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2-year M.A. in Development Studies

The program aims to provide robust training in the theoretical legacies that inform the discipline while locating it in the most urgent and emergent development problems of the contemporary era. Drawing upon a pool of interdisciplinary faculty with diverse and ongoing research projects, the program hopes to attract students seeking training for application and policy-oriented jobs as also those in search of a rigorous education towards specialized academic and research-oriented careers.

The MA program is designed keeping in mind the diverse body of aspirants seeking to enter the field of Development Studies. The first year of the program is dedicated to developing a common vocabulary in the broad social sciences specific to the field, while grounding it in the context of India and the Indian sub-continent. The second year will focus on assisting students in developing their own interests and career possibilities in the discipline through electives across key research and policy avenues broadly encompassing sociology, anthropology, history, and science and technology studies. Students will also have the freedom to enroll in up to two electives offered in any of the departments at IIT Madras to pursue their unique research and career interests as also ground their work in technology-based applications.

The program aims to provide training and support towards two broad career trajectories; higher education and academia, and policy and governance.

Semester 1
Sl. No.Course CodeCourse TitleCreditsCourse Type
1HS2011Foundations of Social and Political Thought10Core
2HS3016Development: Theory and Practice10Core
3HS4013Gender and Development10Core
4HS5704History of Economic Thought10Core
5HS5501Indian Social Structure and Development10Core
Total Credits50
Semester2
Sl. No.Course TitleCreditsCourse Type
1HS2012International Relations: Theory and Practice10Core
2HS5502Climate Change, Technology and Sustainable Development10Core
3HS3012Urbanization and Development10Core
4HS5503Development and Ethics10Core
5HS5504State-Making, Governance and Development10Core
Total Credits50
Semester3
Sl. No.Course TitleCreditsCourse Type
1HS5509Globalization and Change10Core
2HS5550Research Methodology (offered by DS and shared with Economics)9Core
3Elective 19See List of Electives
4Elective 29See List of Electives
5Free Elective 19Any non-DS Elective
6Elective 3/ Free Elective 29See List of Electives /
any non-DS elective
Total Credits55
Semester4
Sl. No.Course TitleCreditsCourse Type
1Elective 19See List of Electives
2Elective 29See List of Electives
3M.A. Project27Elective
Total Credits45
Grand Total Credits200

Sl. No.Course CodeCourse TitleCreditsCourse Type
1HS3280Introduction to Cultural Anthropology9Elective
2HS6570Food Cultures9Elective
3HS5520Culture and Development9Elective
4HS4290Development Alternatives9Elective
5HS5554Gender in Indian Society9Elective
6HS5551Modern World History9Elective
7HS7400Historiography9Elective
8HS5552The Making of Modern India9Elective
9HS5556Law and Society9Elective
10HS6017History of Science and the Public9Elective
11HS3420China in Contemporary Global Politics9Elective
12HS5115Introduction to International Organisations9Elective
13HS4006Science and Technology in the 20th century9Elective
14HS5553Perspectives on Health and Biomedical Ethics9Elective
15HS5930War and Peace in West Asia9Elective
16HS4012Built Environment and Society10Elective
17HS3013Human Rights and Justice10Elective
18HS6560Introduction to Contemporary Tibet10Elective
19HS2160Indian Constitution - Text and Practice10Elective
20HS5140Transitions and Transformations to Sustainability10Elective
21HS5013Religion and Modernity12Elective
22HS3180Decentralization and Governance12Elective
23HS5880Corruption and Development12Elective
24HS6070Democracy: Theory and Practice12Elective

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