Studying International Development

International development is multi-disciplinary and often crosses disciplines. If you want to work in international development, studying international development or a field related to your interests like engineering, public administration, medicine or gender studies is probably necessary.

At the university level

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) website can help you find programs at the university or college level in fields related to international development. Visit the AUCC's online directory and either click on multidisciplinary studies in the drop-down menu or type international development in the search box. You will see a list of all the universities offering programs at the bachelor's, master's and PhD levels in Canada and be able to link to the university websites themselves for more information. Keep in mind the exact name of the program when you go to the university website as each institution defines areas of study differently. You may also wish to consult the listing of undergraduate schools offering international development studies put together by the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development.

At the college level

If you'd like to study international development at the college level, visit the Association of Canadian Community College's online directory and type in international or global in the menu. You will see a list of colleges offering programs and be able to link to the college website for more information.

When you apply for university or college, consider coop programs — they offer internship opportunities as part of your degree/diploma work. To find out which universities offer cooperative programs, visit AUCC's online directory and near the bottom of the page, click "Yes" in the co-operative education box.