Development Studies - Labour and Activism (MSc Global Development pathway)

Students are encouraged to examine critically the relationship between labour, capitalism, development and poverty.

We investigate labour in the contemporary social and economic development of the Global South as well as established and emerging social movements of labour in local, national and international spaces. You will learn to identify and evaluate the relationship between collective agency, policy and vice-versa.

We work in a seminar/tutorial formats that encourage critical thinking and participation via an emphasis on the relationship between theory and practice. Programme lecturers are not just research active. We are also activists and have experience of participation in labour and social movements across the world - Latin America, Africa and Asia and Europe and have on-going contacts with such movements as well as with NGOs and international organisations.

Why study MSc Global Development (Labour and Activism) at SOAS?

• SOAS is ranked 3rd in the world for Development Studies (QS World University Rankings 2024)
• You will have the opportunity to take work placements as part of your degree, and we offer internships in the department and in partner organisations. This year MSc students were offered placements in the International Organisation for Migration, the London International Development Centre and international NGOs
• Get a placement in a partner organisation working in international development with our new International Development Placement module - available as in-person and virtual options.

Who should apply?

The MSc Global Development (Labour and Activism) programme is for students who wish to understand how labour and collective agency impacts on core processes of development. Our students acquire skill sets that combine theory and practice of labour, social movements and how they interplay with key developmental themes and interventions.

The programme is relevant to students with a strong background in the social sciences in their first degree as well as practitioners and activists from a wide spectrum of organisations and approaches.