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.”
Rachel has a long-term interest in development, equality, and peace, and what policy, balance of power, and political economy is required to achieve those outcomes. In addition to the doctorate, she is a consultant at the European Institute of Peace, working on dialogue projects in support of the Afghan Peace Process. Prior to both, she spent three years as a Foreign Policy Analyst at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a diverse range of topics, including conflict, development, and economic engagement in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. She also has experience in the NGO sector working on grassroots peacebuilding programming and research in Afghanistan and South Sudan.
She has a Masters in Global Governance and Diplomacy from the University of Oxford, an Honours degree in Economics, and a Bachelor of Social Science in Politics and Economics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She is South African
Political Economy, Development and Aid, Conflict, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy and Peacemaking, Inequality and Economic Policy. Regionally, I am particularly interested in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa, and have extensive experience working on and in Afghanistan, Israel-Palestine, South Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire.