Early clearing information
This course is available through clearing for home and international applicants
If you already have your exam results, meet the entry requirements, and are not holding an offer from a university or college, then you may be able to apply to this course.
Contact the admissions team
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
BSc Global Development
Duration: 3 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: L905 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Scholarships available
- Typical A-level offer: AAB
- Typical contextual A-level offer: BBB
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: BBC
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 35 points overall with 6,6,5 at HL
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £29,000 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
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).
Scholarships/sponsorships
We are committed to attracting and supporting the very best students from all backgrounds to study this course.
You could be eligible for cash bursaries of up to £2,500 to support your studies.
Find out about our funding opportunities
Course unit details:
Analysing Poverty & Inequality
| Unit code | MGDI30602 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 20 |
| Unit level | Level 3 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
What is poverty? What is inequality? Why are certain societies more unequal than others? And does it matter for global development? This course unit will try to address these questions by examining different approaches to conceptualising, measuring and explaining income poverty and inequality, and their relationship to other dimensions of development. Whenever possible, we will look at the debate in historical perspective.
Aims
Syllabus
Indicative topics:
- Inequality and Poverty: introduction
- Concepts, origins and evolution of this area
- Measuring inequality and poverty:
- Theory
- Applications
- Why do we see poverty and inequality?
- Do poorer, more unequal societies have worse development outcomes?
Teaching and learning methods
- There will be ten 2-hour lectures plus tutorials.
- All teaching activities are in class, face to face.
Knowledge and understanding
- Understanding cutting-edge economic theory and empirical evidence, and apply it to policy issues concerning the analysis of poverty and inequality.
Intellectual skills
- Present and defend an advanced economic argument in a clear and succinct manner.
- Achieve or maintain high standards of grammar and logical thinking.
Practical skills
- Be able to critically interpret and debate current issues.
- Develop a professional economist’s understanding of key controversies.
Transferable skills and personal qualities
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a wide variety of statistical sources and policy issues concerning the analysis of poverty and inequality.
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Written exam | 30% |
| Written assignment (inc essay) | 70% |
Feedback methods
Feedback will be delivered via in-class interactions and written comments via the VLE for assessed coursework.
Recommended reading
A.B. Atkinson, Inequality: What Can Be Done? (2015), Harvard University Press
A.B. Atkinson, Measuring Poverty Around the World (2019), Princeton University Press
Martin Ravallion, The Economics of Poverty (2016), Oxford University Press
Branko Milanovic, Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of Globalization (2016), Harvard University Press
Thomas Piketty, The Economics of Inequality (2015), Harvard University Press
Milanovic B., Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold War, (2023), Belknap Press
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 20 |
| Tutorials | 10 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 170 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Antonio Savoia | Unit coordinator |