Master of International Development and Planning

The Master of International Development and Planning is a 12 month (full time) course work Masters degree, that includes a research dissertation. The degree combines an enhanced understanding of development issues and needs, with the professional skills and competencies that professional planning education provides.

Understanding environmental issues and how people are affected by these in a developmental context is another key objective of the programme. We place a strong emphasis on people-environment relationships in such areas as urban development, water availability and quality, health, food security, hazards and pollution.

The School of Geography has regional strengths and expertise in Africa, the Pacific, Australasia, China, South and Southeast Asia. The School also has specialist expertise on the physical environment, including coastal hazards, sea level rise, climate change, groundwater, water quality and provision, thus enabling students to benefit from integrating expertise related to both the social and physical environment, together with a professional approach to development and planning. Employment opportunities abound in the development and planning arena and this degree is a pathway to these opportunities around the globe.

Note: This degree does not lead to professional accreditation with the New Zealand Planning Institute.

Information about the course and key teaching staff

Postgraduate entrance requirements

Entrance requirements for postgraduate study vary by programme with most requiring a minimum bachelor-level qualification in the same field, and some having additional requirements such as relevant work experience and/or professional registration in New Zealand.

A postgraduate certificate or postgraduate diploma can usually be taken at any time after the completion of your bachelor's degree.

If you hold an honours degree or postgraduate diploma you may be able to eligible for master’s study by thesis only. In some cases if you hold a bachelor’s degree you may apply for a coursework master’s degree or for master’s study by coursework and thesis.

To study a PhD you usually require the completion of a master’s degree, or a first-class or upper second-class honours degree in the same area of study, or a related discipline, as your intended area of research.

Check the postgraduate students pages for specific information on the entrance requirements of the programme you are interested in.

IELTS (Academic module) (including IELTS Online) : Overall score of 6.5, no individual band below 6.0

TOEFL iBT : Overall score of 90 and a writing score of 21 The University of Otago TOEFL institution code is 9483 (Please note we do not accept MyBest TOEFL scores)

Pearson Test of English ( PTE ) Academic : Overall score of 58 with no communicative skills score below 50

Duolingo English Test : Overall score of 120 (with no Individual Subscore below 95)