Overview

On the Development Economics programme offered at SOAS University of London there are Research Student Tutors with overall responsibility for research students, who are available for discussion of general problems. And the Departmental Empirical Support Committee (DESC) offers detailed and individual advice to students about fieldwork and empirical analysis as appropriate.

Employment

Economics graduates leave SOAS with a solid grounding in statistical skills and an ability to think laterally, take a global perspective, and employ critical reasoning. Recent graduates have been hired by:

Bain & Co

Bank of America

Cabinet Office

Deloitte

Ernst & Young

KPMG

NHS England

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

HSBC

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Programme Structure

Research key points:

All research students are expected to attend a dedicated research student seminar. In addition, a separate programme of research training is offered for first-year students. The sessions will deal with theoretical and methodological issues in Economics and Development Economics, as well as subject-specific guidance on other generic research skills (such as literature reviews, fieldwork planning).

In addition, students will attend a termly Development Economics research day, where there will be a mediated discussion of theoretical and methodological issues faced and an opportunity for students to present their own research. Students will also attend the general Research Students Seminar that provides a range of input for all stages in the completion of a PhD and Early Career Development for Development Economists.

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Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 36 months
Part-time
- 72 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2026-09-29 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-06-15 00:00:00

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

105

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PTE Academic

70

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IELTS

7

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Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

London, United Kingdom

Disciplines

Economics View 81 other PhDs in Economics in United Kingdom

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Academic requirements

We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

105

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PTE Academic

70

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IELTS

7

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

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AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

Admission and thesis requirements. A good Masters degree in Economics plus one reference is usually required. Students are normally registered for the MPhil degree in the first instance.
Once approval of the Research Student's Supervisory Committee has been received, the student's registration is upgraded to PhD status (and backdated to the commencement of the MPhil registration), usually at the end of the first year of study, for which the minimum registration period is double that of full-time study. Candidates are expected to present a thesis of not more than 55,000 words for the MPhil, while for the PhD the maximum length is 100,000 words.

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Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

23390 GBP / year

≈ 23390 GBP / year
Domestic Applies to you

Applies to you

Citizens or residents

4860 GBP / year

≈ 4860 GBP / year

Living costs

London

United Kingdom

1137 - 2157 GBP / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find PhD's scholarship opportunities for Development Economics.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

About

Overview

Employment

Get more details

Programme Structure

Check out the full curriculum

Key information

Duration

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

Explore more key information

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Make sure you meet all requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

Domestic Applies to you

Living costs

London

Funding

Check for any work restrictions

Scholarships Information

Available Scholarships

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