Globalisation and Development Studies
Attention:
The University Fund Limburg/SWOL, through its Friends Scholarship, offers subsidies especially for young talented students participating in the Master Globalization and Development Studies of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Maastricht University starting in September 2012.
See the ‘Admission’: ‘Scholarship and Tuition’ -section on these pages.
This selective, one-year, interdisciplinary, social science programme focuses on how Globalisation dynamics affect developing areas. It provides a sound basis through theory, issues and methods pertaining to globalisation and development while offering elective courses in contemporary globalisation issues of relevance for developing countries. It deals with problems of inequality, poverty, and vulnerability and investigates new possibilities for transformation and emancipation offered by new global actors such as emerging economies, migrant diasporas and transnational activist groups.
GDS provides students with a broad knowledge of globalisation and development theories, concepts and empirical cases while giving in-depth knowledge of perspectives – such as ‘transnationalism’ and ‘science, technology and society studies for development (STS)– that emphasize micro-level linkages between actors on a global scale, showing how in the Global North as well as within the Global South, micro-level linkages give rise to global trends and perspectives.
The programme focuses on how globalisation trends are affecting and interconnecting different areas of the globe while marginalizing others and how they produce diverse ‘local’ responses. While acknowledging the role of state and market in processes of globalisation and development, its emphasis is on social forces by focusing on processes of globalisation ‘from the ground up’, as they are experienced in everyday lives: it emphasizes local actors such as migrant diasporas, small firms, families, indigenous communities, non-governmental organizations and their actions in dealing with global issues such as increasing inequalities, the introduction of modern technologies, multinational firms conducting natural resource extraction, and global health issues such as HIV/AIDS.
GDS gives students a strong link with the professional world by offering multiple ways of gaining hands-on experiences, either through an internship or fieldwork. Students can thus take advantage of the numerous links the academic staff of the programme have with national and international organizations, government agencies, and research projects. This gives students the vital skills, experience and knowledge required in the field of Globalisation and Development both in academia and the professional world.
The Master of Arts in Globalisation and Development Studies (GDS) prepares students for academic and professional careers in the field of globalisation and development.
Meet the Director of Studies
See what Dr. Chris Leonards, the Director of Studies, has to say about the MA in Globalisation and Development Studies:
