Global Development with Politics with a Placement Year

Global development with politics is a degree that places the study of power at the centre of the question of development. Development is not simply an economic or technical challenge but a deeply political one: decisions about who benefits from development interventions, whose knowledge counts, and which institutions govern the distribution of resources are fundamentally questions of power, accountability, and representation. Politics provides the analytical tools to investigate those questions, while global development studies brings the empirical knowledge and sectoral expertise to apply them to the real challenges of poverty, inequality, health, and environmental sustainability in the world's most disadvantaged communities.

At the University of East Anglia, this four-year full-time programme with a placement year is strengthened by UEA's internationally recognised strength in development studies. The School of International Development has decades of research engagement with development policy and practice, and the politics provision brings in comparative politics, international relations, and political theory to give the degree a rigorous analytical foundation. The placement year allows you to work in a professional context, whether in an NGO, a government department, an international organisation, or a research institution, applying your developing analytical and practical skills to real problems and building a professional record alongside your academic qualification.

You will study development theory and history, the political economy of global inequality, democratic governance and accountability, humanitarian policy, environmental politics, and the frameworks used by international organisations and aid agencies. Research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, are central to the programme.

Graduates work in international development organisations, NGOs, government departments concerned with overseas development and trade, the United Nations system, think tanks, political research, and the voluntary sector. The placement year gives graduates a practical credential that is particularly valuable in a competitive development sector job market. Postgraduate study in development studies, international relations, or public policy is a well-established next step.