MSc Migration Mobility and Development
SOAS University of London
Key Information
Campus location
London, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 - 3 year
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
GBP 14,270 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Request info
* full-time fees: UK £14,270; Overseas £23,800. Part-time 2 years fees: UK £7,135/year; Overseas £11,900/year. Part-time 3 years fees: UK £4,710/year; Overseas £7,855/year
Introduction
Mode of Attendance: Full-time or part-time
This innovative new programme in the Department of Development Studies offers students the opportunity to combine study and analysis of critical perspectives on development and the increasingly important and related field of migration studies.
The MSc in Migration, Mobility and Development will focus attention on the political economy of migration from a historical perspective, major trends in migration theories, and different forms of and approaches to the study of migration and displacement. The programme draws on the expertise of staff in development, migration and forced migration contexts from the Development Studies department, and encourages inter-disciplinary dialogue with other relevant departments and centres within SOAS.
The programme’s 20-week core modules will focus on the migration–development nexus, broadly conceived and defined. It will also expose students to a range of interlocking theoretical approaches which set out to account for constructions of and responses to migration and migrants, as well as to the scope and scale of migratory processes. Broadly, Term 1 provides analysis of the institutional, political, social and economic contexts where migration takes place and considers differentiated/mitigated effects. Term 2 builds on this to discuss types of migration via case study and other material, placing more emphasis on migrants’ perspectives and how these are mitigated by ‘contexts’.
Topics and themes include:
- Sedentarism and the study of migration
- Polities & economies of migration
- Colonialism
- Nations, states and territory
- Globalisation
- (Illegal) workers in the global economy
- Place and emplacement
- Assimilation/acculturation/discrimination
- Transnational migrants & mobile lives
- Trafficking
- Development and migration
- Diasporas and development
- Refugees and internally displaced persons
- Development-induced displacement
- Environment and refugees/displacement
- Climate change-related migration
- Policy responses to migration
- Transformations North and South
The MSc in Migration, Mobility and Development will provide a thorough analytical grounding in international migration including different types of forced and voluntary migration, facilitating the development of specialized knowledge of particular case studies, as well as overall trends and theoretical frameworks. A rigorous academic programme, it will also give students the confidence to think in policy-relevant terms and will be equally valuable to those proceeding to professional employment in the sector with international organizations, NGOs and government bodies, and for students intending to go on to carry out PhD research.
Gallery
Ideal Students
Who is this programme for?
The degree has been developed to meet the needs of people working or hoping to work, in international agencies, humanitarian organisations, and NGOs and students intending to go on to carry out PhD research. The programme attracts applicants with a variety of academic and working backgrounds. We welcome those who have worked in the field of migration and / or development, but we also welcome applications from students without relevant work experience who can demonstrate a strong interest in the major themes of the programme and a strong first degree, preferably in social science.
Admissions
Curriculum
Structure
Students must take 180 credits per year comprised of 120 taught credits (including core, compulsory and optional modules) and a 60 credit dissertation.
Dissertation
- Dissertation in Development Studies
Core Modules
A core module is required for the degree programme, so must always be taken and passed before you move on to the next year of your programme.
- Migration and Development
Students also take ONE of the following:
- Theory, policy and practice of development
- Political Economy of Development
Compulsory Modules
A compulsory module is required for the degree programme, so must always be taken, and if necessary can be passed by re-taking it alongside the next year of your programme.
- Choose modules to the value of 30 credits from the Development Studies modules list below.
Optional Modules
These are designed to help students design their own intellectual journey while maintaining a strong grasp of the fundamentals.
Choose module(s) to the total value of 30 credits from:
- Module(s) from the Development Studies list below to the value of 30 credits.
- Module(s) from the guided option list below from another department to the value of 30 credits.
- Open option modules to the value of 30 credits from another department.
- Module from the Development Studies' list below to the value of 15 credits.
- Module(s) from the guided option list below from another department to the value of 15 credits.
- Open option modules to the value of 15 credits from another department.
List of Development Studies Modules (subject to availability)
- Agrarian Development, Food Policy and Rural Poverty
- Aid and Development
- Battlefields of Method: Approaches to International Development Research
- Borders and Development
- Cities and Development
- Civil society, social movements and the development process
- Development Practice
- Environment, Governance and Development
- Energy Transition, Nature, and Development in a Time of Climate Change
- Famine and food security
- Fundamentals of research methods for Development Studies
- Gender and Development
- Global Commodity Chains, Production Networks and Informal Work
- Global Health and Development
- Issues in Forced Migration
- Marxist Political Economy and Global Development
- Migration and Policy
- Natural resources, development and change: putting critical analysis into practice
- Neoliberalism, Democracy and Global Development
- Problems of Development in the Middle East and North Africa
- Security
- The Working Poor and Development
- Migrant Labour in the Global Economy
- War to Peace Transitions
- Water and Development: Conflict and Governance
- Water Resources: Justice and Governance
List of guided options from other Departments (subject to availability)
- Gendering Refugee Crises and Humanitarian Practice 1
- From Theory to Practice and Back. Work Placements in Migration Research
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.
Career Opportunities
Employment
MSc Migration, Mobility & Development students leave SOAS with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek. These include analytical skills, presentation skills, the ability to think laterally and employ critical reasoning, and knowing how to present materials and ideas effectively both orally and in writing. A postgraduate degree is a valuable experience that provides students with a body of work and a diverse range of skills that they can use to market themselves with when they graduate. Our alumni have gone on to work in a range of different organisations, including international development, humanitarian, social policy and human rights organisations; government immigration and international development departments and embassies; and private sector organisations. They work in different roles involving research, policy, communication and campaigns, casework, journalism, fundraising, administration and coordination.
Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:
- British Red Cross
- Commonwealth Secretariat
- Coram Children's Legal Centre
- Danida - Danish Embassy
- David Lammy, MP
- Developing Markets Associates
- Economic and Social Research Council
- Embassy of Japan
- Embassy of the Czech Republic
- Environmental Justice Foundation
- Fahamu Refugee Programme
- Flemish Refugee Action
- Fondazione Marcegaglia
- French Committee for Sustainable Development
- Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center
- Home Office
- IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development
- Ikwro
- International Catholic Migration Commission
- International Committee of the Red Cross
- International Organisation for Migration
- JICA - Japan International Cooperation Agency
- Kentish Town Community Centre
- Médecins Sans Frontières
- Ocampo Duque Abogados Consulting
- Oxfam
- PAWA254 Art Rising
- Progressio
- RAND Europe
- Refugee Action
- Refugee Support Network
- Santander
- ShantiRefugees
- U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
- UN Development Programme
- UNESCO
- UNHCR - UN Agency for Refugees
- UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency)
- Videre
- World Relief
- World Vision
- Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México
- University of Yonsei
Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:
- Analyst
- Campaigns Officer
- Case Worker
- Centre Co-Ordinator
- Civil Servant
- Communication and Documentation
- Company Director
- Consular Assistant
- Consultant
- Field Officer
- Film Producer
- Journalist
- Fundraiser
- Humanitarian Worker
- Policy and Advocacy Manager
- Program Coordinator
- Project Co-ordinator
- Researcher
- Resources and Development Officer
- Service Manager
- Social Worker
English Language Requirements
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