The International Development Studies is an interdisciplinary
program that offers students a challenging undergraduate
degree with promising career opportunities in the broad area
of international development. The program draws together
the considerable resources in this field at York University,
which has a remarkably large number of scholars who study
and teach various aspects of international development, thus
contributing to the revitalization of the field. They are
providing a richly textured, intellectually rigorous, and highly relevant curriculum
that not only deals with the theories of development, but also explores ways
in which different development organizations attempt to reach the poor and
the needy. Through their collaboration, they are currently engaged in creating
a more cohesive community of intellectual interest both within and outside
of York University.
Students will emerge from the program with a through grounding
in the history, debates, dimensions, institutional approaches,
and critiques of the field. Given the program’s emphasis
on building a bridge between academic discourse and development
practice, the students are expected to be able to evaluate
the documents of the international donor community, including
the World Bank, analyze the institutional language of development
professionals, and know how to put together and implement
a development research and/or delivery proposal.
The IDS graduates are expected to be attractive candidates
for employment in the field of international development
with a critical and scholarly foundation to their professional
skills. The program also gives students an excellent grounding
for pursuing graduate degree options in one of the numerous
graduate programs in relevant fields in Canada and elsewhere.
Employment prospects for IDS graduates include non-governmental
organizations, research institutes, international development
organizations, labour unions, and various civil society groups
that deal with various developmental challenges and issues
facing the world today.
IDS Convocants, November 2006
IDS Convocants, June 2006
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