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Global Development

Entry Year: 2023

2 study options

Global Development BA (Hons)

Key information

Degree
BA (Hons)
Duration
3 years
Start
September 2023
UCAS code
L750
Institution code
Q50
Typical A-Level offer
Grades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
Full entry requirements
Home fees
£9,250
Overseas fees
£21,200
Funding information
Paying your fees

Global Development with Year Abroad BA (Hons)

Key information

Degree
BA (Hons)
Duration
4 years
Start
September 2023
UCAS code
L75A
Institution code
Q50
Typical A-Level offer
Grades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
Full entry requirements
Home fees
£9,250
Overseas fees
£21,200
Funding information
Paying your fees

Year abroad cost

Finances for studying abroad on exchange

View details

Overview

Looking for a contemporary take on development studies? Our new BA Global Development programme could be for you.

This is an innovative, interdisciplinary programme which examines the most pressing development challenges of our time – from health pandemics to social inequalities and climate change.

The programme will equip you with a range of theoretical and methodological tools for understanding development challenges from a global, intersectional perspective that centres the role of gender and race. You will learn about different languages and cultures in order to challenge the common use of Western historical experiences as the universal templates against which the rest of the world is understood.

You will gain first-hand experience of debating development theory, conducting original fieldwork and engaging global policy actors in order to develop evidence-based responses to the key development challenges of the 21st century, equipping you for a career in the global development arena.

Our BA Global Development programme combines the academic expertise across the School of Geography together with the School of Politics and International Relations, the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film, and the School of History.

Internship opportunity

This programme also offers students the opportunity to undertake an unpaid internship with London International Development Centre (LIDC) while studying. Places are competitive and numbers of interns LIDC can accept each year may vary.


 

Please note: we also have a MA Global Development programme, for more details, please visit the MA Global Development page.

Structure

In addition to a core training in development studies, you will choose from three clusters of modules as you progress through the programme: Geographies of development; Politics and histories of development; and Languages and cultures of development.

Year 1

Compulsory

Modules may include:

  • Key Issues in Global Development: Poverty, Inequality and Climate Change
  • Research Methods for Social Scientists
  • Global Worlds
  • Global Histories

Optional

Modules may include:

  • Geography in the World
  • Global Encounters: Conquest and Culture in World History
  • Controversies of Science and Technology in the Making of the Modern World
  • Spanish I
  • Portuguese I
  • French I
  • Modern Arabic Language and Culture I
  • Mandarin Chinese Language and Culture I

For full details on all our modules please go to the online module directory.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 2

Compulsory

Modules may include:

  • Global Development in Practice
  • Spaces of Uneven Development

Optional

Modules may include:

  • Colonialism, Capitalism and Development
  • The International Politics of the Developing World
  • Facts and Fictions of Climate Change
  • Health, Space and Justice
  • Colonial Lives and Afterlives
  • Development Futures: Mumbai Unbound
  • Foreign Policy Analysis
  • Race and the Desire for Difference
  • Human Rights in History: Origins, Foundations, Prospects
  • Colonialism and Culture in Latin America
  • Contemporary World Cinemas
  • Brazilian Cinema: The Social Tradition
  • Colonial Literatures, Post Colonial Perspectives
  • Spanish II
  • Portuguese II
  • French II
  • Modern Arabic Language and Culture II
  • Mandarin Chinese Language and Culture II

For full details on all our modules please go to the online module directory. 

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 3

Compulsory

Modules may include:

  • Independent Study in Global Development

Optional

Modules may include:

  • Contemporary India: Politics, Society and the Economy
  • Development Futures: Mumbai Unbound
  • Urban African Economies
  • Latin American Debates
  • Geopolitics post-9/11: War, Security, Economy
  • Health, Disease and the City
  • Global Historical Geographies
  • The Politics of the Anti-Colonial
  • Global Ethics
  • Africa and International Politics
  • The Politics of Southeast Asia
  • Latin American Politics
  • The Politics of the Post-Colonial Middle East
  • Race and Racism in World Politics
  • Technology, Politics, War
  • Gender and Politics
  • The Modern Caribbean: Migration, Radicalism and Revolt
  • The Atlantic Slave Trade: Africa, Europe, and the Americas
  • Comparative Modernisms: The Case of China and India
  • Beyond Crisis and Catastrophe: Environmental Humanities Across Texts and Cultures
  • Afropean Identities
  • The Mexican Revolution and its Aftermath
  • Slavery, Colonialism and Postcolonialism in African Cinema
  • Ecocinemas: Nature, Animals, and the Moving Image
  • Spanish III
  • Portuguese III
  • French III
  • Modern Arabic Language and Culture III
  • Mandarin Chinese Language and Culture III

For full details on all our modules please go to the online module directory.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Please note that modules are subject to change and may vary year-on-year.

*Fieldwork module. Fieldwork destinations may vary year-on-year, are subject to availability and depend on the module combinations chosen. Overseas fieldwork modules run in alternate years. Places are limited - if a module is oversubscribed, places will be allocated by ballot. Students on overseas field trips are responsible for securing their own visas, if required.

Study options

Apply for this degree with any of the following options. Take care to use the correct UCAS code - it may not be possible to change your selection later.

Additional Costs

Compulsory fieldwork will not cost you anything extra. Optional overseas fieldwork trips in the second and third year cost approximately £400-£1,400 (based on 2017-18 costs). On some trips you may also need to pay extra for flights.

 

Teaching

Teaching and learning

You will primarily study via a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops, practical classes and independent study.

You’ll also take part in small-group tutorials, receiving further guidance on the course material and developing your study skills and you may participate in fieldwork dependent on the modules chosen.

For every hour of classes, expect to do a further four to six hours of independent study.

In the final year, tutorials are replaced with one-to-one meetings with your tutor as you prepare for your independent research project and plan your future career.

Academic advisors in the School of Geography will play a key role in guiding students through the selection of their modules each year, taking into account their interests and future career ambitions.

Assessment

Module assessment is varied and will take a number of forms within the programme. Forms of assessment include:

  • seen and unseen examinations
  • in-class tests
  • coursework essays
  • research projects and dissertations
  • project synopses
  • oral presentations and role play exercises
  • group projects and presentations
  • writing exercises/written assessments that adopt different formats and styles and are aimed at a range of audiences, for example writing journals and newspaper articles
  • literature reviews
  • writing policy briefs, field work journals, reading exercises
  • audio-visual productions (including podcasting on fieldtrips)

Resources and facilities

The School offers excellent on-campus resources to aid your studies, including an undergraduate computer room and a geography teaching laboratory.

You will have access to specialist qualitative, quantitative, and GIS computing software to support your learning and research if required.

You will also have access to an unparalleled range of learning resources, special collections, and world-leading libraries within QMUL and the University of London, such as the QMUL Library, Senate House Library. Other specialist collections are accessible nearby, for example at the British Library.

Entry requirements

A-LevelGrades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
IBInternational Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum of 32 points overall, including 6,5,5 from three Higher Level subjects.
BTECSee our detailed subject and grade requirements
Access HEWe consider applications from students with the Access to Higher Education Diploma. The minimum academic requirement is to achieve 60 credits overall, with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 15 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. Applications are considered on a case by case basis. Due to the high volume of applications, we do not make offers of study purely on the basis of meeting grade requirements.
GCSEMinimum five GCSE passes including English and Maths at grade C or 4.
EPQ

Alternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification.

For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq

Contextualised admissionsWe consider every application on its individual merits and will take into consideration your individual educational experiences and context. More information on how academic schools and programmes use this information as part of the admissions process, can be found on our contextualised admissions pages.
A-LevelGrades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
IBInternational Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum of 32 points overall, including 6,5,5 from three Higher Level subjects.
BTECSee our detailed subject and grade requirements
Access HEWe consider applications from students with the Access to Higher Education Diploma. The minimum academic requirement is to achieve 60 credits overall, with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 15 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. Applications are considered on a case by case basis. Due to the high volume of applications, we do not make offers of study purely on the basis of meeting grade requirements.
GCSEMinimum five GCSE passes including English and Maths at grade C or 4.
EPQAlternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification. For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq
Contextualised admissionsWe consider every application on its individual merits and will take into consideration your individual educational experiences and context. More information on how academic schools and programmes use this information as part of the admissions process, can be found on our contextualised admissions pages.

Non-UK students

We accept a wide range of European and international qualifications in addition to A-levels, the International Baccalaureate and BTEC qualifications. Please visit International Admissions for full details.

If your qualifications are not accepted for direct entry onto this degree, consider applying for a foundation programme.

English language

Find out more about our English language entry requirements, including the types of test we accept and the scores needed for entry to the programme.

You may also be able to meet the English language requirement for your programme by joining a summer pre-sessional programme before starting your degree.

Further information

See our general undergraduate entry requirements.

Funding

Loans and grants

UK students accepted onto this course are eligible to apply for tuition fee and maintenance loans from Student Finance England or other government bodies.

Scholarships and bursaries

Queen Mary offers a generous package of scholarships and bursaries, which currently benefits around 50 per cent of our undergraduates.

Scholarships are available for home, EU and international students. Specific funding is also available for students from the local area. International students may be eligible for a fee reduction. We offer means-tested funding, as well as subject-specific funding for many degrees.

Find out what scholarships and bursaries are available to you.

Support from Queen Mary

We offer specialist support on all financial and welfare issues through our Advice and Counselling Service, which you can access as soon as you have applied for a place at Queen Mary.

Take a look at our Student Advice Guides which cover ways to finance your degree, including:

  • additional sources of funding
  • planning your budget and cutting costs
  • part-time and vacation work
  • money for lone parents.

Careers

Graduates from this programme will also be well equipped with a number of transferrable and well-sought after skills which will prepare them for careers in a wide range of sectors.

We expect students from BA Global Development to progress into a wide range of careers including: development consultancy; NGOs and development agencies; and project management in the public and third sector.

Recent graduates from the School of Geography have gone on to roles with:

  • The BBC
  • The Citizens Foundation (TCF)
  • Solar Impulse Foundation
  • The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
  • Deloitte

Internship opportunity

This programme also offers students the opportunity to undertake an unpaid internship with London International Development Centre (LIDC) while studying. Places are competitive and numbers of interns LIDC can accept each year may vary.

Career support

Geography students benefit from dedicated careers support, including lectures and tutorials on career choice, getting work experience and presenting degree skills to an employer at interview. We also run an annual career options event with graduate speakers.

The Queen Mary careers team can also offer:

  • specialist advice on choosing a career path
  • support with finding work experience, internships and graduate jobs
  • feedback on CVs, cover letters and application forms
  • interview coaching.

Learn more about career support and development at Queen Mary.

Data for these courses

Global Development - BA (Hons)

Global Development with Year Abroad - BA (Hons)

The Discover Uni dataset (formerly Unistats)

About the School

Join us and work alongside academics who are committed to world-leading research. From climate change to development to questions of culture, identity and social justice, our research – and therefore your studies – touch upon some of society’s biggest and most pressing challenges.

The School of Geography is one of the top 100 geography departments in the world (QS World University Rankings 2020).

Thanks to our local, national and international links, you’ll have opportunities to work with community groups, environmental trusts and charities, applying your knowledge to real-world problems.

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