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Degree Options

The IDS Program offers the following degree options available in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies: Specialized Honours BA, Honours BA, Honours (Double Major) BA, Honours (Double Major) Interdisciplinary BA, Honours (Major/Minor) BA, Honours (Minor) BA, and BA. The Program offers a coherent and rigorous set of courses for each of the degree formats that foster academic excellence in the field of Development Studies.

The program's core courses identify the central issues in the field from the perspective of critical liberal arts, offering an inclusive, interdisciplinary, and comparative perspective to interpret the histories, political economies, and cultures of Third World regions and their diasporic communities. While highlighting common themes in the field of development, these courses also emphasize the diversity of experiences in the Third World and the regional and sub-regional specificities. The core courses also introduce students to the specific analytical methods and techniques in the field of Development Studies.

Specialized Honours BA Program (60 credits)

Mandatory Core Courses: 24 credits

  • AS/SOSC 1430 9.0 Introduction to International Development Studies*
  • AS/SOSC 2800 6.0 Development in Comparative and Historical Perspective
  • AS/SOSC 3800 6.0 Development Studies Research Methods
  • AS/SOSC 4600 6.0 Advanced Seminar in Development Studies**

Areas of Concentration: 18 credits

6 credits in each of three chosen areas of concentration:

  • Area of concentration A: 6 credits
  • Area of concentration B: 6 credits
  • Area of concentration C: 6 credits

Regional Focus: 6 credits

6 credits chosen from the following courses:

  • AS/HUMA 1400 9.0 Culture and Society in East Asia
  • AS/HUMA 2310 9.0 An Introduction to Caribbean Studies
  • AS/SOSC 2435 6.0 Introduction to South Asian Studies
  • AS/SOSC 2460 9.0 Contemporary Latin America
  • AS/SOSC 2480 9.0 Introduction to African Studies

Additional 4000-level Courses: 12 credits

  • 12 credits at the 4000-level in two of the three chosen areas of concentration
  • Area of concentration A/B/C: 6 credits
  • Area of concentration A/B/C: 6 credits

* This 9-credit course fulfills General Education requirements as well as the IDS major requirement. All 9 credits count toward the 120 credits required for the Honours BA degree, but only 6 credits from this course will go toward the IDS major.

** This course can be substituted with AS/SOSC 4602 6.0 Rethinking Development: Critical Issues, Policies and Challenges

Honours BA Program (48 credits)

Mandatory Core Courses: 24 credits

  • AS/SOSC 1430 9.0 Introduction to International Development Studies*
  • AS/SOSC 2800 6.0 Development in Comparative and Historical Perspective
  • AS/SOSC 3800 6.0 Development Studies Research Methods
  • AS/SOSC 4600 6.0 Advanced Seminar in Development Studies**

Areas of Concentration: 12 credits

6 credits in each of two chosen areas of concentration:

  • Area of concentration A: 6 credits
  • Area of concentration B: 6 credits

Regional Focus: 6 credits

6 credits chosen from the following courses:

  • AS/HUMA 1400 9.0 Culture and Society in East Asia
  • AS/HUMA 2310 9.0 An Introduction to Caribbean Studies
  • AS/SOSC 2435 6.0 Introduction to South Asian Studies
  • AS/SOSC 2460 9.0 Contemporary Latin America
  • AS/SOSC 2480 9.0 Introduction to African Studies

Additional 4000-level Courses: 6 credits

6 credits at the 4000-level in one of the three chosen areas of concentration

Area of concentration A/B: 6 credits

* This 9-credit course fulfills General Education requirements as well as the IDS major requirement. All 9 credits count toward the 120 credits required for the Honours BA degree, but only 6 credits from this course will go toward the IDS major.

** this course can be substituted with AS/SOSC 4602 6.0 Rethinking Development: Critical Issues, Policies and Challenges

Note: Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies legislation requires that, in order to obtain an Honours BA (120 credits), students must take a total of at least 18 credits at the 4000-level, including at least 6 credits at the 4000-level in each Honours Major or Specialized Honours Major.

Honours (Double Major) BA Program (48 credits)

The Honours BA program described above may be pursued jointly with any other Honours Bachelor's degree program in the Faculties of Arts, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, or with a major in Earth and Atmospheric Science or Physics and Astronomy in the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science.

Honours (Double Major) Interdisciplinary BA Program (36 credits)

IDS may be linked with any Honours (Double Major) Interdisciplinary BA program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. Students must take at least 36 credits in IDS and at least 36 credits in the other interdisciplinary program. Courses taken to meet IDS requirements cannot also be used to meet the requirements of the other interdisciplinary program.

Students in these Honours programs must take a total of at least 18 credits at the 4000-level, including at least 6 credits in IDS and 6 credits in the other interdisciplinary program. For further details of requirements, see the listings for specific Honours (Double Major) Interdisciplinary BA Programs.

Mandatory Core Courses: 24 credits

  • AS/SOSC 1430 9.0 Introduction to International Development Studies*
  • AS/SOSC 2800 6.0 Development in Comparative and Historical Perspective
  • AS/SOSC 3800 6.0 Development Studies Research Methods
  • AS/SOSC 4600 6.0 Advanced Seminar in Development Studies**

Areas of Concentration: 12 credits

6 credits in each of two chosen areas of concentration:

  • Area of concentration A: 6 credits
  • Area of concentration B: 6 credits

* This 9-credit course fulfills General Education requirements as well as the IDS major requirement. All 9 credits count toward the 120 credits required for the Honours BA degree, but only 6 credits from this course will go toward the IDS major.

** this course can be substituted with AS/SOSC 4602 6.0 Rethinking Development: Critical Issues, Policies and Challenges

Note: Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies legislation requires that, in order to obtain an Honours BA (120 credits), students must take a total of at least 18 credits at the 4000-level, including at least 6 credits at the 4000-level in each Honours Major or Specialized Honours Major.

Please Note: Not all interdisciplinary programs are linked. Students who plan to pursue this option must check with both the Advising Centre and the relevant programs to ensure that they are allowed to pursue a double major in the chosen two interdisciplinary programs.

Honours (Major/Minor) BA Program (36 credits)

The Honours BA program in International Development Studies described above may be pursued jointly with any Honours Minor Bachelor's degree program in the Faculties of Arts, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, or with a Minor in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics and Astronomy in the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science.

Can be combined with any one of the following Honours Minor BA Programs

African Studies; Anthropology; Business; Canadian Studies; Children Studies; Classical Studies; Classics; Creative Writing; Culture & Expression; East Asian Studies; Economics; English; European Studies; French Studies; Geography; German Studies; Health & Society; Hellenic Studies; History; Humanities; Human Rights & Equity Studies; Information Technology*; Italian Culture; Italian Studies; Jewish Studies; Labour Studies; Latin American & Caribbean Studies; Linguistics; Philosophy; Political Science; Portugese Studies; Race, Ethnicity & Indigeneity; Religious Studies; Russian; Russian Studies; Science and Technology Studies; Sexuality Studies; Social and Political Thought; Sociology; South Asian Studies; Spanish; Urban Studies; or Women's Studies

Honours (Minor) BA Program (30 credits)

The Honours Minor must be pursued jointly with an Honours BA program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

The Honours Minor in IDS comprises at least 30 credits including the following:

Mandatory Core Courses: 18 credits

  • AS/SOSC 1430 9.0 Introduction to International Development Studies*
  • AS/SOSC 2800 6.0 Development in Comparative and Historical Perspective
  • AS/SOSC 3800 6.0 Development Studies Research Methods

Areas of Concentration: 12 credits

6 credits in each of two chosen areas of concentration*

  • Area of concentration A: 6 credits
  • Area of concentration B: 6 credits

* at least 6 of these credits must be at the 3000 or 4000-level

* This 9-credit course fulfills General Education requirements as well as the IDS major requirement. All 9 credits count toward the 120 credits required for the Honours BA degree, but only 6 credits from this course will go toward the IDS major.

Note: Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies legislation requires that, in order to obtain an Honours BA (120 credits), students must take a total of at least 18 credits at the 4000-level, including at least 6 credits at the 4000-level in each Honours Major or Specialized Honours Major.

Can be combined with any one of the following Honours BA Programs:

Anthropology; Canadian Studies; Children's Studies; Classical Studies; Classics; Cognitive Science; Communication Studies; Creative Writing; Criminology; Culture & Expression; East Asian Studies; Economics; English; French Studies; Geography; German Studies; Health & Society; Hellenic Studies; History; Humanities; Human Rights & Equity Studies; Information Technology*; Italian Culture; Italian Studies; Jewish Studies; Labour Studies; Law & Society; Linguistics; Philosophy; Political Science; Professional Writing; Race, Ethnicity & Indigeneity; Religious Studies; Russian; Russian Studies; Science & Technology Studies; Sexuality Studies; Social Science; Sociology; Spanish; Urban Studies; or Women's Studies

BA Program (30 credits)

Mandatory Core Courses: 18 credits

  • AS/SOSC 1430 9.0 Introduction to International Development Studies*
  • AS/SOSC 2800 6.0 Development in Comparative and Historical Perspective
  • AS/SOSC 3800 6.0 Development Studies Research Methods

Areas of Concentration: 12 credits

6 credits in each of two chosen areas of concentration*

  • Area of concentration A: 6 credits
  • Area of concentration B: 6 credits

* at least 6 of these credits must be at the 3000 or 4000-level

* This 9-credit course fulfills General Education requirements as well as the IDS major requirement. All 9 credits count toward the 120 credits required for the Honours BA degree, but only 6 credits from this course will go toward the IDS major.