Want to explore one of the many challenges of Global Development? Could you be one of our next PhD researchers?

Global development covers a wide range of cross-cutting issues in areas such as Social Justice, Global Health and Sustainable Environments. The Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre offers a PhD programme allowing students to explore a global challenge in substantial detail through an interdisciplinary lens.

What is IGDC?
The Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre (IGDC) is a major interdisciplinary centre for research, teaching and partnership for global development based at the University of York. The Centre is led by the Departments of Politics, Environment and Geography, and History and we have members from departments right across the University. We also work with partners across and beyond the University to develop innovative interdisciplinary people-focused solutions to address the urgent and structural challenges of global development.

Why study with IGDC?
Major challenges in global development, ranging from access to clean water to reducing gender inequality, cannot be addressed by any single discipline. The IGDC’s PhD in Global Development provides students with the interdisciplinary tools and skills for a holistic approach to major development challenges. 

Our PhD researchers design their own research proposals and support is available from a wide range of potential supervisors across our interdisciplinary network of members. 

As an example of the wide ranging subject matter, we currently have PhD researchers looking at:

• Addressing the Problem of Competing Claims to Land in Dili and Ainaro District, Timor-Leste.
• Informal transport systems in Mexico through a gender lens
• The role of gendered institutions in the design and delivery of regionally integrated reproductive health policy in Africa
• Clientelism in Balochistan (Pakistan) 
• Examining a collective action on child labour in Malawi
• Implications of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Ghana on agriculture and livelihoods

What does the PhD programme offer?
Students on the programme normally have two supervisors from different departments to encourage interdisciplinary approaches to major global challenges.

The programme offers training, depending on project and experience, in archival and documentary research, visual methods, quantitative and statistical methods, ethnography, interviews, focus groups and secondary data analysis. Most students will spend a  lengthy  period of time doing fieldwork and sometimes in-conjunction with a local organisation or NGO. 

Students will also have the opportunity to participate in the Centre’s research activities, seminars and workshops and can also organise events. 

We have intakes in January and October with part-time and full-time options available. 

Find out More
Further details about our PhD programme and how to apply are available via our website.

Find out more and how to apply

If you think you have the skills, training and enthusiasm to join us, or have any further questions please get in touch!