Skip to content Accessibility statement
Home>Study at York>Postgraduate taught>Courses 2025/26>Development Economics and Emerging Markets (MSc)

MSc Development Economics and Emerging Markets

Explore best practice methods in development economics with special emphasis on emerging market economies

Year of entry: 2025 (September)

Length

1 year full-time

Start date

September 2025 (semester dates)

Meet us

Join us online or in person to find out more about postgraduate study at York.

Upcoming events

Build the skills crucial to your interests and career ambitions in development economics.

You'll join a vibrant programme which provides a structured transition to independent research.

Taught by leading researchers in the field, you'll gain a sound training in best practice methods of theory and applications in development economics with special emphasis on emerging market economies. You'll also have the opportunity to follow specialist pathways in topics including finance and health.

Notable international alumni

including: Professor Daron Acemoglu who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics; Professor Anibal Cavaco Silva, former President of Portugal; and Han Seung-Soo, former Prime Minister of South Korea.

Course content

During your time at York, you'll learn to solve problems and apply economics to development contexts.

You'll study a mix of core components and a choice of option modules.

The flexible course structure means you can follow specific pathways. As well as taught modules you'll also complete a dissertation.

Modules

Core modules

Option modules

You will take a selection of option modules, examples of which may include:

Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.

Dissertation

You'll complete a piece of independent research carried out over three months of the summer, guided by a supervisor. The dissertation, of up to 10,000 words, offers you the chance to examine a topic in depth and to develop your academic research skills.

The York approach

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

Students who complete this course will be able to:

  • Systematically search, understand and critically evaluate contemporary contributions in development economics with the aim of informing policy and practice
  • Effectively communicate with professional economists and development specialists about relevant debates in development economics and the state-of-art economic methods used by professional economists and academic researchers to analyse development-sensitive problems
  • Select, evaluate and apply the techniques and quantitative methods widely used in the field to analyse economic problems faced by households, firms, governments, and organisations in developing economies
  • Identify economic problems constraining human development and come up with sensible practical solutions, with a solid understanding of how factors such as incentive, (private or public) information, risk and uncertainty, environment, institutions and policies influence economic performance
  • Formulate a research proposal, identify a testable hypothesis and the methodology appropriate to test it and carry out the proposed research in an efficient, timely manner with minimal supervision to present persuasive conclusions
  • Generate, manage, organise and present complex data in accessible formats to inform policy and practice.

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2025/26

Study modeUK (home)International and EU
Full-time (1 year) £11,200£25,900

Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.

Fees information

UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.

Funding information

Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.

We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2025/26 throughout the year.

If you've successfully completed an undergraduate degree at York you could be eligible for a 10% Masters fee discount.

Funding opportunities

Chevening Scholarships

We are pleased to work with Chevening Scholars to offer funding for our Masters programmes. Chevening Scholarships provide one year of fully-funded postgraduate study in the UK for international (including EU) students. The scholarships are open to early and mid-career professionals who have the potential to become future leaders.

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching and assessment

You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.

Teaching format

This Masters combines a variety of different teaching methods, including:

  • lectures
  • seminars
  • problem-solving classes
  • practical computer-based sessions.

A member of the teaching staff will act as your supervisor throughout the degree, to help guide your studies and monitor progress.

The department also has a vibrant research community. You’ll be able to attend seminars and research workshops in which staff and invited speakers discuss their research.

Teaching location

You'll be based in the Department of Economics and Related Studies on Campus West. Most of your teaching will take place in Alcuin College and elsewhere on Campus West.

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.

Assessment and feedback

Formal types of assessment in this course include:

  • Dissertation
  • Exams
  • Group project
  • Seminar presentation
  • Essays

As you study modules you’ll take part in assessments that do not contribute to your final mark, instead giving useful feedback on your progress and understanding.

Careers and skills

The Masters degree provides the essential research training you'll need for a career in economics and development. It is an ideal basis for a career in a government or non-government organisation at the international and national level, or for progression to a PhD.

Career opportunities

  • Communications manager
  • Economist
  • Investment officer
  • Economic researcher
  • Trainee accountant
  • Principle economics consultant

Transferable skills

  • Independent working
  • Time management and people skills
  • Communicating research
  • Performing statistical analysis
  • Analytical and technical research skills

Entry requirements

Typical offer
Undergraduate degree 2:2 or equivalent in Economics, Finance or a relevant discipline, with evidence on your degree transcript of strong grades in economics, mathematics and statistics modules at an intermediate (2nd year) level.
International pre-masters programme Pre-masters from our International Pathway College
Other international qualifications Equivalent qualifications from your country

Additional requirements

If you have been out of study for a while, or do not have a strong background in economics or mathematics and statistics but have other relevant qualifications or experience, you may be required to take the Summer Session in Economics and Quantitative Methods as a condition of your offer. Alternatively, the Session can also be taken as a stand-alone course.

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic and Indicator) 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component
Cambridge CEFR B2 First: 176, with 169 in each component
Oxford ELLT 7, minimum of 6 in each component
Duolingo 120, minimum 105 in all other components
LanguageCert SELT B2 with 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert Academic 70 with a minimum of 65 in each component
Kaplan Test of English Language 459-494, with 426-458 in all other components
Skills for English B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component
PTE Academic 61, minimum 55 in each component
TOEFL 87, minimum 21 in each component
Trinity ISE III Merit in all requirements

For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.

If you haven't met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

You can apply and send all your documentation online. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.

Apply for this course

Next steps

Contact us

Get in touch if you have any questions

Learn more

Department of Economics and Related Studies

Discover York

Accommodation

We offer a range of campus accommodation to suit you and your budget, from economy to premium.

Student life

Explore campus and city life and hear what our current students have to say about living here.

The city

Lively, full of culture and beautiful, York is regularly voted one of the best places to live and visit in the UK.

Meet us

Find out more about York. Chat to staff and students and take the tour, on campus or online.