

Development Studies

Development Studies is a multidisciplinary social science subject. It has a particular focus on developing countries and issues relating to social and economic development. It incorporates aspects of the fields of anthropology, criminology, demography, ecology, economics, geography, history, international relations, philosophy, political science, public management and sociology. Development studies is a relatively new academic discipline and is often taught in combination with more traditional degree subjects.
Digging deeper into subject interests can help you in a number of ways:
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Confirm whether this is (or isn't) something you would be interested in enough to want to study it at university either as the focus of your degree or a minor/elective
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Give you some inspiration to use when creating your questions and topics for IA's (coursework) and your Extended Essay
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Provide you with content for your university application writing in the future, enabling you to reflect on the things you've been doing to explore your interests in a way that is academically relevant to the course or institution you are applying for.
Useful Resources
Oxford University Research Blog | Blog | The University of Oxford's Blog on their current research. It includes articles on a huge range of topics but particularly relevant to the current global challenges. | Click Here > | |
University of Nottingham e-resources | Blog | Video | Recorded Lecture | The University of Nottingham have a number of resources for students to explore degrees you could study at university. The resources include videos, taster lectures and blogs. Use the menu to select the areas you are interested in to see what they have to offer. | Click Here > | |
The Evolution of Everything : how new ideas emerge, by Matt Ridley | Book | We are taught that the world is a top-down place. Acclaimed author Matt Ridley shows just how wrong this is in his compelling new book. This is more often wrong than right. 'The Evolution of Everything' is about bottom-up order and its enemy, the top-down twitch, the endless fascination human beings have for design rather than evolution, for direction rather than emergence. | St. Clare's Library at shelf location L 23 500 RID | |
National Geographic | E-Magazine | Podcast | Website | Starting as a print magazine, National Geographic are now a multi-channel platform focused on inspiring passion for our natural world. You will need to subscribe for full access, but there are also a lot of free resources on the site. | https://www.nationalgeographic.com/ | |
Young Environmentalist Programmes | Events | Conference | Gain an immersive experience of Environmentalism alongside top environmentalists. Choose below either our Young Environmentalist Weekend or our Young Environmentalist Summer Experience. | Click Here > | |
Young International Development Expert Programmes | Events | Conference | Gain an immersive experience of International Development alongside top professionals. Choose below either our Young International Development Expert Weekend or our Young International Development Expert Summer Experience. | Click Here > | |
Michigan Journal of Business | Journal | The MJB is an undergraduate run academic business journal at the Stephen M.Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. The catalogue of previous issues is available for free online. | Click Here > | |
Research from the University of Bristol | Journal Articles | Website | Explore cutting edge research from the different faculties and departments from the University of Bristol, including free access to their published journal articles. | Click Here > | |
Coursera | Online Course | Coursera is an online platform for distance learning. They have a range of free courses delivered by universities. Search in this section to find courses of interest to you, often these are courses you can follow at your own pace. | Click Here > | |
EdX | Online Course | The X Series courses on the EdX platform are free online courses delivered by universities and aimed at helping you explore areas of interest. | Click Here > | |
FutureLearn | Online Course | FutureLearn is a free online platform where universities from around the globe host FREE online courses you can undertake in your areas of interest. Browse courses by categories or use the search bar to find courses relevant to your interests | Click Here > | |
Bloomberg | Podcast | Bloomberg have a range of podcasts on a variety of topics from coverage of the stock markets to the pay gap and the reason for mistrust in vaccines. On most the latest episode is free to listen to, but there is also a subscription option. | Click Here > | |
Middle East Centre | Podcast | The Middle East Centre, founded in 1957 at St Antony’s College is the centre for the interdisciplinary study of the modern Middle East in the University of Oxford. Centre Fellows teach and conduct research in the humanities and social sciences with direct reference to the Arab world, Iran, Israel and Turkey, with particular emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, during our regular Friday seminar series, attracting a wide audience, our distinguished speakers bring topics to light that touch on contemporary issues. | Click Here > | |
Oxford Martin School: Public Lectures and Seminars | Podcast | Recorded Lecture | Public Lectures and Seminars from the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford. The Oxford Martin School brings together the best minds from different fields to tackle the most pressing issues of the 21st century. | Click Here > | |
Oxford Transitional Justice Research Seminars | Podcast | Recorded Lecture | Oxford Transitional Justice Research (OTJR) is an inter-disciplinary network of more than 100 Oxford staff and students working broadly on issues of transition in societies recovering from mass conflict and/or repressive rule. OTJR is dedicated to producing high-quality scholarship that connects intimately to practical and policy questions in transitional justice, focusing on the following themes: Prosecutions, Truth Commissions, Local and traditional practices, Compensation and reparations, Theoretical and philosophical debates in transitional justice, Institutional reform and Archives of tribunal and other transitional justice materials. The OTJR seminar programme is held weekly and reflects these aims. | Click Here > | |
TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities | Podcast | Recorded Lecture | The University of Oxford is home to an impressive range and depth of research activities in the Humanities. TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities is a major new initiative that seeks to build on this heritage and to stimulate and support research that transcends disciplinary and institutional boundaries. Here we feature some of the networks and programmes, as well as recordings of events, and offer insights into the research that they make possible. | Click Here > | |
Making the Past Serve the Present: the Silk Road and China's Quest for Imperial Rejuvenation | Recorded Lecture | A Lecture from the Royal Society for Asian Affairs from Jan 2021 | Click Here > | |
New geographies of global money? Chinese finance in London | A recorded lecture from Geography Education and the University of Nottingham | Recorded Lecture | In this talk, Sarah Hall, Professor of Economic Geography at the University of Nottingham, explores the globalisation of money and finance by focusing on the growing influence of Chinese finance in London. | October 2020 | Click Here > | |
Springboard | Video | These videos bring you cutting-edge research from Oxford's graduate students on a wide range of topics - from climate change and colonialism, to microbiomes and mathematical logic. Each video offers an introduction to a new topic, plus lots of activities and further resources to explore. When you click on a topic, you will be asked a few questions and then you will be able to play the video you've chosen. | Click Here > | |
Royal Society for Asian Affairs You | Video | Webinar | Recorded Lecture | A collection of webinars and recorded lectures from the UK Royal Society for Asian Affairs | Click Here > | |
21st Century Challenges: Informed discussion from the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) | Website | Blog | Video | Recorded Lecture | Events | 21st Century Challenges considers the big social, environmental and economic challenges of our time. Join us at events; read articles and commentary informed by the latest geographical research; watch videos, be inspired, think critically, build your networks and share your ideas. | Click here > | |
LIS Learning Hub | Website | Webinar | Recorded Lecture | Blog | Podcast | This is an open source area full of webinars, articles, videos, short reads, mini-lectures, podcasts and more from the London Interdiscipinary school. | Click Here > |