International Development Studies

Students wishing to pursue a Master's degree with the designation "International Development Studies" must enter the collaborative specialization in International Development through a participating program.

Students must meet the University's general requirement a four-year honour's degree, or equivalent, from a recognized post-secondary institution with a B- average over the last two years of full-time equivalent study. Note that some programs set their admission requirement higher than B-.

Students must have completed the following:

• one undergraduate course in a social science discipline; and
• one course in social science research methods or equivalent.

To be considered for admission, an applicant must have a recognized Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in a relevant discipline or related interdisciplinary field. Applicants to the IDS collaborative specialization must meet the specific departmental admission requirements, which vary from one department to another. For information on the admission requirements and application deadlines of your selected department, please contact the relevant department directly.

In addition to the specific departmental admission requirements, applicants are expected to have a strong background in the social sciences a demonstrable track record of experience in the course-based study of development issues, development research and/or development practice and a stated research interest relating to international development.

By the end of their program of study, graduates of the Collaborative Specialization in International Development Studies will be able to:

1. Understand and apply theoretical and empirical perspectives across disciplines in order to analyze complex development problems.
2. Identify and challenge their own assumptions, privileges, and disciplinary perspectives in relation to development issues.
3. Evaluate the appropriateness of diverse research methods applied to complex development problems and understand the ethical implications of employing such methods.
4. Explore feasible and sustainable actions for positive, inclusive change.
5. Communicate and engage in critical dialogues with diverse academic and non-academic audiences on complex issues in development theory, research, policy, and practice.

Students complete International Development Studies core requirements and the requirements of their home department. Requirements of this collaborative specialization may also serve as elective requirements in the student’s home program. Students should confirm the departmental course requirements with their respective Graduate Program Coordinator.

Students in the collaborative specialization may undertake two optional interdisciplinary courses:

Students complete requirements for the departmental degree as well as the IDS components, which consist of two core courses: an interdisciplinary course on theories and debates in development and a course on development research and practice. Requirements of this collaborative specialization may also serve as elective requirements in the student’s home program. Students should confirm the departmental course requirements with their respective Graduate Program Coordinator. Students must obtain a minimum final grade of 75% in each of the two IDS PhD core courses to remain in the IDS collaborative specialization. While students have to successfully complete these courses to remain in the IDS collaborative specialization, they do not have to pass a separate qualifying examination in addition to the departmental qualifying exam. Furthermore, the expectation is that the IDS students’ PhD research will bridge two or more disciplines in a way that relates to the field of IDS. The departmental supervisor must have knowledge and understanding of International Development Studies as it relates to the requirements of the IDS collaborative specialization. One of the members on the student’s advisory committee needs to be an IDS affiliated faculty member approved by the IDS Admissions Committee.