Global Development with Economics with a Placement Year

Global development with economics addresses the fundamental question of why some parts of the world are wealthy and others are not, and what can be done about it. Development studies is concerned with the processes of economic, social, and political change in lower-income countries, examining how poverty, inequality, and vulnerability are produced and how they can be addressed. Economics provides the analytical toolkit, asking how markets work, how resources are allocated, and what role governments, international organisations, and civil society can play in promoting prosperity and wellbeing.

Together, the two disciplines give you the combination of critical social understanding and quantitative economic analysis that serious engagement with global inequality requires.

At the University of East Anglia, this four-year programme includes a placement year, which is a central and distinctive feature. The placement gives you the opportunity to work within a development organisation, an economic research institution, an NGO, a government body, or an international agency, gaining first-hand experience of how development economics is practised and how global development organisations operate. UEA has a long-standing reputation in development studies, with research strengths in international development, poverty, health, environment, and governance that enrich the teaching across the degree.

The economics component develops your quantitative and analytical skills, including econometric methods and the evaluation of development interventions.

Norwich and UEA's international development community have strong connections with development organisations, and the placement year draws on these relationships to place students in meaningful professional roles.

Graduates work in international development agencies, NGOs, government departments, economic consultancies, research institutions, and the United Nations system. The combination of economics and development expertise, enhanced by the placement year, is well matched to the needs of organisations working on global poverty, health, climate, and governance. Postgraduate study in development economics, international development, or public policy is a common further step.