International Development Studies

• General Information 
• Programs of Study

Faculty

• John Ball, Professor (English)
• Murshed Chowdhury, Associate Professor (Economics)
• Omar Faruque, Assistant Professor (Sociology) Rohan Ghatage, Assistant Professor (English)
• Anna Hamling, Professor (Culture & Media Studies)
• Cathy Holtmann, Professor (Sociology)
• Stefanie Hunt-Kennedy, Professor (Historical Studies)
• Sophie Lavoie, Professor (Culture and Media Studies)
• Koumari Mitra, Professor (Anthropology)
• Constantine E. Passaris, Professor (Economics)
• Noah Pleshet, Associate Professor (Anthropology)
• Lucia Tramonte, Professor (Sociology)
• Daniel Tubb, Associate Professor (Anthropology)
• Şule Yaylaci, Assistant Professor (Political Science)

General Information

The International Development Studies program allows students to explore a wide range of themes from both contemporary and historical global and cross-cultural perspectives, including inequality, poverty, social justice, human security, health, gender, rural and urban issues, conflict, cultural change, climate change, environment, globalization, and economic development. Learn from experts from across the Faculty of Arts. Study these topics at introductory and advanced levels, from a variety of geographic areas—including Canada, Latin America, Africa, Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East—and through different theoretical and disciplinary approaches. Combine courses from our program with options from different disciplines.

 The program encourages students to gain global experience by participating in UNB’s travel and exchange programs, internships, and experiential learning opportunities, as well as other optional global learning experiences. The program is an excellent complement for students from other programs who wish to add a global dimension to their studies, and for students returning from travel study, exchanges, and experiential learning experiences. The program emphasizes both theory and practice, preparing graduates to contribute to and pursue meaningful careers in a global context.

 With a focus on global contexts and local issues, our program can lead to opportunities in international development, public service, law, journalism, non-profit organizations, academia, and the private sector—locally, nationally, and internationally.

 Inquiries about the International Development Studies program should be directed to the Program Coordinator, ids@unb.ca. 

Program of Study

Students interested in our program have the following options:

- Joint Honours in International Development Studies
- Double Major in International Development Studies
- Minor in International Development Studies

The Joint Honours program is designed for students who want a concentrated course of study in IDS, while pursuing a second Joint Honours in another discipline in the Faculty of Arts. The Double Major in IDS allows a student to complement a second Double Major in another Faculty of Arts discipline. The Minor is intended for students pursuing programs in any discipline within the Faculty of Arts, or within other Faculties.

While the Minor program can be taken by any UNB student, courses taken for another degree cannot be double counted between an IDS Minor, Major, or Honours program and another program.

The Double Major and Joint Honours programs may be combined with complementary fields from other UNB faculties. See the BA General Regulations (e.g., BAA, BAS, BA/BCS, BA/BPhil, BA/BSc).

Program Requirements

Joint Honours 

The Joint Honours program is designed for students who want a concentrated course of study in IDS, while pursuing a second Joint Honours in another discipline in the Faculty of Arts. Students in the Joint Honours program must complete at least 10 courses (30 ch) of IDS courses, six courses (18 ch) of which must be upper-level IDS courses. Joint Honours students must successfully complete:

 Requirements

• IDS 1103 International Development and Global Inequality (3 ch)
• One course (3 ch) from the approved Lower-Level Course list
• Four courses (12 ch) from the Upper-Level Core Courses list
• IDS 4900 Honours Thesis (6 ch)^*
• Two courses (6 ch) from any approved Lower or Upper-Level Course list, including Optional Global Learning Opportunities

 ^*If a student is completing a Joint Honours in International Development Studies and any other Arts program requiring a 6 ch Honours thesis, that course may replace IDS 4900, in which case the student must take 2 courses (6 ch) from the Upper-Level Core or Elective course lists, including the Optional Global Learning Opportunities. Prior approval from the Undergraduate Honours Advisor must be obtained.

Double Majors

A Double Major is a degree option that allows a student to complement a Double Major in another Faculty of Arts discipline with a Double Major in IDS. Students studying for a Double Major must complete at least 10 courses (30 ch), six courses (18 ch) of which must be upper level. Double Major students must include the following in their program:

 Requirements

• IDS 1103 International Development and Global Inequality (3 ch)
• One course (3 ch) from the approved Lower-Level Courses list
• Four courses (12 ch) from the Upper-Level Core Courses list
• Two courses (6 ch) of any approved upper-level courses, including the Upper-Level Core Courses list, the Upper-Level Elective Courses list, and Optional Global Learning Opportunities
• Two courses (6 ch) from any approved Lower- or Upper-Level Courses list, including Optional Global Learning Opportunities

Minors

A Minor in IDS is a program in development studies for students in any faculty or school wishing to complement their primary degree. Students studying for a Minor must complete at least eight courses (24 ch), four courses (12 ch) of which must be at the upper level. Students perusing a Minor must include the following in their program:

 Requirements

• IDS 1103 International Development and Global Inequality (3 ch)
• One course (3 ch) from approved Lower-Level Courses list
• Four courses (12 ch) from Upper-Level Core Courses list
• Two courses (6 ch) from any approved Lower- or Upper-Level Courses list, including Optional Global Learning Opportunities

Admission Requirements

Admission to the Double Major program is open to students who have completed IDS 1103 and 1 course (3 ch) of Lower-Level IDS Courses with an average of 2.0 (C). A student may declare their intention to complete a Double Major, in consultation with an academic advisor in the Faculty of Arts and the IDS Program Coordinator, at any time during their degree, but normally by the time they have completed 30 ch. An academic advisor will communicate official requests for Double Major declarations to the Registrar’s Office. Once students have declared, they must contact the IDS Program Coordinator for advising regarding the requirements for their Double Major.

Admission to the Honours Program is open to any student who has successfully completed 60 credit hours towards the BA degree, including IDS 1103 and one course (3 ch) from the approved Lower-Level IDS Courses list; who has a minimum GPA of 2.3 (C+); and who receives permission from the Program Coordinator.

Students considering International Development Studies as part of a Double Major or Joint Honours program should consult with the Program Coordinator. 

Grade Requirements

Students may count courses towards the fulfilment of their program requirements for an IDS Double Major or IDS Minor only if they receive a grade of C (2.0) or better.

Students must achieve a grade of B (3.0) in a course for it to count for an IDS Joint Honours degree. They must maintain an average of 3.0 (B) in the courses they count for the IDS Joint Honours program and a GPA of 2.5 in “non-required” courses they are counting towards the 120 ch of their degree.

Required Courses

IDS 1103 International Development and Global Inequality (3 ch)

All students pursuing our program must complete IDS 1103 International Development and Global Inequality.

IDS 4900 Honours Thesis in International Development Studies (6 ch)

This course is open only to Honours Students.

This Honours Thesis course is required only for students in the Joint Honours program who do not write an Honours Thesis in the other discipline of their Joint Honours program. Students completing an Honours Thesis in another program will instead be required to complete 6 ch from the Upper-Level Core or Elective course lists, including Optional Global Learning Opportunities. Students who choose to complete an Honours thesis in another discipline and one in IDS cannot have the same supervisor for both.

Ordinarily, in the spring of their third year, and before registration in IDS 4900 for their final year, a student must identify an Honours Thesis supervisor from the list of affiliated faculty members in consultation with the IDS Program Coordinator and develop a thesis proposal with that faculty member. A copy of the thesis proposal must be provided to the Program Coordinator.

Courses

Courses in our program are delivered by departments across the Faculty of Arts. In the Faculty of Arts, lower-level courses (1000- and 2000-level) introduce students to a discipline or area of study. Upper-level courses (3000-, 4000-, and 5000-level) are advanced courses and seminars, and many are open only to senior students who meet prerequisite requirements. Students should plan their course selection carefully to be able to meet these requirements. Students may choose according to their interests, provided they meet the minimum program requirements, as described above.

 In the Faculty of Arts, courses are offered on a rotational basis, so availability changes each year. Each spring, the Program Coordinator prepares a list of IDS courses based on the following year’s offerings and posts it to the IDS website, revising it as needed. With the Program Coordinator’s approval, other courses with significant content on global or development issues may also be counted.

Approved Lower-Level Courses

These lower-level courses provide an interdisciplinary foundation for studying issues related to global development, introducing key concepts and perspectives from across the faculty.

All IDS students must take IDS 1103 International Development and Global Inequality.

In addition, students must complete one course (3 ch) from the approved lower-level (1000- or 2000-level) list of courses related to global development from any department in the Faculty of Arts, either from the list below, with an IDS code, from the list generated annually for the IDS brochure and website by the Program Coordinator, or any other course with significant content on global or development issues approved by the Program Coordinator.

These lower-level courses dedicate a portion of their content to themes central to understanding international development and global issues and are recommended for Minors, Majors, and Honours students.

IDS 2103 Institutions, Practices, and Perspectives on International Development
ANTH 1001 Intro to Sociocultural Anth
ANTH 1003 Environment and Climate Change
ANTH 1007 Work, Money, and Debt
ANTH 2011 Environment and Infrastructure
ANTH 2504 Intro to Medical Anthropology
ANTH/SOCI 2801 Food and Culture
CCS 2050 Pilgrimage Across Cultures
CRIM 2009 Human Trafficking
CRIM/SOCI 2563 Violence and Society
ECON 1013 Principles of Microeconomics
ECON 1014 Princ of Micro: Critical Perspectives
ECON 1023 Principles of Macroeconomics
ECON 1024 Princ of Macro: Critical Perspectives
HIST 1308 Decolonization Today
HIST 1415 Indigenous Ppl in Pop Culture
HIST 1615 A Global History of Uprisings
HIST 1625 The Spy in History
HIST 1825 Civil Wars Since 1900
HIST 2403 Understanding 'America'
HIST 2453 Cold War Histories
HIST 2603 Indigenous and Early Colonial Caribbean History
HIST 2604 Revolution and Emancipation in the Caribbean
PHIL 1101 Critical Thinking
POLS 1403 Contemporary Political Ideas & Ideologies
POLS 1803 Politics of Climate Change
POLS 1903 Intro to Politics
POLS 2303 Politics of the Developing World
POLS 2703 Intro to International Relations
SOCI 1503 Sociological Perspectives
SOCI 2433 Social Problems
SOCI 2575 Terrorism

Approved Upper-Level Courses

These upper-level courses enable students to engage in advanced study of global issues from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students must complete the number of upper-level (3000-, 4000-, or 5000-level) credit hours specified by their IDS program, as outlined above.

Eligible courses may come from any department in the Faculty of Arts and may be cross-listed with IDS, selected from the list below, drawn from the list generated annually for the IDS brochure and website by the Program Coordinator, chosen from the Global Learning Opportunities listed below, or approved by the Program Coordinator.

Students are encouraged to consult their Program Coordinator when planning their degree.

Upper-Level Core Courses

These upper-level core courses dedicate a portion of their content to themes central to understanding issues related to international development in a contemporary or historical content. They are recommended for students pursuing a Joint Honours, Double Major, or Minor in IDS.

Optional Global Learning Opportunities

As part of their upper-level core requirements, students may count two courses (6 ch) (or three courses [9 ch] with approval of their Program Coordinator) from the following list of Optional Global Learning Opportunities towards their Upper-Level Core Courses. They include experiential learning, research, outgoing exchange, language acquisition, and other experiences related to their program as part of their upper-level core courses. These optional opportunities may complement coursework, deepen understanding of global issues, and provide practical, hands-on learning beyond the classroom. By participating, students develop cross-cultural skills, apply theoretical knowledge in real-world contexts, and explore social, political, and environmental challenges shaping communities worldwide.

Options include:

• 6 ch of ARTS 3000, ARTS 3001, ARTS 3002, or ARTS 4000 Arts Internship, with a placement relevant to the program in New Brunswick, under an academic supervisor who is a member of the IDS Faculty Committee, with Program Coordinator approval.
• 6 ch of IDS 4003 with a community-based service project, government summer work-study program, other related employment opportunity, or overseas development initiative, under an academic supervisor who is a member of the IDS Faculty Committee, with Program Coordinator approval.
• Two courses (6 ch) from UNB study abroad, exchange, or field school programs relevant to global development, with Program Coordinator approval.
• Two courses (6 ch) from study abroad or field school programs at another Canadian university, taken with a letter of permission, transferred to the Faculty of Arts, and relevant to global development, with Program Coordinator approval.
• Two courses (6 ch) taken internationally, transferred to the Faculty of Arts, and relevant to global development, with Program Coordinator approval.
• Two courses (6 ch) of research-based work-study on topics related to the Global South, conducted under faculty supervision (e.g., within a lab or research project), for credit, with Program Coordinator approval.
• Two courses (6 ch) of upper-level language courses beyond the introductory level, taken at UNB or transferred to the Faculty of Arts, with Program Coordinator approval. (Students pursuing the Minor requirements, may not count upper-level language courses towards their Minor.)
• Other equivalent opportunities, for credit, with the approval of the Program Coordinator.

Upper-Level Elective Courses

These upper-level elective courses dedicate a portion of their content to themes central to understanding issues related to international development in a contemporary or historical content, and are recommended for students pursuing a Joint Honours, Double Major, or Minor in IDS.