Latin American Development

Course detail Description

Our course highlights the importance of Latin America’s position in the global order, as well as the relationships between countries of the region, in shaping countries’ policy options and development outcomes. Drawing on the broader expertise within King’s Global Institutes, our MSc will also explore how the issues facing Latin America are illuminated by the experiences of emerging economies around the world. The emphasis is on understanding the ways Latin America is trying to overcome long-standing barriers to stability and prosperity. Our focus on integrating theory, data and history will develop your critical and analytical skills as you examine how Latin American countries are promoting growth and economic, social and political development in new and often innovative ways.

Our focus throughout the course on integrating theory, data and history will foster your critical and analytical skills as you examine how Latin American countries are promoting growth and economic, social and political development in new and often innovative ways.

Teaching

We will teach you through a combination of lectures and seminars, and you will typically have 20 hours of this per module. We also expect you to undertake 180 hours of independent study for each module. Some modules may involve lab work or e-learning which would require less self-guided learning. For your dissertation, we will usually provide five 1-hour dissertation workshops and six contact hours hours of one-to-one or group consultation with supervisors to complement your 589 hours of self-study and project work. Typically, 1 credit equates to 10 hours of work.

Assessment

Performance on taught modules in the Department of International Development is normally assessed through essays and other written assignments such as oral group presentations and occasionally by examination, depending on the modules selected. The dissertation module is assessed by a 12,000-word essay. The study time and assessment methods detailed above are typical and give you a good indication of what to expect.

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Structure

Year 1

Courses are divided into modules. You will normally take modules totalling a minimum of 180 credits.

If you are a full-time student you will take two required module worth 20 credits plus 80 credits of optional modules and a required dissertation worth 60 credits to make up 180 credits in total.

If you are a part-time student, you will take two required modules in your first year worth 40 credits plus 40 credits of optional modules. You will take your Dissertation module worth 60 credits in your second year and another 40 credits of optional modules to make up 180 credits in total.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on this course page for updates.

You are required to take the following modules:

• Development Theory and Emerging Economies (20 credits)
• Dissertation & Research Methods (60 credits)
• Latin America Development in Historical Perspective (20 credits)

In addition, you are required to take 80 credits from a wide range of 20-credit optional modules in the Department of International Development.

If you are a part-time student you are required to take 40 credits worth of required modules plus 40 credits worth of optional modules during your first year. During your second year you will take your dissertation worth 60 credits and 40 credits of optional modules to make up the 180 credits

Optional modules may typically include:

• Gender and Society & Development in Latin America (20 credits)
• Gender and Social Policy in Emerging Economies (20 credits)
• Latin America Development in Historical Perspective (20 credits)
• Education and Development (20 credits)
• The Politics of Managing Public Services in Latin America (20 credits)
• Commodities, Credit & Crises: Topcs in the Macroeconomics of Latin America (20 credits)
• Poverty, Inequality & Inclusive Development in Emerging Economies (20 credits)
• Political Economy of Market Reform (20 credits)
• Practical and Theoretical Evaluation of Sustainable Development (20 credits)
• Multinational Enterprises, Global Value Chains, and Local Development (20 credits)
• Social Justice: Ethnographic insights (20 credits)
• Project Management in International Development (20 credits)
• Advanced Quantitative Methods for Casual Interference (20 credits)
• Advanced Qualitative Methods (20 credits)
• Up to 40 credits from other departments across the university, subject to approvals.