The Development Studies Option (DSO) is a cross-disciplinary MA program offered as an option with existing MA programs in the departments of Geography, History, Political Science, Anthropology, Economics and Sociology. Students will take an interdisciplinary seminar and a variety of graduate level courses on international development issues. The research paper must be on a topic relating to development studies, approved by the DSO coordinating committee.
The program requirements are:
- Successful completion of the following courses with a grade in each of at least a B- (65%).
21 required credits- ECON 610 Microeconomic Theory 1
- ECON 620 Macroeconomic Theory 1
- ECON 634 Economic Development 3
- ECON 661 Applied Time-Series and Forecasting
- ECON 664 Applied Cross-Sectional Methods
- ECON 734 Economic Development 4
- INTD 657 Development Studies Seminar
- ECON 665 Quantitative Methods
- The Development Studies Option Non-Thesis program requirement is 45 credits (27 credits course work and 18 credits research paper ECON 650 Research 1, ECON 651 Research 2 + ECON 680 M.A. Report 1, ECON 681 M.A. Report 2, ECON 682 M.A. Report 3, ECON 683 M.A. Report 4. 500 level courses or higher must be related to international development studies to be chosen in consultation with the advisor.
- Residency requirement for the MA degree (Development Studies Option): Three full-time (at least 12 credits) terms of residency, one of which can be the summer term. Students are expected to complete the MA Non-thesis DSO requirements in one calendar year.
- A student who fails (receives a grade less than a B- or 65%) one graduate level course may be asked to withdraw from the MA program. The Department may allow a student to write a supplemental examination, re-take the course, or, if the course is not a required course, substitute the failed course with another course.
- A student with two failures in the graduate program (eg two separate courses; a course and its supplemental examination) must withdraw from the MA program.