. Spanning global concerns, from sustainable development and climate action, to food security and alleviating poverty, this MA’s focus on international development challenges enables you to develop your capacities to understand and engage with both theories and practices relating to contemporary international development as a distinct career path, with a strong emphasis on inter-disciplinarity. Given that international development challenges are multi-dimensional, they require interlinked strategies across multiple disciplines and perspectives. The programme is led by highly experienced staff who work in multilateral agencies, and have a backgrounds in human rights, policy, planning, gender, migration etc, along with practical field based research experience across many countries worldwide.

The MIDP contains core modules in development theory, policy and practice that incorporate academic, practitioner and policy orientations to link development theory and practice. Building upon this, the programme then provides a number of elective pathways through which you develop interdisciplinary expertise in key development issues, including environment, gender, human rights, food security, climate change and agriculture. Through these cross-college elective pathways you are afforded a unique opportunity to build on previous learning experiences and develop a specialised prospective career path. You will have the opportunity to combine the study of the socio-technical aspects of development practice with a reflective practice based learning experience. The programme culminates with a practice-based dissertation in which students undertake a research placement in a development organisation.

On the successful completion of this programme you will be able to:

In sum, on the MIDP, you will acquire expertise via three core, interlinked pedagogical components-development theory, development policy, and development practice – along with the opportunity to specialise in a range of development practice sectors, including science, human rights, data analytics and project management. In addition, a key research placement element will equip you with vital on-the-ground experience of development practice.

Online learning: there are options for on-campus or on-line mode of delivery in semester 2.