International Development and Education

There is no established path into the development sector, and this course helps to bridge the gap between vocational aspirations and academic knowledge.

BA (Hons) International Development and Education is designed to help you develop a critical awareness of the intersectional issues in international development and education. This offers a great opportunity for a number of career choices, and a solid foundation for further experience and study in the sector. There's an opportunity for you to undertake a professional placement year between your second and third year of study, which is particularly relevant if you want to continue your studies.

Broad and regular interaction with the field offers you a wealth of experience to reflect on in your learning.

Year one
We'll introduce you to the main development theories and approaches, and their history, and how these relate to the education sector. We'll explore the current donor and sector agendas, and how these reflect the different approaches.

This will provide a good foundation and overview, enabling you to confidently move into your second year. Year one will also include a core module with an optional overseas placement. We may, for example, travel to Catalonia to look at development issues around minority groups in a European context, relating your field experience to module theory. 

Year two
You'll continue to draw on your knowledge and understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of the field, applying them to some contemporary dilemmas, including the very topical and timely issue of peace and conflict.

Understandings of different types of education, including youth programmes, adult learning, community capacity building, and activism and advocacy, will help you consider the multiple learning pathways that can meet the nuanced and diverse needs of different contexts.

An optional overseas visit is also included in this year. We'll be be going further afield, for example to Zambia, where we might explore the outcome of private agendas around school management in the copper belt, an area of increasing foreign investment and industrial activity.

Optional placement year
If you're serious about getting more involved in the development sector, a placement year will be invaluable. Learning through hands-on experience, alongside colleagues with years of expertise in the field, will help you understand and consolidate what you've been learning on the course, while introducing you to a network of inspirational people and programmes.

Year three
In your final year, you'll have the opportunity to dive deep into a subject that interests you, by conducting a piece of independent research. Your dissertation will give you the chance to apply the knowledge and skills learned on the course as you seek to consolidate your thoughts and experiences, ready to confidently move into the phase of your learning/career.

The (optional) annual trip in year three will focus on research methodologies. You'll be able to explore educational responses to development issues through participation and observation. For example, you may visit an NGO (non-governmental organisation) in rural Nepal, to gain specific knowledge and experience of community education.

You’ll be assessed through coursework. There are no exams. Assessments will include essays, placement reports/ journals, and, of course, your third year dissertation.

However, assessments may also involve short research-based reports, participation in activities with reflective journal, and presentations. These may be individual or group work.

Topics such as governance, representation and indigenous knowledge will be engaged with through a range of methodologies, including social theory, critical discourse analysis and ethnographic/case-study approaches.

Through fieldwork (negotiating access, dealing with gatekeepers, participant observation, interviewing etc.) you'll develop collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills.

There are opportunities for international placements in each year of the degree. Please note that these optional study visits entail significant additional travel costs.

You'll be encouraged to study education and development in various international contexts, for example:

• Cary Mufulira Community Partnership Trust, Mufilira, Zambia
• Vic University, Catalonia, Spain
• The Himanchal Educational Foundation, Nepal
• The International Centre for Excellence for Innovation in Learning (ICEFIL), based in the Netherlands, which is currently working with refugee camps in Kenya.

Further opportunities with locally-based partnerships can be developed as you continue your studies.

The experiences and knowledge gained on this course may lead to a variety of career trajectories, including:

• Teaching, both in the UK and internationally (a PGCE or equivalent further qualifications will be required to gain Qualified Teacher Status).
• Work in the Development sector e.g DfID, UNICEF, VSO (the placement year is highly recommended, and further qualifications, such as a Master's, will likely be needed).
• Work within educational programmes in international contexts.
• Educational work in charitable organisations. 
• Work in Development Education, e.g. educating school pupils on development issues.

This optional placement year provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.

By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.

Before your Professional Placement Year, you'll work to secure your placement, constructing a development plan with your module leader and your placement coordinator from our Careers and Employability team.

On your return to University for your final year, you'll submit your Placement Portfolio, detailing your development on your placement.

The course is taught on Newton Park campus. You'll have access to a range of excellent facilities including our Libraries and the Commons building, which includes quiet study space and group collaboration pods.

You'll have access to Bath Spa University's:

• Computing and IT facilities
• Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
• Writing and Learning Centre
• English Language Unit.

You can also hire out equipment using SISO, Bath Spa University’s free equipment loan service. We provide a huge variety of equipment, from cameras to laptops.

Please note that this course entails additional travel costs that are both significant and compulsory.

This course has the same level of tuition fees as all our standard undergraduate programmes. However, integral international trips form part of the programme of study and this cost in not included within the tuition fee.

Each year, students will visit a different country, which offers a rich context in which to understand international development and education.

As the country will vary each year, so will the costs. Costs are anticipated to be between £700 and £2,000 per year, however the exchange rate of the pound and the economics of developing countries are likely to affect the overall costs of trips.

Bath Spa University offers bursaries to students who are eligible for Home or EU student funding. Other funding opportunities may also be available.

We can help you manage your finances and check that you're getting all the funding you're entitled to.

We have a number of funding options for UK and EU students and international students, and we also offer support if you're having financial problems. Email: studentsupport@bathspa.ac.uk for more guidance.