Regulations

DS 1.00            Preamble

Students reading courses offered by the Department of Development Studies should carefully look at the University and Faculty of Humanities General Regulations. The Departmental Special Regulations below are meant to supplement both the University and Faculty regulations.

DS 2.00            Programmes in the Programme of Development Studies

Students in the Programme of Development Studies shall read a Double Major in Development Studies and any other Subject approved by the Programme of Development Studies.

A Double Major may be made up of Development Studies and any one of the following subjects:

a)          In the Faculty of Humanities: African Languages and Literature, Literature in English, English Language, Theatre and Drama, French, Human Geography, History, Philosophy, Theology;

b)         In the Faculty of Social Sciences: Sociology/Social Anthropology, Political and Administrative Studies.

DS 2.01            Development Studies shall also be available to be read by those students intending to teach Development Studies at schools. Such students shall read the same programme of Development Studies as those reading for a BA Double Major.

DS 3.00            No student shall normally be allowed to register for programmes in any year until they have satisfied the programmes of the previous years. For clarity, students intending to register for Year Two shall satisfy all the requirements of Year One before registering for Year Two. The same holds mutatis mutandis for subsequent years.

DS 4.00            Special Regulations for Year 4 Research Projects (DS 401) in order to complete a Double Major in Development Studies, students shall be required to undertake an independent Research Project (DS 401) in their final year of registration in the Department.

DS 4.01            Requirements

In order to register for the Year 4 Research Project in Development Studies, a student shall have taken and passed the prerequisite Year 3 research methods courses (DS 301), and all other compulsory courses in the Year 3 programme of the Department.

DS 4.02            Regulations and Exemptions for Students Doing Research Projects in Development Studies and Another Major

A student taking a Double Major in Development Studies and another subject requiring the submission of a Research Project may apply, at registration, to be exempted from the Research Project in Development Studies (DS 401). This means that a student who opts for this exemption,

i)    shall register in only one Research Project course (in the other subject than Development Studies);

ii)    shall apply in writing to the Department, either at or before registration, to be exempted from the DS 401 requirement;

iii)   upon approval of the application, the student shall be required to take the equivalent course weight of Year 4 Development Studies courses (or other courses approved by the Department) to make up for the Research Project.

In order to qualify for exemption from DS 401, a student shall still be required to have fulfilled the prerequisite conditions for registering in the Year 4 Development Studies Research Project.

DS 4.03            Regulations on the Conduct of Research Projects

i)    At the end of Year 3, students shall submit topics of their proposed research to the Department through the Year 4 Research Projects Co-ordinator, and shall then be assigned a Research Supervisor.

ii)    It shall be the responsibility of the student to establish and maintain regular contact with the Supervisor throughout the full period of registration in DS 401. The Supervisor shall make sure he / she is always available for scheduled contact with the student.

iii)   The student shall meet with the Supervisor on a regular basis to report on his / her progress, discuss problems and submit written drafts of his/her report.

iv)   The student and the Supervisor shall maintain a record of these meetings, and submit it to the Department or the Faculty of Humanities as and when required.

v)   The Supervisor shall maintain a full record of meetings with the student and report regularly to the Department on the progress of the student.

DS 4.04            Submission of Final Research Reports

i)    Upon completion of the research, the student shall submit the final written and bound report to the Department.

ii)    The final day of submission of written Research Reports (DS 401) shall be the last day of March in the Second Semester of the academic year in which the student is registered in the Research Project course. in the case where the last day of March falls either on a public/University holiday or a weekend, the next official working day immediately following shall be the deadline for submission.

DS 4.05            Extensions of Deadline for Submission of DS 401 Reports

i)    In the event that a student is unable to submit the final Research report by the scheduled deadline, he / she shall apply in writing to the Department for an extension to enable him / her to finish the report. This application shall be submitted to the Department before the day of the official deadline (March 31).

ii)    In applying for an extension of deadline, the student shall FIRST, indicate his / her progress in the completion of the Research Project; and SECOND, outline the circumstances that prevent him / her from completing his / her work by the scheduled deadline.

iii)   Such applications shall be accompanied by a letter of support from the student's Research Supervisor.

iv)   Upon approval of a student's application for extension of deadline to submit the final Research report, the Department shall also indicate a new deadline for the completion of the work.

v)   The new deadline shall normally not be scheduled beyond the first day of Examinations ending the same academic year.

vi)   Further extensions beyond the second deadline shall normally not be granted. This means that only one extension shall be granted for a student to submit a written final DS 401 report.

DS 4.06            Assessment of Research Projects

i)    All Research reports shall be assessed together with other courses at the end of the academic year, and shall be submitted to the External Examiner together with other written Examinations.

ii)    Two internal Examiners (one of whom shall be the candidate's Research Supervisor) shall read and grade each Research Report and submit the marks to the Department for consideration. The grade agreed among the two Internal Examiners and the External Examiner shall stand as the mark of the student for the course DS 401, and shall be submitted to the Faculty of Humanities and to Senate for approval.

DS 4.07                  Failing Grades for DS 401

i)    A candidate who, upon assessment by the three Examiners attains a mark below the University passing mark of 50, shall be required to repeat and resubmit the Research Project for examination in the following academic year.

DS 4.08            Supplementary Revisions of DS 401 Reports

i)    A student shall be allowed to revise and submit DS 401 reports as supplementary papers only if

a)    they have obtained a grade between 45 and 49 in the original submission;

      b)   all the three Examiners are agreed that the original report is of sufficient quality as to benefit from minor revisions; and

      c)    the Examiners are also agreed that the report demonstrates enough promise that the required revisions shall be completed in the period before the next University supplementary Examinations.

ii)    The Department shall then advise the student of the revisions to be made to their report; and

iii)   The student shall be given a deadline of the first day of Supplementary Examinations to have effected the revisions. Failure by the student to meet this deadline shall result in a failing grade in the course.

DS 5.00            General

DS 5.01            For methods of assessment see the General Humanities Regulations.

DS 5.02            Not all the courses listed in the syllabus will necessarily be offered in any one year. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they have fulfilled all the course requirements at registration, and to ensure that they register in only those courses that the Department of Development Studies offers in any particular year.

M.A. IN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

Programme Objectives:

To produce a graduate who:

(i)                  is able to grasp, synthesise development debates and perspectives and form independent position thereon;

(ii)                can provide informed advice on development issues and problems

(iii)               understands the workings of government, independent and international institutions working in the field of development and the relations arising therefrom;

(iv)              can service government, independent and international institutions working in the field of development;

(v)                can develop comprehensive agenda for further investigation and understanding of development problems.

Qualifications for Entry:

i.                     Minimum of Second Class, First Division (II(i)) in relevant Social Science or Humanities subjects or a combination of both.  OR

ii.                   A minimum of Second Class, Second Division (II(ii)) BA, with 65 % Mean Score in Development Studies courses at BA level. OR

iii.                  Equivalent qualifications from other institutions as might be approved by the Department and the Faculty of Humanities.

Assessment:

1.       the programme shall be examined by coursework and research paper of about 30,000 words

2.       to graduate a candidate should obtain at least 50 % in all core courses and two optional courses

3.       Faculty of Humanities rules for examinations shall apply.

Programme Regulations:

i.                     Duration: minimum one calendar and maximum two academic years full time; provided that an extension shall be granted by the Department in deserving cases.

ii.          Students shall take five full courses plus a research paper

iii.         The total contact hours including core and optional courses shall be 48 CH

iv.         The research paper shall be about 30, 000 words

v.                   The maximum number of contact hours for each course be 5 Credit Hours, comprising one 2-hour lecture and one 3-hour seminar per week per semester.