Course description

MSc Organisational Change and Development aims to develop graduates who are capable of contributing to organisational change, and development initiatives/activities, in developing and transitional economies.

It will equip you with the skills to contribute positively to organisationally-based initiatives through effective diagnosis, planning, management and implementation of organisational change and development interventions.

Drivers including economic crisis, structural adjustment, competition, and technical innovation require organisations in developing and transitional economies to change and develop on an ongoing basis. This course satisfies the growing need for staff that can make a difference in this area.

You will learn from highly experienced lecturing staff that have extensive international experience, and benefit from in-depth overseas fieldwork that involves private, public and not-for-profit organisations.

Aims

The aim of this course is to develop you into a more effective agent of organisational change and development, by providing you with new analytical capacities, skills and knowledge. By the end of the course, you should be able to:

understand the academic and theoretical basis of organisational change and development;

develop realistic HR strategies that contribute to effective organisational change and development interventions;

contribute positively to organisationally-based initiatives through the effective diagnosis, planning, management and implementation of organisational change and development interventions;

engage in specific specialist processes of organisational change and development;

synthesise new and existing knowledge by undertaking academic or specialist organisational change and development research.

Special features

We're the largest development-focused teaching and research institute in Europe, and have been at the forefront of development studies for more than 60 years.

We're ranked 14th in the world for development studies (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018).

We're dedicated to addressing global poverty and inequality.

Our research was ranked first in the UK for impact and second in the UK for quality in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014).

We're home to a multicultural community of 450 students from 30 countries.

We have numerous scholarship opportunities for outstanding applicants.

Our alumni are recognised for their contribution to global development across the globe.

The combined field experience of our staff covers 60 countries.

We've trained almost 10,000 individuals from more than 170 countries.

Many of our master's include fieldwork, giving you the opportunity to observe development interventions in situ and to reflect on how theoretical explorations of development are operationalised in the real world. Recent destinations include Uganda, South Africa and Cyprus. Find out more at Fieldwork .

Teaching and learning

Please note that field visits may be scheduled at any point during the course, including during University vacations. You are expected to be available to attend.

Part-time students complete the full-time programme over 27 months. There are no evening or weekend course units available on the part-time programme, therefore if you are considering taking a programme on a part-time basis, you should discuss the requirements with the Programme Director first and seek approval from your employer to have the relevant time off.  Timetabling information is normally available from late August from the Programme Administrator and you will have the opportunity to discuss course unit choices during induction week with the Programme Director.

Coursework and assessment

The taught elements of the course, carrying 120 credits overall, is continuously assessed by a variety of methods (eg project-based reports, essays), involving largely individual submissions, but also elements of group work.

You must also complete a 12,000-15,000 word dissertation on a topic of your choice approved by the Programme Directors. You are encouraged to base your dissertation on topics of direct professional concern.