MSc Global Development (Politics, Governance and Development Policy)

Fees for entry in 2027 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2026 were as follows:

• MSc (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £14,700
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £30,500
• MSc (part-time)
  UK students (per annum): £14,700
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £30,500

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

• Learn more about - student finance options for UK students .
• Learn more about - fees and finance for international students .
• Graduates of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University can receive a 10% discount on their master's degree tuition fees as part of our Manchester Alumni Loyalty Discount scheme.

This module covers digital govenance-specific content not covered by other course units.  It is divided into three parts:

1. eGovernment-Specific Applications Delivering Public Reform Goals (Sessions 1-5)

Following an introductory session overviewing what we mean by "digital governance" four sessions cover the main ways in which ICTs are being used to deliver various different parts of the public sector reform agenda:

• eAdministration/G2G
• eCitizens/eAccountability
• eDemocracy/eParticipation
• eServices/G2C & G2B

2. Broader Digital Governance Issues (Sessions 6-9)

This reviews broader digital governance issues).  These may include:

• Citizen digital governance: state surveillance of citizens using digital technology and its implications
• Social media governance: control of content, fundamentalism and polarisation online
• Smart city governance: focusing on implications of smart city dataflows for marginalised groups
• Platform governance: challenges and solutions for regulation of platform markets

3. Presentations (Session 10)

Evaluation of student group presentations on global South digital governance (issues not covered in-depth within the course unit).

Online workshop sessions include lecturer presentation, case study material, student group activities and exercises, and group discussion.

Students are expected to engage with e-learning materials provided via VLE to support learning. These include session handouts including cases and exercises; links to further case study and research materials; and online discussion spaces.

The course unit is participative, encouraging students to share knowledge and experience. It is also practical, encouraging students to apply models and theory to real-world case studies.

• describe the main components of digital governance and place those components into a broader socio-political framework

• examine the potential benefits of, and constraints faced by key digital governance projects
• apply critical frameworks to analyse both global South digital governance case studies and their own experience of governance-related digital systems
• analyse the relationship between digital governance and wider socio-economic and political drivers of change
• compare different country experiences of digital governance

• construct a critical presentation on an aspect of digital governance relevant to the global South

• critically review real-world case studies and relevant literature
• work as a group to construct a presentation
• construct a postgraduate-level assessment

• Written assignment (2,700 words)
• Oral assessment/presentation (300 words)

Assessment pro-forma per group provided within 15 working days of presentation.

Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S. & Tinkler, J. (2006) Digital Era Governance, Oxford University Press.

Filgueiras, F. & Almeida, V. (2021) Governance for the Digital World. Springer.

Gardels, N., & Berggruen, N. (2019). Renovating Democracy: Governing in the Age of Globalization and Digital Capitalism. Univ of California Press.

Graham, M., & Dutton, W. H. (Eds.). (2019). Society and the Internet: How Networks of Information and Communication are Changing our Lives. Oxford University Press.

Just Net Coalition (2020) A Digital New Deal, JNC https://itforchange.net/digital-new-deal/

Milakovich, M. E. (2012). Digital Governance: New Technologies for Improving Public Service and Participation. Routledge.

UN (2024) United Nations E-Government Survey 2024, United Nations

Other materials available from: www.ctg.albany.edu; www.egov4dev.org; www.govtech.com