MRes/PhD in International Development

Page contents > Programme Structure: MRes in International Development | Programme Structure: PhD in International Development | Footnotes

Programme Code: TMRESDV/RPDV2

Department: International Development

For students starting this programme of study in 2025/26

Guidelines for interpreting programme regulations

Programme Structure: MRes in International Development

Programme Code: TMRESDV

Department: International Development

Classification scheme for the award of a taught master's degree (four units)
Exam sub-board local rules

Please note that places are limited on some optional courses. Admission onto any particular course is not guaranteed and can be subject to timetabling constraints and/or students meeting specific prerequisite requirements.
Paper	Course number, title (unit value)
Year 1	Compulsory courses
1.	DV501 Development History, Theory and Policy for Research Students (0.5)

2.	MY405 Research Design for Policy and Programme Evaluation (0.5)
	MY500 Fundamentals of Social Science Research Design (0.5)

3.
	Methodology course choice to the value of one full unit (at the 400 and 500 level). Course choices must be approved by the supervisor and Doctoral Programme Director.
4.
	Methodology or Theory course choice to the value of 0.5 units (at the 400 and 500 level). Courses may be chosen from the list of optional courses below or an unlisted course. Course choices must be approved by the supervisor and Doctoral Programme Director.
5.	DV510 Research Design and Proposal in International Development (1.0)

	Optional courses
6.
	The following courses are recommended options under Paper 4 above:
	DV507 Poverty (0.5)
	DV513 Environmental Problems and Development Interventions (0.5)
	DV515 Global Environmental Governance (0.5)
	DV518 African Development (0.5)
	DV520 Complex Emergencies (0.5)
	DV524 International Institutions and Late Development (0.5) (suspended 2025/26)
	DV528 Managing Humanitarianism (0.5) (suspended 2025/26)
	DV532 China in Developmental Perspective (0.5) (suspended 2025/26)
	DV533 The Informal Economy and Development (0.5)
	DV545 Research Themes in International Development (0.5) (suspended 2025/26)
	DV590 Economic Development Policy I (0.5) #
	DV591 Economic Development Policy II (0.5) (suspended 2025/26)
	DV592 Economic Development Policy III: Government Policy Analysis (0.5) (suspended 2025/26)
	GV517 Comparative Political Economy: New Approaches and Issues in CPE (0.5) (suspended 2025/26)

	The following course is a prerequisite for 400 and 500 level EC courses for students planning to take advanced Economics courses for their PhD research: EC400 Introductory Course in Mathematics and Statistics (0.0) #

Award of the MRes in International Development: The award and classification of the MRes degree is consistent with the School's Scheme for the Award of a four-unit Taught Master's Degree.

Programme Structure: PhD in International Development

Programme Code: RPDV2

Department: International Development

**Upgrade to PhD**

Upgrade to PhD is dependent upon:

Achieving an average of 65 in MRes taught courses.

Achieving a minimum of 65 in the Research Proposal.

The Research Proposal Examiners will offer constructive advice and make one of four decisions:

Unconditional approval

Conditional approval

Revise and resubmit

Fail

Students who are required to Revise and Resubmit are usually expected to resubmit the proposal within three months. These students will obtain a conditional upgrade, with the approval of the Chair of the Research Degrees Subcommittee, dependent on any revised submission(s) meeting the departmental upgrade requirements by a fixed deadline set by the department.. Students who are successful will be unconditionally upgraded to PhD.

The progress of each student will be reviewed at the end of each subsequent year.
Paper	Course number, title (unit value)

Footnotes

# means there may be prerequisites for this course. Please view the course guide for more information.

Upgrade to PhD

Upgrade to PhD is dependent upon:

Achieving an overall average mark of 65 in MRES taught courses and Research Proposal.

Students who achieve the required standard in both these components will be recommended for Unconditional Upgrade to full PhD status.

Students who do not achieve the required standard by a small margin will be recommended for upgrade on completions of remedial actions, namely an Upgrade Panel and/or a Revise and Resubmit on the Research Proposal:

When taught courses are below 65 and overall mark is close to 65, students will be required to attend an Upgrade Panel, comprising of the Supervisor and the DPD. This will be an opportunity to discuss reasons why the taught course requirement was not met, and for the Panellists to be satisfied whether learning has been sufficient to undergird successful progress to the PhD.
Students who do not achieve at least 65 in the Research Proposal will be required to revise and resubmit the Proposal, usually within three months.

Students who are successful in an Upgrade Panel and/or a Revise and Resubmit process will be recommended for Unconditional Upgrade to PhD. Final approvals are given by the Research Degrees Sub-Committee

Students who are not successful in an Upgrade Panel and/or a Revise and Resubmit process may be recommended for De-registration from the PhD studies.

The progress of each student will be reviewed at the end of each subsequent year.

Note for prospective students:
For changes to graduate course and programme information for the next academic session, please see the graduate summary page for prospective students. Changes to course and programme information for future academic sessions can be found on the graduate summary page for future students.