Master's Programme in International Development, Education, and Sustainabilities Programme description

The Master’s Programme in International Development, Education, and Sustainabilities is a study programme that provides qualifications needed for work in the broad field of international development, including work on development programs and projects focused on economic and social development and/or on education and/or on ecological sustainability, at multiple levels of scale (local, national, regional, international). Such work extends to educators, to policy analysts / policy makers and practitioners, working within the INGO sector or other agencies, with a particular focus on the Global South and / or on Global North-South dynamics. The programme also qualifies students for admission to relevant PhD programmes, for example the PhD Programme in Educational Sciences at OsloMet.

Students who complete the programme will be awarded the degree Master in International Development, Education, and Sustainabilities.

The target group for the programme is broad, including those with a background in development studies, in teaching / education, and in ecological sustainability; with an interest in the intersections between these fields.  

Reference is made to the Regulations relating to Admission to Studies at OsloMet. 

To apply for the Master’s Programme in International Development, Education, and Sustainabilities program, you need either: 

• a bachelor’s degree in education: either in early childhood education, preschool, primary / elementary school, secondary school, higher education, pedagogy, or equivalent; or

• a bachelor’s degree in development studies or other relevant social science disciplines (other relevant social science disciplines include human geography, sociology, social anthropology, political science, social economics, history and area studies that cover developing regions or other development-related areas).

In addition, you need: 

• an average grade of at least C (according to the ECTS grading scale) on your bachelor's degree; and
• proof of your English proficiency

Applicants pre-selected through the NORHED funded CENSU programme (or equivalent) may also qualify with a bachelor’s degree in disciplines other than the above, subject to special review by OsloMet and partnering universities (for example a bachelor’s degree in the sciences more broadly, relevant to program themes of environmentally sustainable development). These candidates will compete in an additional quota and be selected as a result of a spesific selection process at partnering universities.

After completing the programme, the candidate is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The candidate                             

• has broad knowledge of and insight into various educational, social, economic, political, and ecological dynamics, in relation to questions of international development in the Global South. 
• has in-depth knowledge of and is capable of applying social science research methodology.
• has knowledge of how issues in the broad field of international education and development can be analysed, and is capable of critically assessing the history, traditions, and practices of disciplinary perspectives within the interdisciplinary field. 

Skills

The candidate

• is capable of applying and analysing multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to studies of international development, education, and sustainabilities. 
• is capable of critically analysing and assessing various issues linked to the relationship between education, development, and sustainabilities, and of conducting research studies of relevant connections across these fields. 
• is capable of contributing to the research knowledge base within these fields. 
• is capable of developing and articulating informed, and critically reflective, statements about relevant issues and topics addressed in the program.

General competence

The candidate

• is capable of analysing relevant academic issues and undertaking advanced work tasks and projects related to the interdisciplinary field of study.
• is capable of disseminating their own research in written and oral form, in accordance with relevant academic forms and standards.  
• is capable of contributing to innovation and development in their particular area of study.

The master's degree programme consists of five courses that address the need for common content and allow for some elective specialisation and in-depth studies.

Courses 1, 2, 4 and 5 are common to all students. Course 3 consists of two elective courses: 3a and 3b. Students will select either course 3a or course 3b prior to the second semester. Students can only select one of the elective courses. All classes are taught in English, and all coursework requirements and assessment tasks, including the written master’s thesis and oral examination, are to be completed in English.

• Course 1, first semester: FLKM4110 Introduction to International Development, Education, and Sustainabilities 15 ECTS Credits.

• Course 2, first semester: FLKM4210 Knowledge production and the Global South, 15 ECTS Credits. 

• Course 3a, second semester: FLKM4310 Education for Sustainable Development, 15 ECTS Credits; OR

• Course 3b, second semester: FLKM4320 Development Studies: Power and Inequality, 15 ECTS Credits.

• Course 4, second semester: FLKM4410 Research Methodology, 15 ECTS Credits.

• Course 5, third and fourth semester: FLKM5000 Master's Thesis, 60 ECTS Credits.

Progress requirements 

All the courses in the first year of the programme must be passed and all required coursework must be approved before the students can submit the master’s thesis and take the oral exam as the final assessment. This applies for students starting the programme until/including the academic year 2022-2023.

The following applies for students starting the programme in the academic year 2023-2024 and onwards: Students must have passed all of the courses in the first year of their study programme (FLKM4110, FLKM4210, FLKM4310/FLKM4320, and FLKM4410) before they can commence the course FLKM5000. 

In very special cases and by application, partial deviation from these requirements may be considered.

The programme is organised as a two-year, full-time, programme of study. The master’s degree programme emphasises independence, process and progress. Therefore, teaching varies between lectures, seminars, presentations and supervision. Student active learning and discussions in large or small groups are central, as well as writing essays/scholarly papers. Project descriptions of the master’s thesis are prepared and presented at thesis seminars in the second semester. The independent research project is carried out in the second year under academic supervision. 

Students are encouraged to be open and humble in relation to new fields of knowledge. By challenging students to use their own experience, different theoretical frames of reference, and place perspectives in new contexts, the programme will help to enhance the visibility and value of focusing on the relationship between education, international development, and sustainabilities. The programme’s interdisciplinary approach will make the students proficient at understanding and analysing specific topics in a broader and interdisciplinary context.

The study programme focuses on international phenomena, systems, and relationships, and the study environment is international with students recruited from all over the world. The composition of the student group and the fact that classes are taught in English help the students to gain international experience and international perspectives.  

In addition to the international academic environment throughout the programme, the students are encouraged to conduct fieldwork in the Global South, if feasible and appropriate, and to include an explicit Global South (North-South dynamic) dimension in their research project. International fieldwork may also be combined with a study exchange stay at a university abroad, where appropriate.

There is a requirement of at least 80% attendance in all first year courses. The programme emphasises student participation, dialogue, and cooperative learning, which depends upon attendance and active participation in class. The composition of the student group, with both international students and students from Norway, as well as various academic and professional backgrounds, is an excellent resource for our international and intercultural learning, which are core values in the programme. The rich and important opportunities that this offers is lost if students do not attend classes.

The coursework requirements are described in the individual course descriptions. All absence, irrespective of reason, is included when compulsory attendance is approved. In special cases where this requirement is unreasonable in relation to the student, documented sickness absence, for example, can be assessed and, if applicable, compensatory measures can be agreed. Absence in excess of the limit may be made up for by a written assignment by agreement with the person responsible for the course.

The required coursework must be submitted/completed by the stipulated deadlines. Absence for a valid reason (documented for example with a medical certificate) does not exempt students from meeting the coursework requirements. Students who fail to submit/meet the coursework requirements by the deadline, and have approved grounds for this failure, can be given an extended deadline. A new deadline for submitting/completing required coursework must be agreed with the lecturer in question in each individual case. 

The required coursework is assessed as approved/not approved. Students who submit required coursework/meet the coursework requirements by the deadline, but whose work is assessed as not approved, will be given up to two opportunities to resubmit/redo the work. In such cases, the students themselves must agree with the lecturer on a re-assessment of the coursework in question. 

A variety of assessment activities are scheduled as formative ‘work requirements’ and summative assignments and exams. Specific information is provided in the individual course descriptions.

Rights and obligations in connection with exams

The students' rights and obligations are set out in the Regulations Relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet. The regulations describe, among other things, the conditions for resit/rescheduled exams, the right to appeal and what is considered cheating in an exam. It is the students’ responsibility to register for any resit / rescheduled exams.

Grade scale

A, Excellent: The candidate demonstrates sound analytical understanding. The candidate demonstrates excellent knowledge and an excellent overview of the academic content of the course. The candidate demonstrates excellent skills in applying this knowledge.

B, Very good: The candidate demonstrates very good analytical understanding. The candidate demonstrates very good knowledge and a very good overview of the academic content of the course. The candidate demonstrate very good skills in applying this knowledge.

C, Good: The candidate demonstrates analytical ability and understanding. The candidate demonstrates good knowledge and a good overview of the academic content of the course. The candidate masters the application of this knowledge.

D, Satisfactory: The candidate demonstrates a certain degree of analytical ability and understanding. The candidate demonstrates some knowledge and a certain overview of the academic content of the course. The candidate masters the application of this knowledge to a certain extent.

E, Sufficient: The candidate demonstrates some insight into the academic content of the course, but the candidate's insight is incomplete and characterised by limited insight into connections in the course. The candidate masters the application of this knowledge to a limited extent.

F, Fail: The candidate demonstrates large and obvious gaps in the academic content of the course. The candidate demonstrates little insight into connections in the subject. The candidate demonstrates little ability to apply this knowledge. 

Approved by the department board on 13 December 2002 Approved by the board of HiOA on 8 May 2003

Revision approved by the Academic Affairs Committee of HiOA on 12 December 2013

Editorial amendments made on 20 January and 11 April 2016

Revision was approved by the authority of the chair of the Academic Affairs Committee on 29 February 2017

Revision approved by the Academic Affairs Committee on 12 October 2017

Editorial amendments made on 20 January and 11 April 2016

Revision approved by the authority of the chair of the Academic Affairs Committee on 30 April 2019

Revision approved by the Academic Affairs Committee on 26 February 2020

Revision approved by the authority of the chair of the Academic Affairs Committee on 14 October 2020

Valid from 15 October 2020 (admission requirements) and from the academic year 2021-2022

Revision approved by the Academic Affairs Committee on 10 October 2022

Valid from 15 October 2022 (admission requirements) and from the academic year 2023-2024