MA Programme

SHSS looks forward to the introduction of the new Post Graduate Programme (M. A.) in Development Studies in the upcoming semester. The programme aims to create a pool of development practitioners and/or academics, who will be well equipped to participate in the process of sustainable development. The location of the Institute will also provide the programme with a unique opportunity to deal with development challenges in the Himalayan region, which has both local and global relevance. Another unique feature of the programme will be significant emphasis on field research and the orientation of problem solving to achieve development goals. The Programme and the courses have been recently approved with a few modifications (which will be incorporated after discussion at School level soon).

Preamble
Ensuring sustainable development requires not only an in-depth knowledge of how the society functions but also the understanding of the past and current development processes. With several possible developmental pathways, one has to ensure that the choices made are informed, given the fact that resources are scarce. The Masters of Arts programme in Development Studies at IIT Mandi aims to create a pool of development practitioners and/or academics, who will be well equipped to participate in the process of such informed decision making. The location of the Institute will also provide the programme with a unique opportunity to deal with development challenges in the Himalayan region, which has both local and global relevance. We propose to start this programme -M.A. in Development Studies from August 2018 at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

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Salient Features
• A combination of rigorous coursework (both in terms of core courses and various elective courses) and exposure to real-world development challenges.
• While the core courses are more thematic and approached from an interdisciplinary perspective, elective courses go deeper into a discipline to approach a problem.
• Basic understanding of multi-disciplinary approaches towards development challenges and planning. The course work will be at par with national and international standards.
• Understanding the basic scientific and technological underpinning of some of the developmental challenges and their existing remedies.
• Participatory research through components of field study and dissertation/problem courses/guided internship.
• Ability to communicate the results to a range of stakeholders: academia, professionals in policy making and implementation, local communities etc.