Communication for Development

Study at the UK’s leading university for environmental and ethical performance (the University of Reading is ranked 1st in the People and Planet University League, 2023/24).

The changing global communication landscape – information technologies, communication processes and communication opportunities – offer new ways to understand and improve how we can use communication to address livelihoods, reduce poverty, and support community development.

Through this programme, you’ll develop your understanding of how communication can support individual and social change and lead to more effective and dynamic development policy and programmes.

The practical application of communication in development is diverse, including areas such as:

• agricultural extension and advisory services
• communication and climate adaptation and resilience
• communicating about healthand health promotion
• facilitating, driving and enabling change
• communication as a driver of rural development.

The MSc Communication for Development programme is particularly relevant for:

• development practitioners who would like to use communication in their development practice
• professionals who have, or are seeking, extension responsibilities
• media and marketing professionals who would like to work in development communication
• individuals working with communities on livelihoods and rural development projects
• people working in the community health sector
• those intending to go on to a research degree in communication for development.

Choose MSc Communication for Development at the University of Reading. You will:

• join the highest ranking UK university, and one of the top 20 universities in the world, for Agriculture and Forestry (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2023). We are the only UK university ranked in the top 50.
• build a critical understanding of communication for development theory and practise in the diverse contexts of international and local development.
• strengthen your professional competence in the design, planning and management of communication interventions.
• focus on the practical application of new knowledge and skills to support communication in social change.

Joining this programme means you’ll also be joining the Graduate Institute of International Development, Agriculture and Economics in our School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, where we are committed to empowering change through our teaching and research. Our academics tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues across their respective fields of expertise, and our mission is to make a difference in the context of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.