MSc Agricultural Development Economics
Course director: Dr Garth Holloway
The MSc in Agricultural Development Economics is a one year, full-time Masters degree course which provides the skills, knowledge and insights necessary to contribute to confronting the challenges of reducing rural poverty.
Aims and objectives
With international organisations making commitments to specific, time-bound poverty alleviation aims, and the development community increasingly integrating broader issues such as market access and environmental concerns into the analysis of development issues, the analytical skills of agricultural development economists are as relevant as ever. The course is designed to provide a rigorous, stimulating and enjoyable training in applied development economics and quantitative and qualitative research techniques.
- Provide a balance between theoretical perspectives on agricultural development, and modern empirical methods and tools;
- Expose students to the history of agriculture in developing countries, to hands-on analysis of data in determining the economic viability of agricultural projects, constructing poverty measures.
Transferable skills
The course requires a substantial amount of independent reading, research and study and students are expected to take personal responsibility and show initiative in developing their knowledge and understanding of the field of study. In following this programme students will also have the opportunity to enhance and develop their skills relating to communication, information handling, problem solving and the use of information technology. Students will learn to work independently, under time pressures, and will learn to set priorities and manage their time in order to meet strict deadlines.
Course structure
The course starts at the beginning of the Autumn Term and is fully taught for two ten-week terms. The remainder of the course, from June until September, is devoted to preparation of a 10,000 - 12,000 word dissertation, for submission in early September. Most of the core modules are taught in the first (Autumn) term, and most optional modules in the second (Spring) term. The MSc is one of three MScs in applied economics that share core modules (the others being Agricultural Economics, Food Economics and Marketing and MSc Research Agricultural and Food Economics ), and in other modules (typically taught in small groups) you will often be studying with students from other MSc/MA programmes in the Graduate Institute. This results in an exciting mix of professional backgrounds, cultures and nationalities, enhancing the learning environment and leading to lifetime friendships.
Entry requirements
Entrants to this course are normally required to have an undergraduate honours degree (or equivalent from a University outside the UK) in Economics, Agricultural Economics or another subject with adequate training in economic principles and quantitative methods. Well qualified applicants with quantitative skills from their first degree, but without an economics background, may be allowed entry provided they attend an economics preparatory course delivered by the Department in the September before the start of the MSc course.
Subject streams
Students follow core modules (80 credits) and select a further 40 credits from an extensive list of optional modules.
Core modules:
- Market and Trade Analysis
- Policy Analysis
- Consumer and Producer Theory
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Quantitative Methods
- Econometrics
- Agricultural Policies for Developing Countries
- Dissertation Preparation
Optional modules include:
- Advanced Marketing
- Economics of International Food Markets
- Marketing Research Methods
- Agricultural Project Planning and Management in Developing Countries
- Resource and Environmental Economics
- Consumer Behaviour & Food Marketing
- International Regulation of Food & Farm Policies
- Appraisal of Agricultural & Rural Development Projects
- Famine and Food Security
- Macroeconomics for Developing Countries
- Stabilisation and Structural Adjustment in Developing Countries
- Trade Policies for Developing Countries
- The WTO and the Developing Countries
- Regional Integration and Developing Countries
See the full list of the modules offered to GIIDAE students.
Career prospects
The broad scope of the MSc course provides a suitable basis to enter posts in industry, government and non-governmental organisations. After some years of work experience, graduates might be pursuing a wide range of careers from developing economic strategy in a government department, to working as a policy analyst in an NGO or as an economist in agribusiness.