5 people with four in traditional Peruvian clothing
A DPhil student carrying out fieldwork in Peru
(Image Credit: T Thorp, ODID)
Social Sciences Division

International Development

Studying international development at Oxford means engaging with some of the most pressing issues of our time: from global governance and security to migration and human rights; from poverty and inequality to technological innovation and enterprise; from children and youth to environmental change and sustainability.  

At Oxford you will take a unique, multi- and interdisciplinary approach to examine these and other complex issues affecting the countries of the developing world and the emerging economies. The approach encompasses economics, politics, international relations, anthropology, history, sociology, and law, and teaching is provided by world-class scholars in these fields. Our courses also offer small class sizes, personal supervision, training in methods, and the opportunity to research and write an original thesis and make an active contribution.

The department is a lively community that is recognised internationally as one of the top centres for research and teaching in development studies. It hosts some 70 distinguished academics and a number of externally funded research groups that are at the forefront of their specialist subject areas.

Our students come from across the world. At Oxford, they are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they go on to forge varied and successful careers as scholars, practitioners and policy-makers in the field of international development and beyond.

Courses

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