In the International Development Studies programme, you study the relationship between Western society and the countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, which traditionally have been called developing countries, underdeveloped countries or the Third World. These are countries that were former colonies of Western nations and today are independent states.
You will learn about the economic, commercial, political and cultural conditions in the developing countries and how these influence the development of the countries as well as their relations with other nations.
You will learn to analyse and comprehend the development processes that the countries have gone through, and learn about the challenges, which the evolution from colony to national state has lead to, both for the countries themselves and for the international community as a whole.
The programme gives you a scientific basis for work with development projects both in Denmark and abroad. You will also learn about the work the different state and international organisations carry out in the form of, for example, aid programmes, educational work, or international negotiations.
The programme is interdisciplinary and combines subjects from the entire social studies field. There are four dimensions in the study subjects:
- Socioeconomic contributors, structures and processes, where you learn, among other things, about the connection between the division of power, resources, environment and economics
- Politics, culture and society, which, for example, deals with how political power is carried out, and about the institutions' and social movements' influence on political systems and forms of government
- Institutions, government and development strategies, which deals with, for example, how the cooperation between Western and Third World countries is affected by economic factors and social groups' various interests
- History, development and theory, where you, for example, study economic, political and cultural social conditions in developing countries in a historical perspective
Teaching varies between courses, seminars, and problem-oriented project work in groups. Students are encouraged to participate in class discussions.
Read more about Danish teaching methods on www.studyindenmark.dk.
If you choose to complete the bachelor degree programme, you will graduate with the academic title of Bachelor of Science
(BSc).