MSC in Development Studies in Cambridge and London

Chevening Courses Essay

Please see my Chevening Courses essay and provide feedback. Thanks.

I have chosen courses in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

I've completed my undergraduate degree in International Relations, with European History and Sociology as minors. Studying IR has given me a solid understanding of the political, social, economic, and development issues of our century. Owing to my academic inclination towards human development, I want to explore the various dimensions of development policy and processes by studying Development Studies.

In this regard, my first choice is the MPhil programme in Development Studies at Cambridge University. The Core Papers in this programme straddle across the fields of development economics, sociology, globalization and politics of development, and the role of cities and institutions in development. The organization of Core Papers across diverse fields piques my interest. Moreover, The Centre of Development Studies of Cambridge University ranked fourth in the QS Survey, 2017, which speaks of its high academic standard.

Of the Optional Papers, Education and Human Development, Justice and Development, and Gender and Development are interesting. I am committed to the causes of women empowerment, democratization, and educational development and strongly think that a literate populace is a prerequisite for the success of democratization efforts in Pakistan. Once we ensure educational development, women empowerment and the consolidation of democracy will come by. Through these optional papers, I will be able to organize my thoughts around these issues in a far better and coherent manner. I feel it is important for me to consolidate my awareness of multi-disciplinary perspectives around these issues because I will build my career in Pakistan's federal bureaucracy.

My second preference is the MSc programme in Development Studies at LSE. The core course of Development: History, Theory, and Policy will help me understand the economic, political, social, and gender dimensions of development. I studied a course called Social Change and Development in university covering similar issues, and would like to further build on the skills previously acquired. Some optional courses like International Relations, Law, and International Development are very aligned to the courses I studied during my undergrad. Of particular interest at LSE is the course of Anthropology, which I would definitely take up to explore the gap between development planning and outcomes.

My third preference is the MSc programme in Development Studies at SOAS. SOAS is renowned as an academic voice for the global South. Its reputation as an 'institution of activists' makes it a very lively place to study and connect with action-oriented individuals. The uber-progressive campus environment, with strong leftist-progressive leanings will give me Marxist insights on 'capitalistic' development.

Coming from a traditional society, where archaic gender notions prevail, economic prosperity is a distant dream, and poor infrastructure a painful reality, I think underdevelopment will be tackled by future leaders who've a firm grounding in the subject. For this particular reason, I wish to complete my postgraduate education in Development Studies first and then join bureaucracy.

Marzia, you don't need to list your university choices at the start of the essay. Save that for the body itself as you create a redundancy in the information by listing the university choices twice. remove all references to the university rankings as those ranking should not factor into your decision to attend a university. Only the core curriculum should matter in relevance to your career goals and academic interests. Your second choice for university course study doesn't indicate how these studies will assist you in developing your career. You may want to create a more solid reference to a career objective for this portion of the discussion. As for the third choice, you should explain why you have an interest in Marxists insights and how that is relevant to your perceived government job. The closing statement is simple enough and clear enough in representing your general reasons for study and general objectives so that can stay as is.