IBA Karachi launches 2-year Master of Science in Development Studies

June 4, 2021: The IBA Karachi is pleased to announce the launch of Master of Science in Development Studies program commencing in the Fall 2021 semester, which comprises of 4 semesters with a total of 30 credit hours.

The program, designed by the School of Economics and Social Sciences, and jointly offered by the Department of Economics and Department of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, is a multi and inter-disciplinary program that explores critical topics of development theory and practices, introducing development as a process of evolution of societies.

MS-Development Studies will provide a high-quality and rigorous training that is essential in understanding the methods, policy and practices of development. The program offers a solid multi-disciplinary social science formation in theory, quantitative methods and applications employed in various fields of societal development.

Dean, School of Economics and Social Sciences, Dr. Asma Hyder, elaborated on the program and said, "We hope that this program will engage the students in exploring critical topics of development theory and practice, in order to link historical perspectives with recent advancements in development. Our focus is to train and empower the students to serve as agents of change in local communities in the long-run."

Commenting on the program launch, Executive Director, IBA, Dr S. Akbar Zaidi said, "The quality of faculty, highly developed infrastructure, and variety of departments provide for an excellent platform to fulfill the objectives of this program. Development Studies is a policy debate that takes into account the specificity of societies in terms of history, ecology, culture, technology and politics. Its lays the foundation for understanding how these differences can and often should translate into varied strategies of societal development and methods." Dr. Zaidi highlighted that this market-driven program would set a new benchmark for other universities.

Graduates from this program will be prepared for careers in research institutions, government entities, development agencies, international organizations and policy-related think tanks.

With the addition of the Development Studies program, the IBA Karachi is now offering 10 graduate programs alongside 6 undergraduate and 3 postgraduate programs. The admission to various programs for Fall 2021 is currently open.