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.”
Haily Tran is a doctoral candidate at ODID and the recipient of the Merton-ODID Scholarship. Her research interest is at the intersection of environmental sustainability and human-centred development, particularly through the lens of agriculture, food, and the informal economy. Her research aims to explore the dynamics of shared values and value creation in promoting a more sustainable agrifood system, but placing the natural environment and marginalised labour (small holder farmers, market vendors, etc.) at the centre rather than market incentives.
Prior to Oxford, Haily had received a Master in City Planning from MIT and a Bachelor degree in Environmental Science from Brown University. Her research and consulting work during those years covered a broad range of topics: climate-resilient housing development in Vietnam, urban informality in Argentina and South Africa, rural livelihoods in Botswana, and corporate social responsibility in France. She currently manages a sustainable agriculture action fund in Vietnam and hope to combine the DPhil academic work with this activism pathway.
Sustainable development, Food system, Informality, Urban-rural linkages