The department is a lively community that is recognised internationally as one of the top centres for research and teaching in development studies.

Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our courses offer excellent training for a career in international development or for advanced study, and attract students of the highest calibre from across the world.
“I had waited for 10 years before my dream to study in Oxford became a reality and the experience was truly beyond expectation”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.
“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”
We are delighted to announce that former President of Colombia and Nobel Peace Laureate Juan Manuel Santos has been appointed Visiting Professor in Development at ODID for a period of three years, with a focus on reducing multidimensional poverty and building peace on a shared planet.
During this period, President Santos will conduct independent work on poverty reduction and peace building with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) as well as via interaction with the vibrant academic community of the department and University at large. In his capacity as Visiting Professor, President Santos will participate and share his experience as well as enjoying space for his own reflection and writing.
President Santos is a distinguished public figure and an influential leader, well known for his role in the recent Colombian peace process. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 for 'his resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end'. During his term in office, which has just closed, President Santos took leadership in global efforts to reduce multidimensional poverty, including co-founding the Multidimensional Poverty Peer Network (MPPN), a South-South initiative of policy-makers working to fight poverty in all its forms and dimensions, launched in Oxford in 2013 by its Secretariat, OPHI.
To mark the onset of President Santos’ Visiting Professorship at the University of Oxford, the department and OPHI are pleased to announce a distinguished public event on 12 November. President Santos will speak on 'Reducing Poverty and Building Peace in Colombia: Inextricably Linked Processes', focusing on the role of robust leadership in dealing with these two highly complex and interlinked issues.
This event will be free and open to the public.