Development Studies Prospectus
The background to Development Studies at Cambridge and the MPhil course
The tradition of research and teaching on development at Cambridge goes back at least
to the 1930s, when some of those who were later to be the founding fathers in the field
studied here as graduate students under John Maynard Keynes. In the seventy years
since then research and teaching in the subject has taken place across many faculties and
departments, especially Economics, Social and Political Sciences, Social Anthropology,
Geography, Land Economy, the Judge Business School, and the Centres of African,
South Asian, Latin American and International Studies. Today the University offers a
wide range of opportunities for post-graduate training and research in all these
institutions for students looking towards a career in development in the research field, in
policy-making, in national and multilateral institutions, and in non-governmental
organisations, as well as in the private sector and business.
The Development Studies Committee at the University of Cambridge was established to
govern the MPhil in Development Studies programme which has been running
successfully for several decades. This highly interdisciplinary course gives its students
a firm grounding in political economics relevant to the developing world – including the
study of sociology, law, political science, management, economics and anthropology.
The course’s ecumenical approach is further strengthened by the wide range of
disciplines previously studied by each cohort of the roughly 70 students per year who
now complete the MPhil. A further 60 - 70 doctoral students focussing on research in
an area of development studies have also added to the research community promoted by
the Committee, including participation in a weekly seminar series.
In recognition of the many achievements of the Development Studies Committee and its
MPhil, the University, in 2012, established the Centre of Development Studies, along
with a new PhD in Development Studies, and has provided dedicated space for the
Centre within the Alison Richard Building. This new building was designed to promote
increased interaction and collaborative thinking between the Centres of African Studies,
Latin American Studies, South Asian Studies and Development Studies and the
Department of Politics and International Studies.
The Centre is already benefiting from its new surroundings, and the international
interests of colleagues and postgraduate students in the Alison Richard Building provide
additional opportunities for reflection, networking and research to those pursuing the
MPhil or PhD in Development Studies. One of the hallmarks of the Cambridge MPhil
is its particularly diverse student body, with roughly equal numbers of students coming
from regions throughout the developed and developing world. Particularly in the field
of development studies, this diversity of experience and insight is invaluable in ensuring
a successful course because it forces the students as a whole to consider the practical,
on-the-ground application of theories of development, and the Centre’s top priority is to
secure studentships so that talented students from around the world can complete its
MPhil without regard to personal circumstances.
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Development research at Cambridge
Members of the University's present and past staff include individuals and groups who
have made major contributions to development in both theory and practice. The
pioneers were Sir Hans Singer, the first economist ever employed by the United
Nations, and Dudley Seers, founding Director of the Institute of Development Studies at
the University of Sussex. Amartya Sen, an alumnus and former member of the teaching
staff and author of some of the most influential work on poverty and famines in recent
times, returned to Cambridge as Master of Trinity College from 1998 to 2004. The
University's staff includes individuals noted for research on the political economy of
China and East Asia, on the anthropology of development in Mongolia, on women in
Mexican society, on the international political economy, on religion and national
identities in Latin America, on migration and development in Vietnam, on the Middle
East and political Islam, on capabilities and gender, on institutional reform, and much
else besides. The advantage of doing research on development in an institution with a
strong research orientation is that it is not driven either by the policy agendas of
particular institutions or governments, or by a reliance on consultancy. Thus
development studies in Cambridge are well integrated into a dense institutional and
personal network and remain attuned to contemporary developments in the various
disciplines.
The MPhil in Development Studies as a career start
The MPhil in Development Studies provides an inter-disciplinary training whose
content and style have kept abreast with the changing reality of the developing world,
and the changing requirements of men and women seeking to make a career in the
development field. The approach is based on the recognition that together with the
analytical rigour required of economists and other social scientists today, no important
issue in development - poverty and inequality, population growth, the construction of
the institutions of a market economy, war and human rights, democratisation - can be
properly understood without an inter-disciplinary perspective.
The MPhil in Development Studies is taught in collaboration with the Centres of
African Studies and Latin American Studies, the Departments of Land Economy,
Geography, Politics and International Studies, Social Anthropology, and the Judge
Business School. It therefore provides a framework within which students can construct
a pathway suited to a wide range of differing interests and needs: those for whom the
MPhil represents a one-year preparation for a career in development policy can select a
broad inter-disciplinary set of subjects, while those who wish to continue their studies at
the doctoral level can select a more specialised set of options concentrating on the
analytical tools of their subject, and discover which university department or faculty is
most suited to their research plans.
Students in recent years have gone on to hold a variety of positions in national and
international development agencies and NGOs, as well as in consultancy, business,
academic teaching, and journalism. Others have pursued their studies to the doctoral
level in Cambridge and in other universities, in the UK and overseas.
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Centre of Development Studies: location
Development Studies Committee is located in the Alison Richard Building at 7 West
Road. Development Studies Library is located in the Marshall Library of Economics
which also houses the collection for the Faculty of Economics. The Marshall Library is
located near the Centre of Development Studies on the Sidgwick Site.
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Structure and content of the MPhil in Development Studies
Supporting the MPhil is a small team of five full-time academics, each with a different
expertise within Development Studies, led by the Centre Director, Professor Peter
Nolan. This group provides the bulk of the teaching for the MPhil and supervises
doctoral candidates in Development Studies. However, this team is too small to support
all of the teaching for the MPhil course, and the Centre relies heavily upon part-time
lecturers whose own areas of specialism complement those of the full-time academic
staff. Cambridge is privileged to have access to dedicated experts among its retired
academic community, and both these former academics and a number of gifted postdoctoral research specialists based at the Centre contribute teaching on the MPhil.
Among the Centre’s key goals is to establish a fund dedicated to providing for this
additional teaching that is such a critical component of the course’s success. The Centre
also aims to secure support that would enable the establishment of additional permanent
posts – particularly in the areas of Latin American or African development.
The MPhil in Development Studies is a multi-disciplinary nine-month taught course
which offers five core papers and a range of option papers. The core papers are the
responsibility of the Centre of Development Studies. Most option papers are shared
with other MPhil courses (Management; Financial Research; Planning, Growth and
Regeneration; Social and Economic History; Environment, Society and Development;
and Social Anthropological Analysis). Some option papers are full papers and some are
half papers. Students take four full papers (or their equivalent in half papers)
concurrently. At least two papers must be core papers. One (full) option paper may be
replaced by a 12,000-word dissertation.
The teaching for all papers, whether core or option, takes place over the first two of the
three terms in the academic year (Michaelmas and Lent terms) and, in some cases,
extends into the first four weeks of the third (Easter) term. Students who choose to
write a dissertation must complete and submit their dissertations along with the rest of
their course work before the written examinations begin in the third (Easter) term.
Papers are examined either by assessed essays written and submitted during the course of
the year, or by a take-home project, or by a formal written examination. At the discretion
of the Examiners there may also be an oral examination.
Core papers
Paper 1, Development economics
Co-ordinator: Dr Ha-Joon Chang
This paper focuses on historical perspectives on development; goals and measurement
of development; globalization and developing countries; theories of growth, structural
change, and technical progress; agriculture and development; industrialization and trade
strategies; theories and practice of industrial and financial reforms in developing
countries; issues of employment, poverty, and income distribution; population policy;
the development experiences of different regions.
Assessment is by means of one 4,000 word essay and one two-hour examination.
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Indicative reading:
Bhagwati, J., In defence of globalization, Oxford University Press, 2004.
Chang, H.-J., Kicking away the ladder: development strategy in historical perspective,
Anthem Press, 2002.
Chang, H.-J., Bad Samaritans, Random House, 2007 and Bloomsbury Press, 2008.
(*Please note that there are three editions of the book, all with different subtitles but that
they are substantively all the same)
Craig, D. and Porter, D., Development beyond neoliberalism: governance, poverty
reduction, and political economy, Routledge, 2006.
Easterly, W., The elusive quest for growth: economists' adventures and misadventures
in the tropics, MIT Press, 2002.
Glyn, A., Capitalism unleashed, Oxford University Press, 2006.
Gray, J., The false dawn: the delusions of global capitalism, Granta, 1998.
Hirst, P. and Thompson, G., Globalization in question, 2nd ed., Polity Press, 1999.
Landes, D., The wealth and poverty of nations: why some are so rich and some so poor,
Abacus, 1999.
Milanovic, B., Worlds apart – measuring international and global inequality, Princeton
University Press, 2005.
Nolan, P., China and the global business revolution, Palgrave, 2001.
Rodrik, D., The new global economy and developing countries: making openness work,
Johns Hopkins, 1999.
Sen, A., Development as freedom, Oxford University Press, 2001.
Stiglitz, J., Globalisation and its discontents, Penguin, 2002.
Stiglitz, J., Making Globalization work, Penguin, 2006.
Sutcliffe, B., 100 ways of seeing an unequal world, Zed Books
Wolf, M., Why Globalization Works, Yale University Press, 2005.
Paper 2, Institutions and development
Co-ordinator: Dr Shailaja Fennell
This paper explores the role of institutions in human development. The course is
devised using a wide canvas with the intention of exploring the manner in which
institutions have been conceptualised and analysed across individual disciplines in the
social sciences. The lecture course brings together theoretical perspectives alongside
both historical and current evidence on the interrelations between institutional structures
and social and economic actions.
The course undertakes an institutional analysis drawing on concepts and frameworks
provided by the disciplines of economics, sociology, political science, law and
anthropology. The set of lectures examine the institutions of the state, notably the role
of the bureaucracy and judiciary; societal institutions such as NGOs and social groups,
customary norms such as culture and caste that affect human development. Individual
lectures explore institutions such as the market, firm and the state, will examine the
perspectives of different academic schools such as New Institutional Economics,
Marxism, Human Development and Capability theory on institutional changes, and give
due consideration to how key development concerns such as poverty, environment and
education can be examined through an institutional lens.
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Assessment is by means of one 4,000 word essay and one two-hour examination.
Indicative reading:
Chang, H.-J., Kicking away the ladder: development strategy in historical
perspective, Anthem Press, 2002.
Fennell, S., Rules, Rubrics and Riches: the interrelationship between the legal reform
and international development. Routledge, 2009.
Kabeer, N., Reversed realities: gender hierarchies in development thought, Verso,
1994.
North, D.C., Institutions, institutional change and economic performance, Cambridge
University Press, 1990.
World Development Report 2002, Building institutions for markets, World
Bank/Oxford University Press, 2001,
http://www.worldbank.org/wdr/2001/fulltext/fulltext2002.htm).
Paper 3, Sociology and politics of development
Co-ordinator: Dr Maha Abdelrahman
This core paper introduces students to a critical reading of classical as well as
alternative theories of development. It also brings to the fore the challenges these
theories have faced from different quarters such as the post-development, antiglobalization and social movements approaches. The paper scrutinizes debates on
substantive topics including the role of the post-colonial state in development, the
contribution of international development organizations to shaping the discourse on
development;feminist attempts to influence the development process; multinational
corporations and corporate social responsibility; civil society and NGOs; political Islam
and development; competing policy approaches to child labour; and the relationship
between development and democracy.
Assessment is by means of one 4,000 word essay and one two-hour examination.
Indicative reading:
Bayat, A., Making Islam democratic: social movements and the post-Islamist turn,
Stanford University Press, 2007.
Brohman, J., Popular development: rethinking the theory and practice of
development, Blackwell Publishers, 1996.
Chandhoke, Neera, State and civil society: explorations in political theory, 1995.
Crush, J., Power of development, Routledge, 1995.
Escobar, A., Encountering development: the making and unmaking of the Third World,
Pluto, 1995.
Harrison, D., The sociology of modernization and development, Routledge, 1991.
Hoogvelt, A., Globalization and the postcolonial world: the new political economy of
development, John Hopkins University Press, 2001.
Jolly, R., UN contributions to development thinking and practice, Indiana University
Press, 2004.
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Kabeer, N., Reversed realities: gender hierarchies in development thought, Verso,
1994.
Keane, J., Global civil society, Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Keck, M. and Sikkink, K., Activists beyond borders: advocacy networks in
international politics, Ithaca NY and London: Cornel University Press, 1998.
Lieten, K. and White, B., (eds) Child labour: policy options, Amsterdam: Askant, 2001.
Mamdani, M., Citizen and subject: contemporary Africa and the legacy of late
colonialism, Princeton University Press, 1996.
Richard, P., Unholy trinity: the IMF, World Bank and WTO, Zed Books, 2003.
Roberts, T.J. and Hite, A.,( eds), From modernization to globalization: perspectives on
development and change, Blackwell, 1999.
Smith, B.C., Good governance and development, Palgrave, 2007.
Wetherly, P., Marxism and the State: an analytical approach, Palgrave,
2005.
Paper 4, Globalisation, business and development
Co-ordinator: Professor Peter Nolan
This course examines the possibilities for "catch-up" in developing countries at the level
of the large firm. It analyzes the relationship between globalising large firms and the
small and medium-sized enterprises that compose the rest of the global value chain. It
combines theoretical and macro-level analysis with detailed empirical analysis of global
change in a series of sectors: aerospace, pharmaceuticals, complex electrical equipment,
autos and auto components, oil and petrochemicals, steel, mining, financial services,
and IT. It makes extensive use of in-depth case studies from large Chinese firms,
supplemented with case studies, where available, from other developing countries.
Assessment is by means of one 4,000 word essay and one two-hour examination.
Indicative reading:
Martin, H.P and Schumann, H., The global trap: globalisation and the assault on
prosperity and democracy, trans. P.Cammiller, Zed Books, 1997.
Nolan, P., China and the global economy, Palgrave, 2001.
Ruigrok, W. and van Tulder, R., The logic of international restructuring, Routledge,
1995, 1998.
Paper 5, Cities and development
Co-ordinator: Dr Graham Denyer Willis
The city has reached an unprecedented position in the contemporary world, serving as a
decisive locus of power where the majority of people live. With a focus on cities of the
Global South, this paper will undertake to examine why and how the ‘urban’ is a
question of great comparative relevance and action –particularly today. The lectures
will combine both abstract and deeply theoretical concepts, while drawing direct links
to empirics by applying a sensibility for the everyday lived experiences and
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organization of citizens and institutions. As an overarching theme, the paper will
provide participants with a critical look at how cities are engines of developmental
processes, and how the city has increasingly become the subject of developmental
discourses and investments, most particularly surrounding globalizing notions of
capitalism and democracy
Assessment is by means of one 4,000 word essay and one two-hour examination.
Indicative reading:
Indicative Reading:
Auyero, J. and Swistun, D. (2009). Flammable: Environmental Suffering in an
Argentine Slum. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.
Caldeira, T. (2000). City of Walls: Crime, Segregation and Citizenship in Sao Paulo.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
Engels, F. (1887). The Condition of the Working Class in England.
Glover, W. (2007). Making Lahore Modern. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press.
Hansen, T. B. (2001). Wages of Violence: Naming and Identity in Post Colonial
Bombay. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Mitchell, T. (2002). Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity. Berkeley: University of
California Press.
Rabinow, P. (1989). French Modern: Norms and Forms of the Social Environment.
Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press.
Roy, A. and AlSayyad, N. Eds. (2004).Urban Informality: Transnational Perspectives
from the Middle East, South Asia, and Latin America. Lanham, MD: Lexington.
Sanyal, B., Vale, L., and Rosan, T. (Eds.) (2012). Planning Ideas that Matter:
Livability, Territoriality, Governance and Reflective Practice. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press.
Scott, J. (1998). Seeing like a State. New Haven, CT:Yale University Press.
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Options
Although there may be some variation from year to year, the following are currently
being offered:
Full papers
Paper 13, Financial organisation and economic growth
Paper 14, Philosophical issues in economic development
Paper 30, Justice and development
Paper 31, Trans-national criminal justice
Paper 34, Comparative development of India and China
Paper 43, Development issues in Sub-Saharan Africa
Paper 50, Economic issues of contemporary Latin America
Paper 400, The development of Central Asia and Caucuses
Half papers
Paper 380, Migration and development
Paper 500, The development of Southeast Asia
Paper 600, Food, Agriculture and development
Paper 700, Latin America: Human development challenges
Paper 800, Anthropology in Development
Paper 900, Humanitarianism and development
Further half papers may be taken from the MPhils in Planning, Growth and
Regeneration, and the MPhil in Environmental Policy, Department of Land Economy.
Full papers
Paper 13, Financial organisation and economic growth
Co-ordinator: Mr M. Kuczynski, Centre of Development Studies/Pembroke
College
This course covers the following topics: interaction between financial organisation and
accumulation; theory of banking and financial intermediation; consumer credit,
corporate spending, public-sector finance and problems of regulation. There is an
emphasis on international, cyclical, and dual (centre-periphery, regulated-unregulated)
aspects. Examples are drawn from OECD and NIC experience.
The paper is assessed by means of two 4,000-word essays.
Indicative reading:
Levine, R., Financial development and economic growth: views and agenda, Journal of
Economic Literature 2, 1997, pp. 688-726.
Stiglitz, J., Financial markets and development, Oxford Review of Economic Policy 5,
1989, pp. 55-68.
World Bank, World Development Report, 1989.
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Paper 14, Philosophical issues in economic development: ethics, capabilities and
rationality
Co-ordinator: Dr G. Meeks, Centre of Development Studies
The course covers debates about happiness, fairness, equality and freedom in relation to
human welfare; rival perspectives on rational choice, a core economic concept; and
ways of trying to judge the acceptability of competing theories about economic systems.
Topics include: happiness measurement and the pros and cons of a utilitarian position
on policy options; other theories of social choice, drawing on rights and needs,
including Rawls’ justice account and Sen's capabilities framework; whether or not there
is a conflict between seeking equality and pursuing freedom; limitations of the rational
self-interest assumption and how to treat altruism and charitable aid; the significance of
bounded and twisted rationality and of irrational exuberance; the case for and against
using assumptions, as economists frequently do, that are not strictly true; scepticism,
induction, refutation and paradigms; and how satisfactorily facts can be distinguished
from values. The focus will be on weighing up grounds for alternative points of view;
and the approach involves analysis of often quite short extracts from the work of
leading authors (e.g. Mill, Rawls, Nozick, Sandel, Tawney, Friedman, Keynes,
Kahneman, Popper and – much the most often - Sen).
This paper is assessed by means of two 4,000 word essays.
Indicative reading:
Sandel, Ml, Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?, Penguin books, 2009.
Sen, A.K., Development as Freedom, Oxford University Press, 2002.
Sen, A.K., The Ide of Justice, Allen Lane, 2009, Penguin 2010.
Meeks, J.G.T., ed., Thoughtful Economic Man: Essays on Rationality, Moral Rules and
Benevolence, CUP, original hardback 1991, paperback issue 2010, also on line.
Paper 18, Social anthropology and development (from the MPhil in Social
Anthropological Analysis)
Co-ordinator: Dr Sian Lazar, Department of Social Anthropology.
This paper addresses social, economic, political and moral aspects of development. We
draw on anthropology's capacity to look beyond the obvious institutional and
bureaucratic parameters of 'development' as an industry, and examine the linkages
between 'development', poverty and social justice. Poverty is not only a state of material
and physical deprivation but also raises issues to do with moral obligation and social
justice, both among the underprivileged themselves and in the global North. We explore
the theories and practical involvement of anthropologists both in development
bureaucracies (governmental and non-governmental) and in broader movements for
social justice. The latter are put in the context of global political economy and ideas
about morality and ethics - of involvement in development, of what counts as
humanitarianism, of how we define poverty, and what 'we' collectively choose to do
about 'it'.
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Introductory texts for non-social anthropologists
Eriksen, T.H., Small places, large issues; an introduction to social and cultural
anthropology, Pluto Press, 2001.
Hendry, J., An introduction to social anthropology: sharing our worlds. Palgrave
Macmillan, 2008.
Monaghan J. and P. Just, Social & Cultural Anthropology: a very short introduction.
Oxford University Press, 2000.
Background reading
Bornstein, E., The Spirit of Development: Protestant NGOs, Morality, and Economics
in Zimbabwe: Stanford University Press, 2005.
Chatterjee, Partha, The Politics of the Governed: Popular Politics in Most of the World
Columbia University Press, 2004.
Eds. M Edelman and A Haugerud, The Anthropology of Development and
Globalization. From Classical Political Economy to Contemporary Neoliberalism.
Blackwell, 2008.
Englund, H., Prisoners of Freedom: Human Rights and the African Poor (California
Series in Public Anthropology, 2006.
Escobar, A., Encouraging development: the making and unmaking of the Third World,
Princeton University Press, 1995.
Ferguson, J., The anti-politics machine: development, depoliticization and bureaucratic
power in Lesotho, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Ferguson, J., Global Shadows: Africa in the neoliberal world order. Durham, Duke
University Press, 2006.
Gupta, Akhil, Red Tape: Bureaucracy, Structural Violence, and Poverty in India.
Durham: Duke University Press, 2012.
Mosse, D., Cultivating Development: An Ethnography of Aid Policy and Practice.
London: Pluto Press. 2004.
Mosse David (ed), Adventures in Aidland: The Anthropology of Professionals in
International Development (Studies in Public and Applied Anthropology v. 6)
Berghahn, 2011.
Murray Li, T, The Will to Improve. Governmentality, Development and the Practice of
Politics, 2007.
Redfield, Peter, Life in Crisis: The Ethical Journey of Doctors Without Borders.
Berkely: University of California Press, 2012.
Venkatesan, Saumhya and Tom, Yarrow (eds.), Differentiating Development: Beyond
an Anthropology of Critique. London and New York: Berghahn, 2012..
Paper 30, Justice and development
Co-ordinator: Professor B. Rider, Jesus College
This course seeks to address, from a comparative perspective, a number of key issues
relating to justice in the broad context of development. The study of these issues will be
primarily from the standpoint of those concerned with legal justice, but will properly
comprehend relevant moral, social, economic and political considerations. It will also
have regard to the institutions and instrumentalities of justice and in particular
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deliverability of justice in developing, smaller and transition economies. While no prior
knowledge of any law or legal system is required, the course aims to provide those
taking it, with the ability to identify and analyse important issues relating to justice and
thereby foster greater understanding of the role of law and legal institutions in society.
While the context is legal, no prior knowledge of law or its institutions is required or
expected. Assessment is by means of two 5,000-word essays.
Indicative reading:
Alston, P., (ed), Peoples' rights, Oxford University Press, 2001, chs 1, 6.
Clayton, M. and Williams A., Social justice, Blackwell, 2004, chs 3, 4, 5 and 12.
Dworkin, R., Law’s Empire, Gart, 1998, Chs 1-3, 6,7 and 11.
Eatwell, J. and Taylor, L., Global finance at risk: the case for international regulation,
Polity Press, 2000, chs 1, 4, 5 and 6.
Fisman, R. and Miguel E., Economic Gangsters, Corruption, Violence and the Poverty
of Nations, Princeton, 2008.
King, R. and Kendall, G., The state, democracy and globalization, Palgrave, 2004, chs 2, 3,
4, 6 & 7.
Kingley, D., Civilising Globalisation, Human Rights and the Global Economy, Cambridge
University Press, 2010.
McLeod, I., Legal theory, Palgrave, 2003, chs 1, 2, 10 and 11.
Sen, A., The Idea of Justice, Penguin, 2010, Pts 1 and 3
Stiglitz, J., Making Globalisation Work, Penguin, 2007
Paper 31, Trans-national Criminal Justice and Development
Co-ordinator: Professor Barry Rider, Professorial Fellow, Centre for
Development Studies. Dr Frank Madsen, Affiliated University Lecturer, Centre
for Development Studies
This paper provides the theoretical, legal and practical background to evaluate the
importance of criminal networks in international relations. In the first seminars, the
structure and operation of contemporary governance mechanisms, the nature of
theoretical, criminal, and institutional theories, and the emergence and development of
trans-national organized crime will be considered. The important difference between
international crimes that are not the subject of this paper and trans-national crimes,
which are, will be analysed.
The course is inter-disciplinary and will repose on the consideration of human
dignity in a Kantian sense as a theoretical and visible under-pinning of global justice.
In summary: the paper introduces three worlds. First, The world of imaging or how
scholars theorise trans-national organised crime; i.e. theoretical networks. Second, the
world of fluxes or how networks obtain control of, transport, and commercialise persons
and goods; i.e. criminal networks. Finally, the world of information; i.e. interdiction
networks.
Assessment is by means of two 5,000-word essays.
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Paper 34, Comparative development of India and China
Co-ordinator: Dr Shailaja Fennell, Centre of Development Studies
This paper provides both historical and contemporary accounts of the development
trajectories of Indian and Chinese economies, polities and societies. The intention of
this course is to raise key development issues in both countries in a comparative
framework using both historical trajectories as well as current debates on the patterns of
long term development in both countries.
In the Michaelmas term, the lectures focus on the major historical events, movements
and shifts in these countries to provide a deeper and broader context to current day
development processes. The two set of lectures on the historical development of India
and China raise key issues such as early modern development, colonialism and
imperialism, formation of the new nation state and its implications for national
development.
Such a contextualisation of the national development of India and China forms the basis
for lectures in the Lent term, where the lectures give students a fuller and more nuanced
understanding of current national development patterns.
This course is assessed by means of two 5,000 word essays on an approved topic.
Paper 42, The Politics of the Middle East (NOT OFFERED 2015-2016)
Co-ordinator: Dr George Joffé, Politics and International Studies
This option, which is taught by George Joffé, supported by Roxane Farmanfarmaian,
will focus on the littoral populations of the Southern Mediterranean, the Red Sea and
the Gulf, in those states that have conventionally been seen to be the constituent parts of
the Middle Eastern and North African regional system. It is a region with a common
dominant religion – Islam – and, except for Iran and Turkey, a shared language –
Arabic. It also shares problems of security and development, as well as a unique degree
of external interference in its regional affairs, largely because of wider security concerns
in Asia, Europe and the United States. It, finally, has just experienced a wave of
revolutionary change, the outcomes of which are still in doubt.
The option will seek to provide insights into ideological paradigms, governance and
identity politics throughout the region, as well as discussing shared problems of
development and regional security, linked primarily to oil, perceptions of terrorism and
“rogue states”, as well as to the status of Israel in the region. The aim will be to examine
why and how the region is of such acute importance to the United States and Europe.
The option will be taught as a series of twelve one-hour lectures and eleven one-and-ahalf-hour seminars covering the historical background, problems of governance and
development, ideological competitors, and the role of the outside world. It will also
include a series of optional lecture courses which will investigate aspects of the region
in greater detail. These are discussed separately at the end of this course description.
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This option paper is assessed by means of an invigilated essay.
Indicative reading:
Introductory
Own, R., State, Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East, 3rd ed.,
Routledge, 2004
Clement Henry and Robert Springborg, Globalization and the Politics of Development
in the Middle East, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
More advanced
Nazih N. Ayubi, Over-stating the Arab State, I.B. Tauris, 1995/2006.
Steven Heydemann (ed), War, Institutions and Social Change in the Middle East,
University of California Press, 2000.
Ghassan Salame, Democracy without Democrats? The Renewal of Politics in the
Muslim World, I.B. Tauris, 1994/2001.
Paper 43, Development Issues in Sub-Saharan Africa
Co-ordinator: Mr Richard Sidebottom
Though extremely heterogeneous, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa remain some of the
most underdeveloped and poverty stricken countries in the world. This paper will
combine historical and economic theoretical perspectives with an updated evaluation of
current political, institutional, business and social dynamics.
The objective is to provide an appreciation of the wide variation in historical, political,
social and economic sources of the SSA development paradigm(s) and to thoroughly
investigate the prevailing discourse of problem diagnosis and policy prescription.
By explicitly linking practical examples and case studies to themes covered in core
Development MPhil papers, such as Globalisation and Institutional development, this
course aims to illustrate concepts and facilitate understanding of key development
concepts without duplicating content.
Assessment is by means of two 5,000-word essays.
Berendsen, B., Dietz, T., Nordholt, HS & van der Veen, R., eds, 2013, Asian Tigers,
African Lions: Comparing the Development Performance of Southeast Asia and Africa,
BRILL, LEIDEN • BOSTON
Chabal P., & Daloz, J.P., 1999, Africa Works: Disorder as Political Instrument,
Indiana Univ Press
Collier, P., 2008, The Bottom Billion, OUP, Oxford
Easterly, W, 2006, The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest
Have Done So Much Ill & So Little Good, Oxford Univ Press
Juma, C., 2011, The New Harvest – Agricultural Innovation in Africa, OUP, Oxford,
2011ISAAA, 2013, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech
Applications www.isaaa.org last accessed 15 May 0915
15
Meredith, M., 2005, The State of Africa, Free Press
Moyo, D., 2009, Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a better Way
for Africa, Penguin, London
Ndulu, B.J., O’Connell, S.A., Bates, R.H., Collier, P., & Soludo, C., 2009, The Political
Economy of Economic Growth in Africa 1960-2000, OUP, Oxford
Noman, A., Botchwey, K., Stein, H., & Stiglitz, J., Good Growth & Governance in
Africa, 2012, OUP, Oxford, pp 51-175
Stein, H, 2003, Rethinking African Development, in Rethinking Development
Economics, Chang, H-J (eds), Anthem Press, UK
WESTBURY, A., PAGE, J & ASSAN, J. 2013, Is Africa Rising or not? A discussion of
economic opportunities and development challenges in Africa, April 25, 2013, http:
//www.brookings.edu /~/media/events/ 2013/4/ 25%20africa%20economic%20growth/
042513brookingsagi.pdf
Paper 400, The Development of Central Asia and Caucuses
Co-ordinator: Dr S Saxena
The paper is comprised of 16 lectures of two hours each addressing aspects of the
region’s economics, politics and society. Central themes include: i) imperialism and
decolonization in the pre and early Soviet era; ii) Soviet development strategies and
Central Asia; iii) capitalism, globalization and Central Asian economic development;
iv) social networks, local identity in Central Asia; v) Islam, pluralism and the state in
Central Asia; vi) Relations between the Central Asian Republics vii) sustainability and
resource opportunities and conflicts in Central Asia; viii) innovation and
entrepreneurship in high technology areas in Central Asia (including energy and food
security debates).
The paper is convened by an adjunct lecturer who is a specialist in Central Asian
development, and draws upon expertise within and external to the University as needed.
This course is examined by means of two 5,000 word essay.
16
Half papers (students must combine two half papers to create one full paper)
Paper 300 Politics, Society and Nature (from the MPhil in Environment, Society
and Development) (NOT OFFERED 2015-2016)
Co-ordinator: Dr Emma Mawdsley, Department of Geography
This course introduces students to critical social science perspectives on the
relationships between society and nature. It provides an overview of the ways in which
these relationships have been conceptualised and formulated, and underlines the
political and social contexts within which questions of sustainability need to be framed.
Throughout the course, there is a strong but not exclusive focus on the global South,
from intellectual debates to issues and examples.
This course is examined by means of two four-thousand word essay.
Paper 380, Migration and development
Co-ordinator: Dr Alexandra Winkels
The objective of this half-paper is to provide an overview of migration and its
interactions with human development. Mobility and development tend be viewed as
separate policy arenas, but research suggests that they cannot not be treated in isolation.
Development-oriented actions can influence the causes of migratory flows where on the
one hand measures to enable migration can lower the risks and costs of migration and
contribute to economic growth, technological progress and social empowerment.
However, if not well managed, migration can also pose challenges to countries’
development efforts (e.g. ‘brain drain’ and pressures on urban areas) and individual
welfare.
Assessment is by means of one 4,000 word essay.
Indicative reading
Castles, S, and MJ Miller. 2009. The Age of Migration. 4th Edition. Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan.
De Haas, H. 2012. The Migration and Development Pendulum: A critical view on
research and policy’, International Migration, 50, 3: 8-25
Faist, T. 2008. Migrants as transnational development agents: an inquiry into the newest
round of the migration-development nexus’, Population, Space and Place 14: 21-42.
Glick Schiller, N. 2012. Unravelling the Migration and Development Web: Research
and Policy Implications’, International Migration, 50, 3, 92-97
Raghuram, P. 2009. ‘Which migration, what development? Unsettling the edifice of
migration and development’, Population, Space and Place, 15, 103-117
17
Skeldon, RS. 2011. Reinterpreting Migration and Development. In Phillips, N, ed.
Migration in the Global Political Economy. Boulder: Lynne Rienner. (and other
Chapters in this volume)
UNDP (2009). Human Development Report. 2009. Overcoming barriers: human
mobility and development. New York, United Nations Development Program.
http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf
Paper 500, The development of Southeast Asia
Co-ordinator: Dr Jonathan Pincus
The paper is comprised of eight lectures of two hours each addressing aspects of the
region's economics, politics and society. Central themes include: i) imperialism,
decolonization and nationalism; ii) capitalism, globalization and Southeast Asian
economic development; iii) the rise and fall of authoritarian Southeast Asia; iv) poverty,
inequality and social progress v) Islam, pluralism and the state in Southeast Asia; vi)
Southeast Asia, China and Chinese minorities; vii) Sustainability and resource conflicts
in Southeast Asia; and, viii) fragmentation, decentralization and separatist movements,
past and present.
The paper is convened by an adjunct lecturer who is a specialist in Southeast Asian
development, and draws upon expertise within and external to the University as needed.
This course is examined by means of one 5,000 word essay.
Paper 700, Latin America: human development challenges
Co-ordinator: Dr Flavio Comim
The course explores key contemporary social and political issues for the development of
Latin America from a human development and social choice perspective. It focuses on
controversial issues such as the nature of economic growth in the region, the provision
of public services, the impact of conditional cash transfer programmes, the links
between inequality and violence, the indigenous issue, the role of youth in development
policies and the political economy of the reduction of extreme poverty, inviting students
to critically reflect upon them.
This paper applies important policy lessons from the human development literature to
current cultural, economic, political and social issues in the region. Structured as
thematic lectures, the course aims to provide an integrated picture of Latin America’s
main contemporary challenges so that problems can be understood not only in their
diversity but also in their complexity.
This course is examined by means of one 5,000 word essays.
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Paper 800, Anthropology in Development
Coordinator: Dr. Riall Nolan, Department of Anthropology, Purdue University
(USA)
This course focuses on how anthropology is used in development work, and specifically
at how socio-cultural data are incorporated into planning and implementation.
We will look first at anthropology’s unique disciplinary attributes and their significance
for development, at how anthropology’s involvement with development work has
advanced and changed over the decades, and how anthropology contributes to the
design, implementation and assessment of development efforts.
We will then examine some short case studies which illustrate this involvement. We
will look at how anthropological perspectives have improved project results in selected
cases. We will also look at some of the ways in which anthropological approaches and
methods have been incorporated into the design of projects.
We will then look in some detail at some of the issues, problems and opportunities
inherent in the way anthropology is used. We will pay particular attention to how the
structure, operation, and basic assumptions of today’s “development industry” both
enable and constrain anthropology’s contribution.
The course will conclude with a discussion of what might be changed in the future to
improve development practice, touching on changes in the development industry as well
as changes in how anthropologists are trained and employed for work in development.
This course will be helpful for anyone involved in the planning, implementation or
evaluation of development activities, whether at the grass roots or at the policy level.
The course is examined by means of one 5,000 word essay.
Indicative Reading:
Crewe, Emma & Elizabeth Harrison 1998, Whose Development? An Ethnography of
Aid, London, Zed Books.
Crewe, Emma & Richard Axelby 2013, Anthropology and Development: Culture,
Morality and Politics in a Globalised World, Cambridge, UK, Cambridge
University Press.
De Haan, Arjan 2009, How the Aid Industry Works, Sterling, VA, Kumarian Press.
Douglas, Mary 1986, How Institutions Think, Syracuse, NY, Syracuse University Press.
Edelman, Marc & Angelique Haugerud (eds) 2005, The Anthropology of Development
and Globalization, Malden, MA, Blackwell.
Gardner, Katy and David Lewis 1996, Anthropology, Development and the PostModern Challenge, London, Pluto Press.
Nolan, Riall 2002, Development Anthropology, Boulder, CO, Westview Press. Chapter
1: “Anthropology as a Science of Discovery.”
Tendler, Judith 1975, Inside Foreign Aid, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University. Press.
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Wedel, Janine R. 2001,Collusion and Collision: The Strange Case of Western Aid to
Eastern Europe, New York, Palgrave.
Further half papers may be taken from the MPhils in Planning, Growth and
Regeneration, and the MPhil in Environmental Policy, Department of Land Economy.
PhD in Development Studies
The full-time PhD course lasts for a minimum of nine terms (three years), up to a
maximum of twelve terms (four years). Candidates must submit within that time-frame,
unless they can invoke truly exceptional grounds (for instance a medical emergency) to
justify deferring submission. Under certain circumstances, it is possible to spend time
away from Cambridge to pursue research. Candidates on the three-year course are
expected to devote themselves full-time to their studies.
In the first year, PhD candidates are required to attend a weekly seminar on research
methods. Students will also work on producing their first year report.
All candidates for the PhD programme are not registered for the degree at first, as they
have to pass a registration exercise towards the end of the first academic year of study.
This exercise is conducted by the supervisor and an additional assessor. The registration
exercise aims to ensure that the candidate’s project is viable, that an appropriate
methodology has been developed, and that the candidate is capable of carrying the
project through successfully. Failure to pass the registration (which may be repeated
only once) will result in removal from the course.
For the completion of the PhD dissertation, PhD students need to follow the
University’s detailed guidance on style, citations, printing, etc. All this information can
be found at:
http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/students/studentregistry/exams/submission/phd/format.html
The Assessment Process
First Assessment: Registration: The assessment period for registration is the second
two weeks of June. By mid-June, candidates must submit a progress essay of around
10,000 – 15,000 words. The assessment will be carried out by the supervisor and an
assessor. The registration assessment usually takes one hour. It consists of a short
presentation by the candidate of the aims and methods of the study, and the
hypothesis/research question or anticipated argument(s). In the subsequent discussion,
the assessors must satisfy themselves that the project of the candidate is relevant and
viable, offering the prospect of original discovery. They also review the methodology,
including, where relevant, the choice of case studies, and consider the knowledge of the
candidate of the relevant literature. Registration will be recommended where both
assessors have no doubts about the aptitude of the candidate and the viability of the
project. Where the assessors raise some issues, but are minded to recommend
registration in principle, they may invite the candidate to revise the assessment
documents within two weeks. Registration will take place if the two assessors profess
themselves satisfied with the revised work, without the need for a second oral
assessment meeting. If the revised assessment results in a fail, the assessors shall invite
20
the candidate to submit further written work and repeat the exercise within three
months.
A repeated assessment shall be attended by the Director of the PhD Programme or the
Chair or Secretary of the GEC and may also be attended by the supervisor. Where
resubmission of the assessment documents is requested, the assessors shall furnish the
candidate with a written report stating their concerns, to be communicated to the
candidate through the supervisor. The aim of the report is to assist the candidate in
addressing the concerns of the assessors in the revised submission. If the assessors do
not agree on registration after the second registration meeting, the candidate shall not be
registered. The case will then be referred to the GEC, which may recommend to the
Degree Committee award of the Certificate of Diligent Study or other steps in lieu of
allowing them to continue to read for the PhD. If the repeated assessment succeeds, the
candidate shall be registered in the ordinary way.
Calendar for 2014-2015
"Full term" means: the eight-week central portion of each of the three terms
(Michaelmas, Lent and Easter), during which teaching takes place and students are
expected to be in residence. Graduate students usually stay in Cambridge outside full
term in order to pursue their studies.
Michaelmas
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Wednesday 1 October: Term begins
Monday 5 October: Registration
Tuesday 6 October: Full term begins
Friday 4 December: Full term ends
Friday 19 December: Term ends
Lent
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Tuesday 5 January: Term begins
Tuesday 12 January: Full term begins
Friday 11 March: Full term ends
Friday 25 March: Term ends
Easter
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Friday 17 April: Term begins
Tuesday 19 April: Full term begins
Friday 10 June: Full term ends
Thursday 18 June: Term ends
Graduation
 Saturday 16 July
21
Centre of Development Studies: Organisation and Academic Staff
Organisation
Development Studies Committee
Development Studies Committee is the managing committee for the MPhil in
Development Studies. It meets three times a year, and is responsible for policy decisions
in relation to the MPhil. Its members are drawn from the faculties and departments
which contribute to the MPhil in Development Studies, together with Development
Studies' academic staff and nominees from the University's General Board. The Chair
of Development Studies Committee is the Director of the Centre of Development
Studies, Professor Peter Nolan.
The Degree Committee
The Degree Committee for the MPhil in Development Studies is the Degree Committee
for the Faculty of Human, Social and Political Science (HSPS). The Course Director
for the MPhil in Development Studies is also a member of the Degree Committee. The
Degree Committee ratifies all recommendations for admission to the MPhil in
Development Studies made by Development Studies Admissions Committee, it receives
and considers supervisors' reports on current students, it ratifies examination marks, and
it has supervisory responsibility for the policy decisions made by Development Studies
Committee.
The Course Director
The Course Director for the MPhil in Development Studies is always a member of
Development Studies' academic staff. The Course Director has overall responsibility
for the programming and teaching of the course. He or she ensures that all students
follow their examination choices that the chosen combination of papers is both
permissible and appropriate, and that proper supervisory arrangements are in place. The
Course Director for 2015-2016 is Dr Ha-Joon in Michaelmas and Lent term and Dr
Graham Denyer Willis in Easter Term.
Academic staff (including affiliated lecturers and researchers)
Dr Maha Abdelrahman is a University Lecturer in Development Studies in POLIS.
She acquired her BA in Anthropology and her MA in Sociology at the American
University in Cairo before taking her PhD in Development Studies at the Institute of
Social Studies, the Netherlands. She is the author of ‘Civil society exposed: the politics
of NGOs in Egypt’ (2004) and co-editor of ‘Cultural dynamics in contemporary Egypt’
(2006). Her most recent journal articles include 'The politics of un-civil society in
Egypt' (2002), 'NGOs and the dynamics of the Egyptian labour market' (2007), 'The
nationalization of the human rights debate in Egypt' (2007), and 'With the Islamists?
Sometimes...With the State? Never! The Left and Islamists in Egypt' (2009).
Dr Ha-Joon Chang is Reader in the Political Economy of Development in the Faculty of
Economics. He read for his BA in Economics at Seoul National University, Korea, and
his MPhil and PhD at the Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. His main
22
research interests include theories of state intervention; institutional economics; industrial
policy; privatisation; trade policy; technological progress; globalisation; the East Asian
economies; and economic development in historical perspective. He is the author of 23
Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism, (2010); Bad Samaritans: rich nations,
poor policies, and the threat to the developing world (2007); The East Asian development
experience: the miracle, the crisis and the future (2006); Reclaiming development: an
alternative policy manual (with I. Grabel, 2004); Globalisation, economic development,
and the role of the state (2003); Restructuring Korea Inc: financial crisis, corporate
reform, and institutional transition (with J.-S. Shin, 2003); Kicking away the ladder:
development strategy in historical perspective (2002); and The political economy of
industrial policy (1994, 1996). His edited works include Public Policy and Agricultural
Development (2011); Institutional change and economic development (2007); Brazil and
South Korea: economic crisis and restructuring (with E. Amann, 2003); Rethinking
development economics (2003); The rebel within: Joseph Stiglitz at the World Bank
(2001); Financial liberalisation and the Asian crisis (2001, with G. Palma and D.H.
Whittaker); The role of the state in economic change (1995, with R. Rowthorn); and The
transformation of the Communist economies: against the mainstream (1995, with P.
Nolan). He is the winner of the 2003 Myrdal Prize awarded by the European Association
for Evolutionary Political Economy, and of the 2005 Leontief Prize awarded by Tufts
University.
Dr Flavio Comim is an Affiliated Lecturer in Human Development and Ecosystems in
the department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge and Visiting Fellow at St
Edmund’s College.
Flavio teaches on a paper on ethics, capabilities and sustainable development. He is
also an examiner for the MPhil in Development Studies
Flavio is a consultant for the following bodies: FAO for producing their Country
Programme Framework in Brazil; the Coordination of the United Nations in Brazil for
assessing the 2007- 2011 UNDAF and for preparing the 2012-2015 UNDAF paper; and
for the UNDP Panama – Analysis of Panama as a Middle Income Country. He is also a
referee for the European Research Council and the Templeton Foundation.
Dr Shailaja Fennell is a University Lecturer in Development Studies attached to the
Department of Land Economy, a Fellow of Jesus College and an affiliated lecturer in the
Faculty of Law. She was awarded her BA, MA and MPhil in Economics from the
University of Delhi, and then went on to read for her MPhil and PhD in the Faculty of
Economics and Politics, University of Cambridge. Dr Fennell is currently researching
public-private partnerships in education as a member of the DfID-funded Cambridgebased consortium on education outcomes for the poor (RECOUP). Her publications
include 'The ethics of population control', in D. Clark, ed., The Elgar Companion to
Development Economics (2006); Rules, rubrics and riches: the relationship between
legal reform, institutional change and international development (2009); Gender,
education and equality: conceptual frameworks, engagements and agendas, ed. with M.
Arnot, (2007); State Fragility and African Agriculture and a background paper for the
European Development Report, 2009.
Michael Kuczynski is an Affiliated Lecturer whose research interests are in
competition processes and in price formation in financial activity in an international
23
context. He works in particular on different interpretations of banking (including
Islamic finance), determinants of bank profits, comparative evolution of public finance,
analysis of monetary policy, the risk- and term- structure movement of market interest
rates, the movement of market interest rates, and the movement of exchange rates. He
also has interests in fund management, market micro-structure, and comparative longterm economic-growth performance (especially Western hemisphere vs East Asia).
Dr Gay Meeks is an Affiliated Lecturer whose research interests are in Philosophy and
Economics, including debates about happiness, justice, equality, capabilities and
freedom; some aspects of information economics and welfare economics in relation to
business decisions; alternative perspectives on rational choice and on theory choice; and
- it follows from the rest - the work of Amartya Sen. Her publications include Selffulfilling prophecies of failure: the endogenous balance sheets of distressed companies
(with Geoff Meeks), Abacus, 45: 22-43, 2009 (Abacus 2009 Best Manuscript Award)
and Thoughtful Economic Man: Essays on Rationality, Moral Rules and Benevolence
(with contributions from Hahn, Sen, Collard, Ryan, Cramp, Broome, Matthews and
Meeks), Cambridge University Press, original hardback 1991, new paperback issue
2010.
Dr Chizu Nakajima is Director, Centre for Financial Regulation and Crime, Cass
Business School; Co-Director, Centre for Research in Corporate Governance, Cass
Business School; Senior Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Advanced Legal
Studies, University of London Chair, British Japanese Law Association. LL.B. (Keio),
M.A. (Keio), Ph.D. (London), FSALS.
Chizu’s main areas of research include corporate law and governance, corporate social
responsibility, business ethics, financial services regulation, international law, and
comparative law. She has published widely in these areas and has lead many
international research projects, funded by various inter-governmental bodies and
governmental agencies. She sits on the editorial of board of leading academic journals
in law and management and serves as reviewer for journals, including the British
Journal of Management and Long Range Planning. Chizu is a regular speaker at
conferences held by inter-governmental bodies, such as the United Nations, World Bank
and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, governmental agencies and
academies, including the Academy of Management and Academy of Legal Studies in
Business.
Chizu teaches on Paper 30, Justice and development.
Professor Peter Nolan holds the Chong Hua Chair in Chinese Development and is
Director of the Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge. He is the
Director of the Chinese Executive Leadership Programme (CELP), which each year
brings CEOs from China’s largest firms to the University of Cambridge for a threeweek training programme, taught by a combination of academics and the leaders of
international firms.
Peter Nolan has researched, written and taught on a wide range of issues in economic
development, globalisation and the transition of former planned economies. He has
researched on comparative development in China and India; Chinese agriculture; system
24
change in China and the former USSR; poverty, famine, inequality and migration;
restructuring large global firms in the era of the Global Business Revolution; the
transformation of large Chinese firms since the 1980s; the evolution of China’s political
economy; the interaction between Chinese and the global firms in the era of the Global
Business Revolution; and the contradictory character of capitalist globalisation.
Dr Jonathan Pincus is a development economist specializing in Southeast Asia. He
currently director of the Policy Research Studies Centre in Jakarta, Indonesia, an
independent research and training institute that collaborates with a range of national and
international partners, including the Centre of Development Studies. Before taking up
this assignment he led the Harvard Kennedy School's policy training institute in Ho Chi
Minh City, Vietnam. He has served as Chief Economist for UNDP in Vietnam, and was
previously a lecturer in the economics department of the School of Oriental and African
Studies, University of London. His recent research has focused on labour migration,
social protection issues and macroeconomic policy in Vietnam and Indonesia
Professor Barry Rider supervises research as a Professor of Law, at the University of
London. He read for his LLB and PhD at Queen Mary College, London. He took an
MA and a further PhD from the University of Cambridge. He has been awarded
honorary doctorates in law from Penn State University, USA, and the University of the
Free State, South Africa. He was appointed Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the
Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, on his retirement as its
Director in 2003. He has been a Fellow of Jesus College since 1976 and a Fellow
Commoner since 2000. He has taught law in the University of Cambridge since 1976
and is currently a Professorial Fellow in the Development Studies Programme. He holds
a number of overseas appointments, including a Chair in Mercantile Law at the
University of the Free State, South Africa, and Chairs in Law and Criminology at
Beijing Normal University, China, and in Commercial Law at Remin University, China.
He has held and continues to hold a number of visiting professorships including at the
University of Hong Kong and the University of Florida. He is also a member of the
English Bar.
For many years Professor Rider has served as a senior international civil servant and has
undertaken consultancy work for a number of inter-governmental organisations,
including the IMF, Commonwealth Secretariat, European Union and United Nations.
He is currently consultant to the Islamic Financial Services Board, Standing Counsel to
the Peoples Bank of China and of counsel to the leading international US law firm
Bryan Cave LLP. His main areas of research are in financial law and the control of
economic crime. He is the general editor of a number of journals and has written and
edited books on financial services law, the control of markets abuses, corruption, money
laundering, corporate law, and comparative law.
Dr Riall Nolan is a Professor of Anthropology at Purdue University in West Lafayette,
Indiana. He has a BA in Psychology from Colgate University (1965) and a DPhil in
Social Anthropology from the University of Sussex (1975). For the first half of his
career he worked as a development anthropologist, primarily in Asia and Africa, with
long-term assignments in Senegal, Papua New Guinea, Tunisia and Sri Lanka. From the
mid-1980s onwards, following his return to the United States, he has worked primarily
in the area of the internationalization of US higher education, with senior administrative
25
appointments at several large research universities, including the University of
Pittsburgh, the University of Cincinnati, and Purdue University. His current interests
include looking at how large organizations (such as development agencies and
universities) learn cross-culturally, and what they do with what they learn. He is also
very involved in the development of anthropological practice – i.e., non-academic
anthropology. His major publications include Development Anthropology (2002),
Anthropology in Practice (2003), Communicating Across Cultures (1999), and an edited
volume, the Handbook of Practicing Anthropology (2013).
Dr Alexandra Winkels is an Affiliated Lecturer whose main research interests revolve
around the interactions between population, development and natural resources in
developing countries. Investigations include the linkages between migration and
development, in particular the risks faced by migrants and their families as a result of
migration. Recent work looks at the way in which environmental change and resource
scarcities interact with livelihood vulnerability and migration dynamics.
Past research considered the role of social capital in the migration process and the
impact of migration on those who stay behind at origin. Alexandra has also studied the
global–local linkages of global markets and how they impact on livelihood vulnerability
of migrant farmers by conducting a trajectory study examining the vulnerability of
coffee growing migrants in Vietnam over a five year period.
Alexandra’s teaching ranges from undergraduate geography and development studies, to
postgraduate teaching on migration. She is the Academic Director and Teaching Officer
for International Development and Global Change at the Cambridge University Institute
for Continuing Education at Madingley Hall (ICE)
She supervises MPhil dissertations and can be approached as potential supervisor for
doctoral students.
26
Academic staff leave
As members of a research-oriented institution, Cambridge University staff are entitled to
sabbatical leave. As a result, it is possible that in any particular term or year one of the
members of the academic staff may be away. The University always endeavours to make
appropriate arrangements for substitute teaching, but occasionally one or another option
may be suspended during a staff member's leave.
27
Admissions
MPhil in Development Studies
Admission requirements
The MPhil in Development Studies is largely for students with a background in one or
more of the social sciences, although many students have had degrees in disciplines
ranging from the humanities to the natural sciences. The academic backgrounds of the
current intake, for example, include American Studies, Anthropology, Biological
Sciences, Business Economics, Business Management, Computer Science,
Development Studies, Economics, Economics and Politics, Engineering, English,
Finance, History, Information Studies, International Relations, Journalism, Operations
Research, Philosophy, Political Science, Public Administration, Public and International
Affairs, Quantitative Economics, Social Studies, Social Work, Sociology, Spanish and
German, and Urban and Regional Studies. The normal requirement for admission is the
equivalent of at least a high 2.1 degree in the British university system (CPGA 3.7 out
of 4.0 in the U.S. system). Account may be taken of other relevant qualifications and
experience. Applicants must include in their application package a separate statement
of intent (one side of A4 paper is sufficient) explaining why they wish to take this
course and how it fits into their long-term career plans, in addition to completing
sections A12, A14 and A15 of the GRADSAF form. Applicants should not be
concerned about any overlap between their statement of intent and sections A12, A14
and A15.
Applications
When an application is submitted, Student Registry will set up a self-service account for
each applicant. Applicants will receive emails which a contain userID and how to log
on to self-service. Applicants who apply on paper will receive these details by post.
Applicants will be able to upload documents to support their applications and maintain
their personal details in self-service. There are also links to useful information
elsewhere on the university’s website.
Graduate Applicant Self service (GSS) allows you to:
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Maintain your personal data (your contact details)
Track the progress of your application(s)
Review information of instructions sent to you
Upload documents that support your application, such as transcripts, financial
information, language test results and so on
Withdraw from your offer or ask for a deferral
There are two stages to the application process:
 Pre-decision – during which you will be told which documents you need to send
to provide the evidence needed to assess your application.
28

Post-offer – during which you will be able to accept your offer, print a
certificate of offer, and to send the evidence that you have met the conditions of
your offer. If you meet the conditions of your offer you will also be able to print
a certificate of admission.
Application timetable
The closing date for applications for the MPhil commencing in October 2015 is
Tuesday, 31st March, 2015. If you are a citizen of, and usually resident in, the United
States of America, and you wish to apply for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, both your
MPhil application and your scholarship application must reach the Board of Graduate
Studies by 15 October, 2014. If you are a citizen or resident of the EU or any other
country and you wish to apply for a Gates Cambridge Trust Scholarship, your
application must reach the Board of Graduate Studies no later than 2 December, 2014.
More information about Cambridge Trust deadlines is available in the Graduate Studies
Prospectus (www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/gradstud/funding/scholarships/).
PhD
Admission requirements

A high 2.1 undergraduate degree from a UK university or equivalent/GPA of at
least 3.8 out of 4.0 or equivalent from a non-UK University

A Master’s Degree in a relevant subject, with a high 2.1 or a GPA of at least 3.8
out of 2.0 or equivalent from a non-UK University

Two academic references.

A personal reference (if you wish to be considered for funding from the
Cambridge Trusts. Please note there is an earlier deadline for applicants apply
for funding)

Full transcripts of your academic record at university, both undergraduate and
Master’s.

Research proposal. An outline (three or four pages) of the proposed research
topic, indicating: the background and aims of the research and the methodology
and data to be applied (if relevant).
This is in addition to information provided on the application form.

Writing sample (not more than 5,000 words)

If your first language is not English or the instruction at your university was not
in English, then you must take a language proficiency test.
For IELTS we require an overall score of 7.5 with no element below 7; for a
TOEFL, paper based test, a score of 637 and at least 5.5 in the test of written
English; for a TOEFL internet based test, a score of 110 with no element below
25.
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How to apply
31 March (October start); 30 September (January start); 31 December (April start).
Please note that Development Studies prefers applications for an October start, and may
not offer a student a place for January or April start unless there is a good reason.
Applications must be submitted through the general Cambridge postgraduate
application procedure, administered by the Board of Graduate Studies. Do not apply
directly to Development Studies. Applicants need to identify a potential supervisor and
secure her or his commitment to supervising the PhD project before making a formal
application. Full details of the application process and application forms can be found at
the Student Registry website http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/gradstud/admissions/.
30
Colleges
Cambridge colleges are not associated with particular academic disciplines.
Furthermore, all teaching for graduate students is provided by the department or faculty,
not by the college. You are therefore free to apply to any college you choose. When
you are choosing your college, you may like to think about the following questions:
Would I prefer an all-graduate college or an undergraduate college with graduate
students?
How likely is it that the colleges I am considering will be able to provide me with living
accommodation?
Do the colleges I am considering have large international communities?
Are these colleges able to offer travel or other grants?
(For women applicants) Would I prefer a women-only college or a mixed college?
The Graduate Studies Prospectus contains much useful information about the colleges,
and each college also has its own website.
English language proficiency test requirements
IELTS minimum overall score of 7.5 with 7.0 in each element.
When the IELTS test is not available you make take the Princeton TOEFL test. If you
do this, you must take the Test of Written English at the same time. The University's
institution code is 0908.
Minimum requirement: 637 in the paper-based TOEFL test with 5.5 in the Test of
Written English; or TOEFL internet-based Test (iBT) minimum requirement: overall
score of 110 with no less than 25 in each of the four elements.
You must achieve the minimum requirements in the same sitting and no more than two
years before the start of your course.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Q1.
A.
Do I need to send GRE scores with my application?
Development Studies Admissions Committee does not require GRE scores.
Q2.
A.
Do I need to send a sample of my written work?
Development Studies Admissions Committee does not require samples of
written work.
Q3.
A.
Can I defer my application to the following year?
It is not possible to defer applications. You will need to re-apply for the
following year.
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Fees
Please see the information about fees in the Graduate Studies Prospectus. The MPhil in
Development Studies is classified as a nine-month Arts course.
Funding
Information about Cambridge Trust awards (Gates Cambridge, Commonwealth,
Overseas, and European Trusts) is provided in the Graduate Studies Prospectus. The
GRADSAF form applies to all Cambridge Trust scholarships. The Trust will decide for
which scholarships you are eligible. If you are a citizen of the United States of America
and you wish to apply for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, your GRADSAF form must
reach the Board of Graduate Studies by 15 October, 2014. More information about
Cambridge Trust deadlines is available in the Graduate Studies Prospectus.
For information about sources of funding other than the Cambridge Trust, please go to
the British Council website or to your local British Council office.
Continuing to a PhD
Candidates who achieve a good pass in the MPhil may apply to read for a PhD in
Development Studies or elsewhere in the University. In recent years Development
Studies students have been accepted as PhD students by the Faculties of Education,
Social and Political Sciences, and History, by the Departments of Social Anthropology,
Geography, and Land Economy, by POLIS, and by the Judge Business School.
Further enquiries should be addressed to:
The Administrator
Centre of Development Studies
Alison Richard Building
7 West Road
Cambridge CB3 9DT
Telephone: +44 (0)1223 337158
Email: devstudies-adm@lists.cam.ac.uk