Our program builds upon core courses that provide the foundations of research within development studies.
PhD students are enrolled in Political Economy of Development (DEVS 801), Cultural Politics of Development (DEVS 802), and Qualitative Research Methods and Fieldwork (DEVS 803).
In addition, all first year PhD students are enrolled in Professional Seminar in Global Development Studies (DEVS 950), which provides a useful forum to meet as a group to discuss how best to move through the program. Meeting once a month across both fall and winter terms, the course provides a discussion forum addressing key themes concerning research, ethics, and debates within the discipline.
In 2024-2025, the Department offers additional elective graduate level courses:
- DEVS 812: Africa in the Anthropocene (Winter)
- DEVS 813: Climate Justice (Winter)
Students may take up to two courses offered outside of DEVS and can select from a wide range of courses offered in cognate (related) departments (e.g., History, Political Studies, Sociology, Geography, Gender Studies and Environmental Studies) within their DEVS degree requirements. Permission of the course instructor and DEVS graduate chair is required. Please consult the individual departments and programs website to ascertain the courses being offered and to obtain course outlines and names of instructors. Students should be alert for potential time conflicts with DEVS mandatory courses, DEVS electives, and TA-Ship responsibilities. Please note that students do not have enrollment priority in courses outside of their home department and enrollment in these courses may not be made available until the start of term, and then only if space permits. If you are interested in a course outside of DEVS, please contact the DEVS Academic Assistant for guidance. DEVS students are encouraged to enroll in a DEVS course as a backup in case their enrollment in a course outside of DEVS cannot be accommodated by the other department.
Students may also request the option to take a directed reading course (DEVS 890). This course enables a student or a group of students to explore a body of literature on a selected topic in development. The focus may be by theme, by region or by academic approach and can span the humanities, social sciences and environmental sciences. The student or students are responsible for approaching a faculty member with whom they wish to work and who is willing to undertake this project. The reading list, course schedule and course assignments will be agreed upon by the student/students and professor, but there is an expectation that a minimum of one substantive written assignment will be required.
Please note that graduate students are not permitted to self-enroll in courses in the Student On-Line University System (). The Academic Programs Assistant completes all course enrollments, drops and audits.
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the relationship between political economy and the ideas and practices of development. The course grounds students in core theories, both classical and contemporary. It then examines key themes and controversies to illustrate the relationships between political economy and development practice.
This is a mandatory course for all MA and PhD graduate students in Global Development Studies.
Available only to MA and PhD students.
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the cultural politics of development in historical and contemporary perspective. The course focuses on narratives of development and their relationship to social and political movements in the South and North. Themes include the ideas of tradition, modernity and progress; colonialism, nationalism and liberation; and the gendered and racialised politics of development.
This is a mandatory course for all MA and PhD graduate students in Global Development Studies.
Available only to MA and PhD students.
This course introduces qualitative fieldwork methods including research design, proposal writing, ethics, interviews, and data analysis. It offers a clear pathway towards successful fieldwork design, implementation and reporting and provides core professional skills for working productively within development and community organisations.
This is a mandatory course for all PhD graduate students in Global Development Studies, and highly recommended for all MA graduate students.
Available only to MA and PhD students.
Africa south of the Sahara contributes least to the global climate emergency but is already bearing a disproportionate burden of impacts. This course historicizes environmental management and mis-management on the continent since the onset of the capitalist era, key manifestations of the climate crisis, and activism, technologies and transnational normative frameworks that offer hope to mitigate the worst impacts of environmental change.
Available only to MA and PhD students.
This course examines the intersections between climate change and social justice. Through readings and class discussions, students will develop an understanding of the relationship between climate change and colonialism and identify some of the disproportionate impacts that climate change has on marginalized communities and women. Different dimensions of justice (distributive, procedural, recognition and restorative) and frameworks for incorporating justice into climate governance (e.g., energy justice, just transition, climate reparations) will be explored. The challenges of achieving climate justice within existing political and economic institutions will also be addressed, with a particular focus on international climate finance. Finally, concerns about the potential for new injustices to arise out of climate policies (e.g., ‘green sacrifice zones’, ‘green grabs’, and ‘green colonialism’) will be considered.
Available only to MA and PhD students.
Students whose proposed research lies outside the realm (thematic or regional) of regular course offerings may choose this option. In consultation with a willing supervisor, students must develop a unifying title, course description, and reading list of 2‐4 key texts for each of 5‐6 set topics leading toward an agreed upon set of assignments. There is an expectation that a minimum of one substantive written assignment will be required.
Provides a forum to discuss practical, ethical and methodological issues in conducting development research, pedagogy, writing and professional development, including thesis preparation, publications, development pedagogy, conference presentations and grant applications. Monthly meetings; Fall-Winter.
This is a mandatory course for all PhD graduate students in Global Development Studies.