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.”
Liu Shi holds a master's degree from the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University (2018), as well as a bachelor's degree in economics from the Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) program at Yuanpei College, Peking University (2015).
She worked on the political economy of ICT industrial development in China in her master's study, and won the national graduate scholarship (2016) and Excellent Master Thesis Award (2018).
For her DPhil research, she seeks to understand how local government and business interact in a transitional economy, and how the dynamics and complexity of interaction affects firm innovation performance from a managerial perspective, and the policy implications for countries experiencing substantial structural transition in market and institutions. Her academic interests also lie in the broader context of technology development and the social-economic paradigm shift brought about by digitalization, big data and the rise of platforms.
Teaching assistant at Schwarzman College (2017) and School of Public Policy and Management (2016, 2017), Tsinghua University.