MSc Global Development (Migration, Mobility & Displacement) / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

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From International to Global Development - Global Development Institute

MSc Global Development with Migration, Mobility and Displacement offers a coherent, interdisciplinary and applied course that analyses the interaction between migration and development.

It will provide you with strong critical analytical skills, with a good grounding in the theoretical and conceptual debates in the field.

In recent years there has been a growing interest in how people's movement may contribute to economic, social and political development seen most vividly in the growing scale of remittances that outweigh official development aid.

On the other hand, there has also been a surge of interest in how supporting development may address the 'root causes' of mass (irregular) migration from the poorest regions of the world.

This course will help prepare you for future work in this politically highly charged arena where questions of global injustice and rights intersect with the social, economic, political and security interests of wealthy and poor states alike. This will course will be perfect for you, if:

  • you are interested in understanding the many interactions between the movement of people and international development; 
  • you want to understand why different forms of migration, mobility and displacement are taking an increasingly important role in the international development agenda; 
  • you would like to critically examine the contemporary policy responses to the challenges of migration, mobility and displacement in the Global South.

As a pathway within the overall MSc International Development, this programme will provide you with both strong foundations in the broad field of development and specialist training in migration, mobility and displacement.

A particular feature of the course will the fieldwork trip which will include visits to communities and projects that are responding to the challenges and opportunities of migration.

The course will raise many new questions and equip you to start answering them.

You will have the opportunity to practice these research skills by preparing a dissertation on a topic of your choice relating to the course.

 

Aims

  • Provide critical insights into different theoretical and disciplinary perspectives on how migration, mobility and development can be understood, measured and explained. 
  • Provide students with a thorough conceptual framework and the skills necessary to critically analyse key theoretical and practical issues and debates relating to migration, mobility and development. 
  • Provide students with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of how ideas and assumptions about the mobility of poor people are being embedded into the formulation and implementation of development policy. 
  • Provide critical insights into the key strategies, policies and practices currently employed to make `migration work for development' and to invest in development with a view to tackling the `root causes of irregular movement'. 
  • Provide a wide range of options for advanced training in areas of specialist expertise relevant to migration, mobility and development. 
  • Develop advanced competencies in transferable areas, including developing reasoned arguments, gathering, organising and using evidence and information from a wide variety of sources, undertaking both team-based and independent work to deadlines, and both written and verbal forms of communication. 
  • Assist students in developing their specialist area of expertise in the broad field of migration, mobility and development, and in applying their understanding and skills through supervised individual research culminating in a dissertation.

Special features

  • We're Europe's largest dedicated development research and teaching institute and have been at the   forefront of development studies for over 60 years
  • We're ranked second in the UK and seventh in the world for development studies (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022).   
  • We bring cutting-edge insights from our research into all our postgraduate teaching. Our courses bring different development perspectives and voices to Manchester, from   activists from the Global South   to the leaders of multinational companies.   
  • We are home to the internationally recognised   African Cities Research Consortium ,   Effective States and Inclusive Development   and   FutureDAMS   research centres.  
  • Students are part of our vibrant research community, including our   public lecture series ,  which brings world experts, former heads of state, and leading development thinkers, to discuss current issues in development.

Teaching and learning

Important notice 

The School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) recognises the value of fieldwork. However, the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff remains our priority. The School will assess on a regular basis the viability of any travel and fieldwork and communicate any significant changes to our students at the earliest possible opportunity. 

The ability of fieldwork and travel to proceed, and whether any changes to proposed fieldwork and travel might be necessary, will remain subject to factors such as the: 

  • rules and guidance on travel and activities implemented and published by the UK and overseas governments; 
  • outcome of any risk assessments conducted by the University; 
  • educational value and student experience of the fieldwork, if significant changes to the proposed fieldwork would be necessary; 
  • availability of appropriate insurance cover; 
  • availability of appropriate travel and accommodation and any significant changes to their financial costs.

All fieldwork and travel will be subject to a rigorous risk assessment process and the implementation of any protective measures identified by the risk assessment to ensure the health and safety of all our students and staff. 

In some circumstances, it may become necessary to make changes to fieldwork or programme related travel. The University will notify you of those changes at the earliest opportunity. If any fieldwork does not go ahead as planned, then the School's focus will be on seeking to offer a suitable alternative and ensure that the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) of the programme are met.

Please note that countries may change their immigration and visa regulations at short notice. The School cannot guarantee that where visas are required for fieldwork, they will be granted but we will take steps so that if a visa is refused, affected students are not academically disadvantaged.

Coursework and assessment

The taught elements of the course, carrying 120 credits overall, is continuously assessed by a variety of methods (eg project-based reports, essays), involving largely individual submissions, but also elements of group work.

You must also complete a 12,000-15,000-word dissertation on a topic of your choice approved by the Programme Directors.

You are encouraged to base your dissertation on topics of direct professional concern.

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Development Fundamentals MGDI60411 15 Mandatory
Development Fieldwork MGDI60502 15 Mandatory
Global Development Challenges MGDI60601 15 Mandatory
Migration, Mobility and Displacement in the Contemporary World MGDI60731 15 Mandatory
Migration and Development MGDI60742 15 Mandatory
Development Research MGDI70982 15 Mandatory
Global Political Economy MGDI60072 15 Optional
Poverty and Development MGDI60141 15 Optional
Gender Inequality: Theory and Evidence MGDI60202 15 Optional
Globalisation, Trade and Development MGDI60271 15 Optional
The Politics and Governance of Development MGDI60391 15 Optional
Conflict Analysis MGDI60451 15 Optional
Political Analysis of Development Policy MGDI60522 15 Optional
Critical Issues in Urban Inequality MGDI60531 15 Optional
Climate, Environment and Development MGDI60552 15 Optional
Citizen-Led Development MGDI60561 15 Optional
Economic Development MGDI60711 15 Optional
Key Issues in Environment and Development MGDI60801 15 Optional
Sustainable Futures and Development MGDI60852 15 Optional
Global Inequalities and Social Development MGDI61462 15 Optional
Planning and Managing Development MGDI70992 15 Optional
Displaying 10 of 21 course units

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Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk

CPD opportunities

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After your course, you'll join our 10,000 strong  alumni network .

We'll keep you up-to-date with all the new insights and implications from our research.

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It is an opportunity to build professional and social networks.

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