MA in Development Studies
University of Bayreuth
Key Information
Campus location
Languages
English, German
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
4 semesters
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
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Application deadline
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Earliest start date
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* there are no tuition fees; in Germany, students at all higher education institutions pay a semester contribution; this payment - at the University of Bayreuth: about 110 EUR per semester - has nothing to do with tuition fees
Introduction
Processes of development, change, and globalization in Latin America, Asia, and Africa are playing an increasingly important global role in this day and age. The interdisciplinary master’s program “Development Studies” addresses the causes, conditions, and consequences of such processes.
Why study "Development Studies" in Bayreuth?
The University of Bayreuth's focus on Africa
The University of Bayreuth's focus on Africa was already established when the University was founded in 1975. You can access a broad, interdisciplinary range of courses on Africa. In the Bayreuth University Library, you have access to the second-largest book and media collection on Africa in Germany with currently 155,000 volumes and media. Further academic qualification in African studies is offered by Bayreuth’s BIGSAS Graduate School.
Double Degree in Geography: Bayreuth & Bordeaux
The Universities of Bayreuth and Bordeaux Montaigne offer three Development Studies students with a specialization in Geography per year the opportunity to obtain a double degree. Equally, three places are offered to students of ‘Géographie – Études du Développement’ in Bordeaux.
Admissions
Curriculum
The students have the chance to look at “development” from different perspectives, link methodological and theoretical approaches, and detect connections between social, political, and spatial conditions. During your studies, you will gain the ability to analyze development problems and processes of global and local change, discuss them in consideration of theories from the social sciences and economics, and apply them in practice as part of a project-focused unit of study.
The program of study combines courses in development sociology and politics, geography, and economics. On this basis, students acquire subject-specific as well as interdisciplinary and practical skills. The University of Bayreuth’s research focuses on Africa and its diverse research on the Global South gives you access to extensive expertise. You benefit from the close integration of the departments involved while having the freedom to choose your own area of emphasis to be pursued in development sociology or politics, geography, or economics.
Thanks to the program’s interdisciplinary approach, you will be alert and open to the theoretical and methodological diversity that you will encounter again and again, even in practical work in the field of development. This will in turn enable you to better understand and assess complex development processes.
Structure and content
Students chose one out of three individual focuses. The program includes activities that represent a total of 120 ECTS, resulting from the following areas:
- Foundations (45 ECTS)
- Individual Focus on Advanced Development Sociology and Politics (20 ECTS)
- Individual Focus on Advanced Geography (20 ECTS)
- Individual Focus on Advanced International Economy (20 ECTS)
- Project-focussed Unit (30 ECTS)
- Master's Thesis (25 ECTS)
Career Opportunities
The range of international areas of activity open to development experts is immense and continues to grow as the Global South gains more and more economic and political significance.
Examples include:
- Institutions active in development cooperation or with strong ties to the Global South, from ministries and national development agencies to the United Nations;
- Private organizations active in development cooperation such as Brot für die Welt, Care, Caritas, Oxfam, or Welthungerhilfe;
- Internationally active businesses in industry, trade, and finance;
- Industry federations: chambers of foreign trade and business associations;
- Media and cultural institutions.