BSc in Development Economics

Course Overview

The BSc in Development Economics at the London School of Law, Politics and Economics is a three-year UK Level 6 honours degree building applied economic capability for development contexts. Part-time and accelerated routes are available, and the syllabus is informed by the analytic focus of the Overseas Development Institute, the Institute of Development Studies, the Royal Economic Society and the World Bank development-economics programme.

By graduation you will have run impact-evaluation designs, produced country economic memoranda, defended a live policy pitch at a mock donor-review board, and completed a placement year in a think tank, donor agency, NGO or research institute. The final-year dissertation defends original empirical or analytical work in development economics.

Every intake of the BSc in Development Economics joins the same LSLPE weekly rhythm, whether on-campus, online or by distance learning, and students are placed in small named cohorts from week one. Reading is drawn wherever possible from primary UK sources including ONS releases, Bank of England Monetary Policy Reports and OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlooks, giving honours students a direct working relationship with the evidence base used by the Royal Economic Society and the Government Economic Service. Assessed work rewards clean writing and structured argument over volume, and tutors emphasise the everyday drafting skills that honours practitioners use in first practice.

Key Features

• Syllabus informed by ODI, IDS and Royal Economic Society development-economics research.
• Placement year in a donor agency, NGO, think tank or research institute.
• Workshops on RCTs, difference-in-differences and IV methods for development.
• Case-room seminars on live low and middle-income economy questions.
• Named programme-tutor support with active development-economics research.
• Guest sessions from serving development economists and NGO analysts.
• Dissertation on an empirical or applied development-economics question.
• Named tutor written feedback on every graded submission with an interim tutor review at the halfway mark.
• Structured induction reading list drawn from primary UK economic sources including ONS releases, Bank of England Monetary Policy Reports and OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlooks.

What You Will Learn

• Apply growth, poverty and inequality frameworks to development economies.
• Design impact evaluations using RCT and quasi-experimental methods.
• Analyse World Bank, IMF and ODI country reports.
• Model fiscal, monetary and exchange-rate policy in developing contexts.
• Assess aid effectiveness and public expenditure reviews.
• Draft country economic memoranda and briefing notes.
• Read comparative political-economy literature on development.
• Build a dissertation from micro or macro development data.
• Read published UK economic evidence sessions, working papers and reports at practitioner standard.
• Manage timed writing and oral defence under seminar and committee-style conditions.

Who This Course Is For

• School leavers targeting development economics or international policy.
• Career changers from NGO, donor or public-sector development roles.
• Working researchers seeking a full honours BSc in development economics.
• International applicants wanting a UK-recognised BSc calibrated to ODI practice.
• Public-affairs officers building analytical depth on development dossiers.
• Applicants moving into the degree route from a UK Access to HE Diploma, a mature-applicant portfolio or a related LSLPE credential.

Career Pathways

• Development Economist in an ODI-adjacent research team.
• Government Economist support role in international-development teams.
• Economic Policy Analyst at a donor agency or multilateral body.
• Trade Economist in a policy or industry body covering development.
• Research Economist at a development-focused research institute.
• Investment Analyst in impact investing or emerging markets.
• Economic Consultant to development NGOs and donor agencies.
• Labour Market Analyst in a development-focused team.
• Support-role progression across City firms, government departments and consultancy teams and economic-policy adjacent teams in central London.

The LSLPE careers service coordinates placements with development NGOs, donor agencies and think tanks concentrated in central London. The service runs at least one careers day each academic year specifically for degree students on the BSc in Development Economics, connecting them with employers across the Bank of England, HM Treasury, City firms, government departments and consultancy teams and the wider LSLPE alumni network.

Entry Requirements

• A-levels (or equivalent) at BBB or above, OR a UK Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at Level 3.
• GCSE English at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C or equivalent.
• IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
• Two academic references and a personal statement on your development-economics interests.
• International applicants receive dedicated visa and accommodation support from LSLPE admissions.

Why Study at LSLPE

The London School of Law, Politics and Economics teaches development economics within a short tube ride of the ODI, Chatham House, the FCDO, the London-based development NGO ecosystem and the Royal Economic Society. BSc students engage directly with the economists running the same development analyses their syllabus interprets.

Every intake, on-campus or remote, joins the same weekly seminar structure with named programme-tutor support, and curriculum alignment is refreshed annually against Royal Economic Society and ODI-aligned guidance.

Study skills teaching is embedded across the BSc in Development Economics, covering scholarly referencing, timed writing under committee-style time pressure and the reading of published UK economic materials. International applicants receive additional English-language coaching from the LSLPE admissions team, and mature applicants without recent formal study join a bridge-week before term begins to consolidate written English and note-taking habits. Tutors provide named written feedback on every submission, and every graded piece is reviewed by a second tutor for consistency across cohorts and study modes. Students shadow LSLPE tutors on structured observation sessions at Bank of England open events, IFS briefings and Treasury committee sessions where relevant, and are encouraged to follow live UK debate through the Financial Times, the Economist and City research-note ecosystem.

Apply for BSc in Development Economics

Applications for the BSc in Development Economics are reviewed on a rolling basis and admissions responds within one working day. Apply for the LSLPE Bachelor's programme, placement year in chambers, government or a think tank included. International applicants receive dedicated visa and accommodation guidance from the LSLPE admissions team throughout the enrolment cycle, and progression maps into an LSLPE Master’s programme are set out in writing at offer stage. Enrol Now.