World Development Studies

Lam Family College of Business

Dean: Dr. Eugene Sivadas

World Development Studies Program

HSS Building, Room 140
(415) 338-2108
Coordinator: Anoshua Chaudhuri, Professor of Economics

Program Scope

The field of world development studies looks at the comprehensive transformations that have been brought to human societies across the globe by the spread of the industrial revolution. Approximately one-third of the world's population enjoys a higher material standard of living due to industrialization, whereas two-thirds are in relative poverty. The likelihood, means, and consequences of closing this gap provide the central foci of world development studies. Since this social transformation affects all aspects of human existence, all of the social science disciplines devote important efforts to understanding it.

Issues Central to World Development Studies

• How did the world distribution of income and wealth become so unequal and will or must it stay that way?
• Can economic development occur in a non-Western way?
• What is the role of grassroots organizations and movements in social change?
• In development strategy, how much market and how much planning?
• How does the development process impact women differently than men?
• Are industrialization and environmental health compatible?
• Is economic development necessarily associated with democracy?
• What does global change do to existing cultures and psyches?

Career Outlook

Though the minor is not intended as complete career preparation, it certainly serves as an introduction to a growing career field. There are tens of thousands of development professionals working for governments, the United Nations and its affiliated agencies, a multitude of non-governmental organizations, development banks, universities, and private companies around the world. The minor enables the student to discover a major field of employment as well as scholarly activity.

World Development Studies Minor — 22 – 28 units

All courses must be approved by a faculty advisor, who should be contacted as soon as a student decides to declare the minor. All student's programs must include courses with at least three different departmental prefixes.  Substitutions are possible with an advisor's approval.

A minimum of 6 upper-division units are required to complete the minor.

All coursework used to satisfy the requirements of the minor must be completed with a minimum grade point average of 2.0.

Historical Background (3-4 units)

Select One:

Course List

Code	Title	Units
AFRS 302		3
HIST 358/ANTH 501/LTNS 501	Latin America: The National Period	3
HIST 398	History of Modern European Imperialism	3

The Global Development Era (3 – 4 units)

Select One:

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ECON 620	Economic Development	3
I R 540	Rich and Poor Nations: Legacies of Slavery and Colonialism	4

Development and the Environment (3 – 4 units)

Select One:

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ECON 550	Environmental Economics	3
GEOG 427	Agriculture and Food Supply	4
I R 331	Global Environmental Crisis	4
SOC 483	Global Sociology	4

Cultural, Ethnic, and Gender Perspectives (3 – 4 units)

Select One:

Course List

Code	Title	Units
AFRS 335	The Black Woman: A Cultural Analysis	3
ANTH 321	Endangered Cultures	3
I R/PLSI 544	Women in the World	4
LTNS 350	Gender and Latina/x Feminisms	3
SOC 461	Ethnic Relations: International Comparisons	4

Regional Comparisons (6 – 8 units)

Select two different regions:

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ANTH 315	Regional Ethnography	3
HIST 368	Modern Africa	3
I R/PLSI 321	Development and Foreign Policy: Africa	4
I R/PLSI 322	Policy Analysis: The Latin American Cases	4
I R 324	Middle East and North Africa in International Relations	4
LTNS 460	Central Americans of the U.S.: History and Heritage	3
PLSI/I R 412	South Asian Politics	4
PLSI/I R 416	Ethnicity and Nationalism	4

Electives (3 – 4 units)

Select one of the following or from courses in the above categories not chosen to fulfill a requirement within student's program:

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ANTH/CST 320	Racism: Cross-Cultural Analysis	3
ANTH/CST 585	Globalization and World Cultures	3
CINE 308	Third Cinema	3
GEOG 425	Economic Geography	3
HIST 353	History of Mexico	3
HIST 362	History of Modern China	3
IBUS 592	Doing Business in Greater China	3
I R/PLSI 325	Chinese Foreign Policy	4
I R 334	International Organizations: New World Order	4
I R 446	The Multinational Corporation in World Affairs	4
LTNS/HIST 278	History of Latinos in the U.S.	3
PSY 455	Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Psychology	3

Holistic Perspective: Special Study (1 unit)

A special study from the student's advisor's home department (ANTH 699, ECON 699, etc.)