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Africa and International Development (Online Distance Learning)

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PgCert Africa and International Development (Online Distance Learning) - 12 Months (Part-time)

PgCert Africa and International Development (Online Distance Learning) (ICL) - 24 Months (Part-time Intermittent Study)

Information on fees & costs

Individual programme fees are linked above. For detailed information on fee status, policies, payment and funding opportunities see:

Contact information: Postgraduate Admissions Team
Phone: +44 (0)131 651 5074/1560
Email: pgadmissions.sps@ed.ac.uk; Mr Sam Spiegel (Programme Director)
Phone: +44 (0) 131 651 3066
Email: Sam.Spiegel@ed.ac.uk; Address: The Graduate School of Social and Political Science
Chrystal Macmillan Building
15A George Square
Edinburgh
EH8 9LD

Entry requirements

Normally a 2:1 honours degree or equivalent in any subject. We especially welcome applicants from a professional background with development experience.

International students

All applicants must meet our general entry and language requirements. Detailed advice for international students is available here:

Programme description

The Postgraduate Certificate aims to locate African development firmly in theory and practice. It seeks to contextualise and analyse the processes that have shaped poverty and underdevelopment, and the main responses to them.

The programme offers a grounded and multi-disciplinary grasp of issues of development in the African context, and is aimed at students interested in pursuing a career in development agencies, political institutions, the public sector or non-governmental organisations.

The PG Certificate comprises three courses:

Politics and Theories of International development;
Roots of African Poverty and Development;
Analysing Development Aid.

The Certificate will provide you with:

the analytical and conceptual skills to enable critical evaluation and investigation of development issues;
training in comparative and development policy analysis;
in-depth knowledge of the main historical events, actors and processes that shape development in Africa.

Programme structure

The PG Certificate is delivered online through a blended method of virtual learning.

You will become part of a vibrant and supportive virtual community, and will be taught through a combination of group work and independent study. Each course will be assessed by a 4,000 word essay.

Learning outcomes

When you have completed the postgraduate certificate you will:

know and understand development issues (with a specific African focus) and international development in comparative perspective;
be able to critically evaluate the factors shaping particular development processes and their outcomes;
be able to appropriately apply theories and insights from scholarly research to practical issues and problems of development policy and practice.

Funding

Please see Scholarships and Student Funding Services for information about funding opportunities:

Scholarships and Student Funding Services

Further Information

This article was published on Apr 25, 2013