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Global Development

Entry Year: 2024

2 study options

Global Development BA (Hons)

Key information

Degree
BA (Hons)
Duration
3 years
Start
September 2024
UCAS code
L750
Institution code
Q50
Typical A-Level offer
Grades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
Full entry requirements (including contextual admissions)
Home fees
£9,250
Overseas fees
£23,350
Funding information
Paying your fees

Global Development with Year Abroad BA (Hons)

Key information

Degree
BA (Hons)
Duration
4 years
Start
September 2024
UCAS code
L75A
Institution code
Q50
Home fees
£9,250
Overseas fees
£23,350
Funding information
Paying your fees

Year abroad cost

Finances for studying abroad on exchange

View details

Overview

Discover the cultural, political and historical trends shaping our world and learn how to creatively solve today’s challenges.

Are you passionate about confronting inequality? Tackling injustice? And solving global challenges? From COVID-19 to the climate crisis, the world is constantly changing. And we believe it’s not just one person’s agenda – it’s a global issue that requires a global response.

Discover cutting edge ideas and practices as you prepare to confront our changing world. You’ll debate development theory, explore evidence-based responses to major world issues, and learn the interdisciplinary tools you need to create positive change.

International immersion

You could study Global Development anywhere. But here we offer an exciting range of UK and overseas fieldwork, such as studying sustainable development in Malta. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to intern as a researcher with London International Development Centre, working at the forefront of international development.

You’ll be taught by academics who’ve made a real impact in their fields of research, covering international migration, urban water and gender-based violence, and much more. We also welcome expert global development guest speakers to inspire your own research, such as Professor Maristella Svampa from Argentina who is the leading scholar on global extractivist industries.

With a broadened perspective of world events, you could build a career working to assist those affected by conflict, disasters and poverty. Or perhaps you’ll be keen to make waves in policy development, human rights, environmental action or conflict resolution.

Structure

You can complete your Global Development degree in three or four years. If you choose to study abroad, this will take place in Year 3 and Year 3 modules will instead be studied in Year 4.

Year 1

Compulsory

  • Sustainable Transitions (Malta Fieldclass) *
  • Global Worlds
  • Controversies of Science and Technology in the Making of the Modern World
  • Introduction to Research Methods

Students then select ONE of the module options below:

Option 1

  • Global Sociology

and one of the following electives:

  • Planetary Emergencies: From Analysis to Action
  • Reformation to Revolution: Europe and the World, 1500-1800
  • Europe in a Global Context since 1800
  • Understanding Culture: Exploring the Big Questions
  • Critical Geography: Environment and Society
  • Postcolonial Francospheres: Memories of Colonialism in the French-Speaking World

Option 2

  • Global Histories

and one of the following electives:

  • Introductory Spanish
  • Introductory Portuguese
  • French I
  • Modern Arabic Language and Culture I
  • Mandarin Chinese Language and Culture I
  • Japanese Language and Culture I

For full details on all our modules please go to the online module directory.

*Fieldwork module. Flights, shared accommodation, transport in Malta and meals will not cost you anything extra on this compulsory module. Students are responsible for securing their own visas, if required.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 2

Compulsory

  • Advanced Research Methods
  • Development Geographies: From International to Global Perspectives

Choose from

  • Foreign Policy Analysis
  • Colonialism, Capitalism and Development
  • War in World Politics
  • The International Politics of the Developing World
  • Politics of International Law
  • Health, Space and Justice
  • Colonial Lives and Afterlives
  • Economic Geographies
  • Belfast: Political Geography in the Post-Conflict City *
  • Science, Ethics and Environmental Policy
  • Freedom and Nation: The State in Post-Colonial Africa, 1956-2006
  • Race in the United States: Plantation Slavery to #BlackLivesMatter
  • The Black Death: A Global History of Catastrophe and Transformation
  • Piracy and Civilisation: Antiquity to the Golden Age
  • Cultures of Migration and Diaspora
  • Contemporary World Cinemas
  • Colonial Literatures, Post Colonial Perspectives
  • Picturing a Nation: France and its image from Marianne to #JeSuisCharlie
  • Spanish I/II
  • Introductory Portuguese/Portuguese I
  • French I/II

For full details on all our modules please go to the online module directory

Fieldwork module. Fieldwork destinations may vary year-on-year, are subject to availability and depend on the module combinations chosen. Overseas fieldwork modules run in alternate years. Places are limited - if a module is oversubscribed, places will be allocated by ballot. Students on overseas field trips are responsible for securing their own visas, if required.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 3

Compulsory

  • Dissertation

Choose from

  • Politics of South Asia
  • The International Relations of the Middle East
  • Racism and Anti-Racism in World Politics
  • Globalisation: Issues and Debates
  • Africa and International Politics
  • Global Ethics
  • Latin American Debates
  • Urban African Economies
  • Public Life of Cities
  • Belfast: Political Geography in the Post-Conflict City *
  • Epidemic Cities
  • Urban Water: In and Beyond the Pipes
  • Global Historical Geographies
  • Geography, Technology and Society
  • Historical Geographies of Medicine: From Imperial Hygiene to Global Health
  • Empire and Political Thought
  • Islam and the West in the Middle Ages
  • Premodern Worlds on Screen
  • Impacts of Empire: Global Connections that have Shaped Modern British History
  • Afropean Identities
  • Photography, Activism and Environmental Justice
  • Postsocialist Intimacies: Gender and Sexual Politics in Contemporary China
  • Labour in Latin America
  • Decolonising Film Heritage
  • Montage Across the Arts: Aesthetics, Modernity, Politics
  • Continuing Modern Language options (see Year 2)

For full details on all our modules please go to the online module directory.

Fieldwork module. Fieldwork destinations may vary year-on-year, are subject to availability and depend on the module combinations chosen. Overseas fieldwork modules run in alternate years. Places are limited - if a module is oversubscribed, places will be allocated by ballot. Students on overseas field trips are responsible for securing their own visas, if required.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Study options

Apply for this degree with any of the following options. Take care to use the correct UCAS code - it may not be possible to change your selection later.

Year abroad

Go global and study abroad as part of your degree – apply for our Global Development BA with a Year Abroad. Queen Mary has links with universities in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia (partnerships vary for each degree programme).

Find out more about study abroad opportunities at Queen Mary and what the progression requirements are. 

Additional Costs

Compulsory fieldwork will not cost you anything extra. Optional UK and overseas fieldwork trips in the second- and third-year cost approximately £450-£1,500 (based on 2022-23 costs) depending on destination, including flights, accommodation and expenses on location.

 

Teaching

Teaching and learning

On average, you can expect to spend eight to 12 hours per week in a combination of lectures, tutorials, supervisions, seminars, workshops and practical classes. 

For every hour of classes, expect to do a further two to four hours of independent study.

Fieldwork is central to all our programmes and takes place in London, the UK and overseas. Find out more about our field classes and how they help you apply your studies to real-world contexts.

All students have an academic advisor in the School of Geography that they meet with regularly across each semester to review their studies and to check-in on their well-being. Read more about the advice and support services available to students on this programme. 

Assessment

Module assessment is varied and will take a number of forms within the programme. Forms of assessment include:

  • seen and unseen examinations
  • in-class tests
  • coursework essays
  • research projects and dissertations
  • project synopses
  • oral presentations and role play exercises
  • group projects and presentations
  • writing exercises/written assessments that adopt different formats and styles and are aimed at a range of audiences, for example writing journals and newspaper articles
  • literature reviews
  • writing policy briefs, field work journals, reading exercises
  • audio-visual productions (including podcasting on fieldtrips)

Resources and facilities

The School of Geography offers excellent on-campus resources to aid your studies, including an undergraduate computer room and a geography teaching laboratory.

You will have access to specialist qualitative, quantitative, and GIS computing software to support your learning and research if required.

You will also have access to an unparalleled range of learning resources, special collections, and world-leading libraries within QMUL and the University of London, such as the QMUL Library, Senate House Library. Other specialist collections are accessible nearby, for example at the British Library.

Entry requirements

A-LevelGrades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
IBInternational Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum of 32 points overall, including 6,5,5 from three Higher Level subjects.
BTECSee our detailed subject and grade requirements
Access HEWe consider applications from students with the Access to Higher Education Diploma. The minimum academic requirement is to achieve 60 credits overall, with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 15 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. Applications are considered on a case by case basis. Due to the high volume of applications, we do not make offers of study purely on the basis of meeting grade requirements.
GCSEMinimum five GCSE passes including English and Maths at grade C or 4.
EPQ

Alternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification.

For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq

Contextualised admissions

Our standard contextual offer: Grades BBC at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

Our enhanced contextual offer (for care experienced students, refugee/asylum seekers or students who have completed Realising Opportunities or Access to Queen Mary): Grades BCC at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

More information on how this information is used for a contextual offer can be found on our contextualised admissions page.

A-LevelGrades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
IBInternational Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum of 32 points overall, including 6,5,5 from three Higher Level subjects.
BTECSee our detailed subject and grade requirements
Access HEWe consider applications from students with the Access to Higher Education Diploma. The minimum academic requirement is to achieve 60 credits overall, with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 15 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. Applications are considered on a case by case basis. Due to the high volume of applications, we do not make offers of study purely on the basis of meeting grade requirements.
GCSEMinimum five GCSE passes including English and Maths at grade C or 4.
EPQAlternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification. For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq
Contextualised admissionsOur standard contextual offer: Grades BBC at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

Our enhanced contextual offer (for care experienced students, refugee/asylum seekers or students who have completed Realising Opportunities or Access to Queen Mary): Grades BCC at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

More information on how this information is used for a contextual offer can be found on our contextualised admissions page.

Non-UK students

We accept a wide range of European and international qualifications in addition to A-levels, the International Baccalaureate and BTEC qualifications. Please visit International Admissions for full details.

If your qualifications are not accepted for direct entry onto this degree, consider applying for a foundation programme.

English language

Find out more about our English language entry requirements, including the types of test we accept and the scores needed for entry to the programme.

You may also be able to meet the English language requirement for your programme by joining a summer pre-sessional programme before starting your degree.

Further information

See our general undergraduate entry requirements.

Funding

Loans and grants

UK students accepted onto this course are eligible to apply for tuition fee and maintenance loans from Student Finance England or other government bodies.

Scholarships and bursaries

Queen Mary offers a generous package of scholarships and bursaries, which currently benefits around 50 per cent of our undergraduates.

Scholarships are available for home, EU and international students. Specific funding is also available for students from the local area. International students may be eligible for a fee reduction. We offer means-tested funding, as well as subject-specific funding for many degrees.

Find out what scholarships and bursaries are available to you.

Support from Queen Mary

We offer specialist support on all financial and welfare issues through our Advice and Counselling Service, which you can access as soon as you have applied for a place at Queen Mary.

Take a look at our Student Advice Guides which cover ways to finance your degree, including:

  • additional sources of funding
  • planning your budget and cutting costs
  • part-time and vacation work
  • money for lone parents.

Careers

Graduates from our Global Development programme will also be well equipped with a number of transferrable and sought after skills which will prepare them for careers in a wide range of sectors. 

We expect students to progress into a wide range of careers including: development consultancy; NGOs and development agencies; and project management in the public and third sector.

Recent graduates from the School of Geography have gone on to roles with:

  • The BBC
  • The Citizens Foundation (TCF)
  • Solar Impulse Foundation
  • The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
  • Deloitte

Internship opportunity

This programme also offers students the opportunity to undertake an unpaid internship with London International Development Centre (LIDC) while studying. Places are competitive and numbers of interns LIDC can accept each year may vary.

Career support

Global Development students benefit from dedicated careers support, including lectures and tutorials on career choice, getting work experience and presenting degree skills to an employer at interview. We also run an annual career options event with graduate speakers.

Find out more about how we have integrated careers support into all of degree programmes to help you to maximise your potential and achieve your ambitions.

The Queen Mary careers team can also offer:

  • specialist advice on choosing a career path
  • support with finding work experience, internships and graduate jobs
  • feedback on CVs, cover letters and application forms
  • interview coaching.

Learn more about career support and development at Queen Mary.

Data for these courses

Global Development - BA (Hons)

Global Development with Year Abroad - BA (Hons)

The Discover Uni dataset (formerly Unistats)

About the School

The School of Geography at Queen Mary University of London provides an innovative education across diverse subject areas in a supportive and inclusive environment.   

Staff and students alike strive to solve the major environmental and societal challenges of our time, generating rigorous research evidence and turning that into impactful practical and policy change at a local or national and even global level, often working with powerful partners like government agencies and big tech companies to drive progress.  

The School is one of the top 100 geography departments in the world (QS World University Rankings 2023), while the Research Excellence Framework (2021) puts the quality of our research in the UK top 10.  

Thanks to our local, national and international links, you’ll have opportunities to work with community groups, environmental trusts and charities, applying your classroom learning to real-world problems.

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