Development Economics  MSc

Overview

This new Development Economics course is designed to give you an understanding of key issues in economic development and provide you with rigorous economic theory and statistical tools to be able to analyse policies and assess their impact on economic and human development.

You will be taught by faculty from City's Economics Department, all of whom are research active. The course is led by Dr Alice Mesnard, a senior economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies for six years before joining City. Dr Mesnard is supported by academic staff with expertise in both theoretical and applied development economics.

You will benefit from City's London location, and our proximity to the centres of decision-making in development economics. (We are six tube stops away from the Department for International Development, for example.)

Interview with course director Dr Alice Mesnard

In this video by the Population and Poverty (PopPov) Research Network, Dr Mesnard describes her research on health risks and migration.


  

Course Fees:

  • Full-time EU: £9,000
  • Part-time EU: £5,000
  • Full-time Non EU: £10,000

Start Date:

24 September 2012.

How to Apply

Entry Requirements

You should have a first or upper second class (2:1) honours degree in Economics or a first or upper second class (2:1) degree in a quantitative discipline with either some economics component or supplemented by economics-related work experience.

Knowledge of basic statistics, calculus and probability theory is required.

An equivalent qualification from an overseas university will be considered.

English Requirements

  • IELTS: an overall score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 for each subtest
  • TOEFL (internet-based): 100 - 105

INTO English language programmes

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, INTO City University London offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to this degree. Please click the links below for more information:

Exemptions

If you are a citizen of, or undertook your Bachelors degree in, one of the following countries, you are exempt from the requirement to provide proof of English language proficiency:

  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Australia
  • The Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Canada
  • Dominica
  • Grenada
  • Guyana
  • Jamaica
  • New Zealand
  • St Kitts and Nevis
  • St Lucia
  • St Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • UK
  • The United States of America

The above is a list of UKBA designated majority English-speaking countries. For more information see http:// www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/studying/adult-students/can-you-apply/english-language/#

Visa Requirements

The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course at City, there are different rules for:

  • Students on courses of more than 6 months
  • Students on courses of less than 6 months
  • Students on a pre-sessional English Language course

For more information see our main Visa page.

When and Where

Start Date:
24 September 2012.
Duration:
Full-time - one year
Part-time - two years (with an additional three months to submit dissertation, if required).

Course Content

The aim of this course is to develop your critical and analytical abilities in economics, with particular reference to development. By the time you graduate, you should be able to:

  • demonstrate that modern economic theory is relevant to development economics
  • critically interpret current research in development economics and evaluate its relevance to development practice and policy analysis
  • understand the enduring determinants of poverty
  • analyse the issues of fertility, education, health, work, migration and microfinance and their contribution to economic development
  • develop microeconomic models to explain how people make such decisions and how policy is likely to affect their choices
  • assess policies designed towards helping the poor by taking into account how people react to policy interventions, and statistically assess the success of such policies
  • undertake empirical investigations in development economics, using appropriate quantitative methods.

Course Structure

You take seven taught modules (five core modules and two electives) and a dissertation.

Core modules

  • Development economics
  • Microeconomics
  • Macroeconomics
  • Econometrics
  • The economics of microfinance

Elective modules

Choose two from the following including at most one module taught in the Department of International Politics:

  • Welfare economics
  • Financial regulation
  • International money and finance
  • Economics of competition
  • Economics of regulation
  • Economics of healthcare
  • Game theory

Modules taught in the Department of International Politics:

  • Development and international politics
  • Global political economy
  • Political economy of global finance
  • The politics of forced displacement and resettlement
  • Global politics of health and disease

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching

This course is designed to be flexible in the range of teaching methods used. You will be taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars, student presentations, analysis of case studies and interactive computer-based exercises, particularly in relation to the quantitative elements of the course.

In your third term we organise for experts from outside City to come in and present current research on both methodological and applied topics.

Three hours teaching time is allocated for each session of each module. However, this will not necessarily involve three hours of lecturing, as time is also set aside for workshops and tutorials. You can use the rest of the day to use the library and computing facilities, and for doing other course-related work.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a combination of assigned coursework - the nature of which will vary according to the module - and one final examination. Overall assessment is based on performance in taught modules and a dissertation. Your research methods training and dissertation marks account for one third of your overall assessment.


Fees

  • Full-time EU: £9,000
  • Part-time EU: £5,000
  • Full-time Non EU: £10,000

Please note that the part-time fee above is for the first year only. The annual tuition fee is likely to increase by a small percentage in subsequent years.

Funding

For up-to-date information about tuition fees, living costs and financial support, visit Undergraduate Fees and Finance or Postgraduate Fees and Finance.

Career Prospects

Upon completion of this course you will have the skills to work in:

  • consulting firms specialising in development
  • governmental bodies such as the Department for International Development (DFID)
  • major international financial and development institutions  such as World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations or the Overseas Development Institute, which regularly recruits MSc graduates for overseas postings. 

This course will enable you to...

Some MSc graduates may pursue their academic career further by starting a PhD programme in Economics at City or another university. 

Find out more about City University London

Application Deadline

There is no application deadline. We will close applications when the course is full, so we encourage you to apply early.

To apply you will need to submit:

  • An application form (either electronically or by post)
  • Two academic references
  • A certified copy of your undergraduate academic results and degree certificate
  • Proof of English proficiency (if you are not a native English speaker, or someone who has not been taught in English for their first degree subject).

Application forms

Applicants are encouraged to apply online and either upload or email scanned copies of their supporting documents for convenience.

(N.B. The online application link for the part-time course will be available shortly.)

The application form and reference form can also be downloaded via the following links:

If you require a hard copy of the application pack (containing an application and reference forms) please email your name, address and the name of the programme to socscipg@city.ac.uk, along with your request.