Abbreviation of Award / MIntDev / UWA Course Code / 71550
Degree Type / Coursework or Coursework and Dissertation / CRICOS Code: / 083850D
Fee Type / Full Fee
Course Advice / Please contact the Science Student Office (
About this Course
The aim of this course is to provide students with a grounding in international development concepts, theories and approaches. Students are equipped with the analytical and practical skills they need to engage critically in development issues and debates from an interdisciplinary perspective, and to work across broad areas of development policy, research and practice.
The course begins with foundational units in development theory and case studies, before enabling students to specialise in one of a number of areas, including: development policy and practice; politics and development; economics of development.
Admission Requirements
To be considered for admission to this course an applicant must have a bachelor's degree of this University or equivalent as recognised by the Faculty.
Course Duration
Minimum: 1.5 years full-time (or equivalent part-time) comprising 72 credit points of taught units and 24 points of admission credit.*
Maximum: 2 years full-time (or equivalent part-time) comprising 96 points of taught units**
*Students with a bachelor’s degree or major in a cognate area of study will be granted up to 24 points credit in recognition of prior learning.
** Students requiring more than 72 credit points will receive course advice specifying additional units.
Example Cognate Majors:
Development Policy and Practice(Specialisation) - Geography, Human Geography and Planning;
Politics and Development (Specialisation) - Political Science and International Relations, Anthropology and Sociology; Economics of Development (Specialisation) – Economics, Natural Resource Management, Agricultural Science or equivalent as recognised by the faculty
Knowledge
The Master of International Development is structured around two core units that students from each specialisation will all take. These units, 'Critical Perspectives in International Development' and 'Case Studies in Development Practice' provide students with a comprehensive grounding in, respectively, the theoretical and applied contexts of international development policy and practice. Students will then take a further three required specialisation units. In these units, students will develop specialised knowledge relevant to that disciplinary approach to international development.
In the 'Development Policy and Practice' specialisation, this knowledge focuses on spatial scale as a key framework forunderstanding the dimensions of poverty and under-development as well as techniques and approaches for addressingthese inequalities.
In the 'Policy and Development' specialisation, knowledge focuses on the inter-relationship between institutions, andtheories of the State, as a key framework for analysis of poverty and development.
In the 'Economics of Development'stream, knowledge development is framed around economic theories and techniques of analysis for measuring andinterpreting poverty and development. In each unit, students will become conversant in the language of research within thatdisciplinary area through engagement with, and analysis of, in the latest and most seminal research in internationaldevelopment.
Course Structure
Coursework ONLY
Core Units / POLS5672 Critical Perspectives in International Development
GEOG5002 Case Studies in Development Practice
Specialisation Core Units / Take FOUR specialisation core units
Specialisation Option Units / Take SIX specialisation option units; at least TWO of these must be at Level 5
Coursework AND Dissertation - Structure will not be available in 2015
- Please refer to the coursework only structure for 2015
Research Project Rule
Students who request approval to undertake a research project as an optional unit in this course must have:
- a weighted average mark of at least 65 % in at least 24 points of the level three units completed towards a cognate major in their UWA undergraduate degree;
- or equivalent as recognised by the Faculty;
- or have a weighted average mark of at least 65% in at least 24 points of level 4/5 units completed within the course; AND
- a supervisor, approved by the Faculty, must have confirmed his/her willingness and availability to supervise the research project.
Core Units / POLS5672 Critical Perspectives in International Development
GEOG5002 Case Studies in Development Practice
Specialisation Core Units / Take FOUR specialisation core units
Research Project / These units will not be available within this course in 2015
SCIE5590 Literature Review and Research Proposal
SCIE5511 Science Research Project Part 1
SCIE5512 Science Research Project Part 2
SCIE5513 Science Research Project Part 3
Specialisation Option Units / Take TWO specialisation option units
Specialisation Core Unit:Development Policy and Practice Take ALL FOUR units:
GEOG5003 Mining and Regional Development / ENVT4404 Environmental Planning and Management
GEOG5004 Place-based Development / GEOG4001 Social Demography and Development
Specialisation Core Unit:Economics of Development Take ALL FOUR units:
AGRI4402 Agricultural Economics / ECON5001 Contemporary Issues in Economic Development
ECON5002 Agriculture and Economic Development / SOCS5502 Conservation, Development and Sustainability
Specialisation Core Unit:Politics and Development Take ALL FOUR units:
POLS5671 Peace and Security in Africa
/ SOCS5010 NGOs, Governance and Development
SOCS5502 Conservation, Development and Sustainability / SOCS5001 Engaging Cultural Difference
SpecialisationOptions
Coursework ONLY; students take SIX specialisation option units (36 pts); at least TWO of these must be at Level 5
Coursework AND Dissertation;students take TWO specialisation option units (12 pts) AND SCIE5590 AND SCIE5511-13
Specialisation Options: Development Policy and Practice
ENVT4402 Analysis for Natural Resource Management / ECON4408 Advanced Development Economics
AGRI4402 Agricultural Economics / PLNG4411 Urban and Regional Analysis
ECON4410 Environmental and Resource Economics / ENVT5504 GIS and the Built Environment
SCIE4401 Data Use in the Natural Sciences / PLNG5512 Regional Planning
SOCS4001 Religion and Development
/ ECON5540 Economic Analysis and Policy
SOCS5502 Conservation, Development and Sustainability / ECON5001 Contemporary Issues in Economic Development
POLS5671 Peace and Security in Africa
/ SOCS5001 Engaging Cultural Difference
ECON5002 Agriculture and Economic Development / ENVT4411 Geographic Information Systems Applications
PLNG5511 Climate Change Policy and Planning (S1)
Specialisation Options: Economics of Development
ECON4410 Environmental and Resource Economics / ECON4408 Advanced Development Economics
ENVT4402 Analysis for Natural Resource Management
/ ENVT4404 Environmental Planning and Management
GEOG5003 Mining and Regional Development / ENVT4411 Geographic Information Systems Applications
SCIE4401 Data Use in the Natural Sciences / SOCS5001 Engaging Cultural Difference
GEOG5004 Place-based Development / PLNG5512 Regional Planning
POLS5671 Peace and Security in Africa
/ SOCS5010 NGOs, Governance and Development
PLNG5511 Climate Change Policy and Planning / PLNG4411 Urban and Regional Analysis
SOCS4001 Religion and Development
/ ENVT5504 GIS and the Built Environment
Specialisation Options: Politics and Development
AGRI4402 Agricultural Economics / ECON4408 Advanced Development Economics
ECON4410 Environmental and Resource Economics / ENVT4411 Geographic Information Systems Applications
ENVT4402 Analysis for Natural Resource Management / PLNG4411 Urban and Regional Analysis
SCIE4401 Data Use in the Natural Sciences / ECON5540 Economic Analysis and Policy
ECON5002 Agriculture and Economic Development / ENVT5504 GIS and the Built Environment
GEOG5004 Place-based Development / ECON5001 Contemporary Issues in Economic Development
SOCS4001 Religion and Development