International Development with a Year Abroad

During this International Development degree, you will study the development process in middle-income countries and the changing global economy. You will graduate with a deep understanding of how such middle-income countries, or “emerging economies”, are grappling with challenges related to economic, social, and political development.

You will begin your first year of this International Development BA by learning all about development studies, the history of the global economy, and the economic, social and political analysis of emerging economies.

The second year is when you will deepen your knowledge of development theory and learn the quantitative and qualitative methods used to research development, and which you will apply in your dissertation. For the rest of the International Development course, you’ll get to choose from a wide range of modules and craft your own syllabus or pathway.

This interdisciplinary degree boasts modules from the worlds of economics, politics, sociology, social anthropology, and management. This gives you the opportunity to study a broad range of topics, from the political economy of development in Latin America or issues of development in South Asia to microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, climate change, politics and democracy, poverty and inequality, or social justice. You could blend comparative public policy with sustainability in emerging economies or focus on project management for international development.

You could also apply a laser focus to your modules and spend your second and third years specialising in the topics or regions that interest you most, with an emphasis across regions of Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. And if you want to stretch the subject further, you can even choose from a list of approved modules taught by other departments.

You can also opt to spend a year abroad and return to King’s to finish your International Development degree. Typical destinations include Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, or the U.S., amongst other options.

Key benefits

• Combine the study of local and country-level development with an understanding of the global economy.

• Challenge Eurocentric views of development and learn from a decolonised syllabus.

• Study a range of fields to help you decide what you’d like to pursue as a graduate.

• Show off your skills with a broad range of assessments that help you succeed no matter your study style.

• We rank 6th in the UK for Social Sciences (Times Higher Education University World Rankings 2024 per subject).