International Development

This is a Connected Degree

Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview

On this BA (Hons) International Development degree course, you’ll learn to address some of the major global challenges of our time such as poverty and hunger, environmental sustainability, universal education and health care.

You'll expand your understanding of the role and purpose of cooperation between governments, international organisations and non-governmental organisation (NGOs) in international development, using this to gain insights into strategies to improve people's lives on a global scale.

This course is ideal for a national and international career in roles such as community development, advocacy, policy development and public affairs. You'll have the confidence and ability to take what you learn on this course to make a positive impact in areas such as gender equality and women’s empowerment, democracy, human rights and conflict and security.

Course highlights

• Your learning won’t be limited to the classroom – you'll have opportunities to work with development organisations in the UK or overseas

• Gain on-the-ground experience of community development and protected area management on an optional field trip to Uganda

• Study multiple disciplines to find solutions that could include changing policy at a national level

• Be taught by staff who are committed to their research in the field, such as Professor Tamsin Bradley whose research is informing schemes to help support women across South Asia in their search for equality

• Get experience during your studies or as part of an optional work placement year with an international non-governmental organisation (NGO)

• Put your expertise into practice in Model United Nations events, in collaboration with fellow students from International Development and International Relations

• Have the chance to learn a new language

Worried about your grades?
If you're not sure you meet the entry requirements, or need some help to get uni-ready, then we offer this course with a foundation year to bring you up to speed. When you successfully finish, you'll get a guaranteed place on this course.

Optional pathways

You can also study international development with international relations – leading to a BA (Hons) International Relations with International Development award at the end of the course.

Careers and opportunities

This course gives you the skills for careers in areas such as:

• international community development

• civil service

• fundraising, campaigning and advocacy

• policy development

• social enterprise

• corporate social responsibility

• public affairs

• project management

What jobs can you do with an international development degree?

Our graduates have gone on to roles such as:

• programme management, support and evaluation roles for international agencies and non-governmental organisations

• fundraising development coordinator

• human rights advocacy

• media and digital content lead

• social researcher

• community development practitioner

• sustainable sourcing specialist for multinational corporations

Graduate destinations

Our graduates have worked for organisations such as:

• Save the Children

• Street Doctors

• CAFOD

• the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

• the Department or International Development

• British Chamber of Commerce

• Universal Music Group

Course Modules

The University of Portsmouth is passionate about creating career-focused modules that do more than support your studies, they empower your academic journey and prepare you for what comes next.

We design modules that have:

• Clear themes and skills development as you progress through each year
• Assessments that feel meaningful, often based on real-world tasks rather than isolated exams
• Career-enhancing opportunities such as placements, live projects, enterprise and volunteering

For a full list of the modules you will study on this course, please visit the link to the course page.

https://www.port.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-international-development#modules