The International Development Studies (IDS) Collaborative Specialization offers an opportunity for master's and PhD students engaged in development-related research to enhance their departmental degree program with an additional interdisciplinary experience. This unique study combination provides students with the best possible foundation for academic careers in international development and related areas. Faculty expertise encompasses various aspects of development in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

Master’s and PhD students wishing to undertake graduate studies with an emphasis on International Development Studies will be admitted by a participating department and will register in both the participating program and the collaborative specialization.

The participating academic programs are Capacity Development Extension (MSc), Critical Studies in Improvisation (PhD only), Economics (MA, PhD), Engineering (MEng, MASc Environmental Engineering or Water Resources Engineering, PhD), English (MA), Environmental Sciences (MSc, PhD), Family Relations & Applied Nutrition (MSc, PhD Applied Human Nutrition), Food, Agricultural & Resource Economics (MFARE, MSc, PhD), Geography (MA, MSc, PhD), History (MA, PhD), Latin American & Caribbean Studies (MA), Management (MSc), Philosophy (MA, PhD), Plant Agriculture (PhD only), Political Science (MA, PhD), Population Medicine (MSc coursework option, PhD), Psychology (MA Applied Social Psychology, PhD), Public Health (MPH), Public Issues Anthropology (MA), Rural Planning and Development (MSc Planning), Sociology (MA, PhD), and Social Practice & Transformational Change (PhD). 

Administrative Staff

Director
Andrea Paras (516 MacKinnon, Ext. 53134)
aparas@uoguelph.ca​
Graduate Program Coordinator
Erin Nelson (615 MacKinnon, Ext. 53143)
enelson@uoguelph.ca
Graduate Program Assistant
ids@uoguelph.ca

Graduate Faculty

This list may include Regular Graduate Faculty, Associated Graduate Faculty and/or Graduate Faculty from other universities.

Admission Requirement

Master's Requirements

Students wishing to pursue a Master's degree with the designation "International Development Studies" must enter the collaborative specialization in International Development through a participating program.

Students must meet the University's general requirement a four-year honour's degree, or equivalent, from a recognized post-secondary institution with a B- average over the last two years of full-time equivalent study. Note that some programs set their admission requirement higher than B-.

Students must have completed the following:

• One undergraduate course in economics.
• One undergraduate course in a social science discipline
• One course in social science research methods or equivalent.

Doctoral Requirements

To be considered for admission, an applicant must have a recognized Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in a relevant discipline or related interdisciplinary field. Applicants to the IDS collaborative specialization must meet the specific departmental admission requirements, which vary from one department to another. For information on the admission requirements and application deadlines of your selected department, please contact the relevant department directly.

In addition to the specific departmental admission requirements, applicants are expected to have a strong background in the social sciences a demonstrable track record of experience in the course-based study of development issues, development research and/or development practice and a stated research interest relating to international development.

Program Requirements

Learning Outcomes

By the end of their program of study, graduates of the Collaborative Specialization in International Development Studies will be able to:

1. Apply theoretical and empirical perspectives across disciplines in order to analyze complex development problems.
2. Identify and challenge their own assumptions, privileges, and disciplinary perspectives in relation to development issues.
3. Evaluate the appropriateness of diverse research methods applied to complex development problems and understand the ethical implications of employing such methods.
4. Identify and design feasible and sustainable actions for positive, inclusive change.
5. Communicate to and engage with diverse academic and non-academic audiences on complex development issues.
6. Challenge established norms and narratives in development theory, research, policy, and practice. 

Master's Requirements

Students complete International Development Studies core requirements and the requirements of their home department. Requirements of this collaborative specialization may also serve as elective requirements in the student’s home program. Students should confirm the departmental course requirements with their respective Graduate Program Coordinator.

IDS Master's Core Courses

Optional IDS Courses

Students in the collaborative specialization may undertake two optional interdisciplinary courses:

Doctoral Requirements

Students complete requirements for the departmental degree as well as the IDS components, which consist of two core courses: an interdisciplinary course on theories and debates in development and a course on development research and practice. Requirements of this collaborative specialization may also serve as elective requirements in the student’s home program. Students should confirm the departmental course requirements with their respective Graduate Program Coordinator. Students must obtain a minimum final grade of 75% in each of the two IDS PhD core courses to remain in the IDS collaborative specialization. While students have to successfully complete these courses to remain in the IDS collaborative specialization, they do not have to pass a separate qualifying examination in addition to the departmental qualifying exam. Furthermore, the expectation is that the IDS students’ PhD research will bridge two or more disciplines in a way that relates to the field of IDS. The departmental supervisor must have knowledge and understanding of International Development Studies as it relates to the requirements of the IDS collaborative specialization. One of the members on the student’s advisory committee needs to be an appointed IDS affiliated faculty member approved by the IDS Admissions Committee.

IDS PhD Core Courses

Courses