 Welcome to the Department of Development Studies. Here at SOAS we support students to gain the knowledge and critical skills to tackle the biggest challenges facing today's global community. Development Studies is a life and interdisciplinary social science field, combining political economy, politics, anthropology and history approaches to analyze processes of development in different contexts around the world. Our staff and students are challenged to refine a theoretical and practical understanding of why change happens, how power is exercised and in what ways inequalities can be explained and confronted. Our postgraduate programs, MSCs and PhDs, offer you the chance to specialize in your chosen area of study, from global development to environment and politics, migration and mobility, violence, conflict and development and humanitarianism and aid. You'll be taught in a department that is ranked second in the world for the Development Studies discipline by a specialist faculty that uses interdisciplinary approaches working across a wide range of contexts and research areas. Our courses are interdisciplinary, providing you with analytical training and an in-depth understanding of context-specific challenges and agendas from the global south. As part of your degree, you will have the opportunity to engage with professional practice through specific modules, including some work placements to help advance your career. Development at SOAS brings together people who are passionate about social justice and those who grasp the importance of understanding regional and local contexts through field-based research. Our graduates go on to work at organizations such as Amnesty International, Medecins Sans Frontières, the UN, the World Bank and governments around the world as well as working for and even setting up development and social justice organizations. Many go on to do PhD degrees and work in research positions in and out of academia. Study at SOAS and join a department and an institution that sets out to challenge the status quo and equip you with the knowledge and critical skills to tackle global challenges.