BA (Hons) International Development with NGO Management

Are you interested in finding out how social development is affecting the people who live in the world's poorest countries? Do you want to learn about globalisation and consider its impact on the people of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Europe?  Are you interested in the way NGOs work to address issues of poverty? Do you worry about the value of their work?

This course will give you the answers you seek - and much more. There has never been a more pressing time to study International Development with NGO Management. Globalisation continues to impact the world's poorest countries in the global South, and the reaction to globalisation  continues to manifest itself in the global North through Brexit and the election of populist leaders. Conflict, climate change, COVID-19 and humanitarian crises all demand a response from the world.

Our course equips you to find your place in this response. You will acquire the skills and knowledge to research and analyse complex problems, to develop your own ideas and plans for a development project and how to fundraise for it, and ultimately to find a career that will give you job satisfaction - being part of changing the world for the better.

We use textbooks and real-world experience, encouraging you to step outside the classroom and study beyond the headlines. We offer you the chance to gain valuable work experience in an NGO, such as Save the Children UK or Otra Cosa (Peru), as a core part of your course. 

The extended course is perfect if you want a degree in International Development with NGO Management, but you don’t have the standard entry requirements. 

By studying international development, you'll be asking vitally important questions. What is poverty? What is the connection between a country's economy and the wellbeing of its people? How do issues such as inequality, conflict and faith relate to development? What is globalisation and how does it impact on all of our lives?

Our course gives special emphasis to the lived experience of people in the developing world. In doing so, it challenges the assumption that development is a purely economic phenomenon.

Your third-year work placement in an NGO, which we'll help you to arrange, will provide you with invaluable experience in the field, whether it's at the Vitality project in Bangladesh or working for the St Francis Hospice in the UK. You'll develop the skills that NGOs look for in people they employ.

In addition to studying theory, you'll learn about real-world issues in modules such as Human Mobility, Forced Migration and Social Change as well as The Politics of Global Powers and Imperialism Now: Economy, State and War.

• Tawjihi: 60% for Foundation
• 3 x AS Levels: Foundation
• US High School Diploma: GPA 2.0 for Foundation
• US High School Diploma: GPA 3.0 + SAT1 1070 for Direct Entry to Bachelor's
• International Baccalaureate (IB): 25 points with minimum 15 at Higher Level for Direct Entry to Bachelor's
• 3 x A Levels: Direct Entry to Bachelor's

Having undertaken a work placement in an NGO, you'll have the knowledge and hands-on experience that employers seek. While there is no pressure on you to know your career path when you start the course, a range of exciting options will be open to you when you graduate.

From moving into communications within the not-for-profit sector to becoming a campaign in fundraising agencies, our graduates have taken on a variety of roles in the UK and abroad.

Others have established NGOs and charities of their own, including the Children of Congo Foundation, which provides education for street children, and the Otra Cosa Network, which supports communities in northern Peru through life-changing, affordable volunteering.

Your placement will give you the opportunity to meet and impress professionals in the field. You'll develop an invaluable network of contacts who will have seen your work at close quarters. Many of the students on this course find their first job after graduation through this route. We organise events each year to introduce you to development specialists and practitioners, including from our own alumni.

You may also choose to continue your studies at the University of East London by moving on to one of our postgraduate courses, which also offer the opportunity to conduct research in the field.

"There are many challenges facing our world today  - poverty, inequality, conflict, migration to name just a few.  Our BA International Development with NGO Management equips students to understand these challenges and teaches the skills to respond to them through innovative, creative, and critically engaging experiences that will enable our graduates to engage with transformational change, excellence and leadership.  Our students have gone on to set up their own social enterprises, work for government aid agencies, campaign for change..."
 Richard Harty,  Dean of School

Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.