Poverty, Policy and Development Practice (Taught)

1st in the world for Development Studies (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025)

Develop the skills to engage with global efforts to eradicate poverty. Contribute to debates and learn to design policies for lasting impact.

Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere is key for sustainable development.

Poverty eradication is the ultimate measure of development effectiveness. Yet to eradicate poverty in today’s context of intersecting challenges and crises, we need to revise what we know of poverty and how to eliminate it. This MA helps you gain the interdisciplinary knowledge and cutting-edge skills to engage with the research, design, implementation and assessment of national and international efforts to get to zero poverty.

Based at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), you’ll develop a sound understanding of the main theories on poverty, inequality and vulnerability in development. You’ll learn from experts who undertake innovative research on poverty eradication, and regularly contribute to national and international policy. You’ll gain practical skills to engage in debates on poverty and development, including in relation to:

• monetary and multidimensional poverty and its drivers

• intersecting inequalities

• the political economy shaping poverty measurement and discourse

• social protection and other interventions for poverty and vulnerability reduction.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities described in this prospectus. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to government or regulatory requirements, or unanticipated staff changes, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.