Food and Development

Food is a cross-cutting development issue that concerns hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition, environment sustainability, power politics, social justice and cultural identity. It is about the global and the local and the hard trade-offs that the globalisation era has brought about.

This MA draws on wide-ranging expertise of faculty at both IDS and School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex (where you will be based). You will gain an advanced understanding of the complex relationship between food and development. We build your analytical and practical skills, improving your ability to engage critically with issues such as:

- food and nutrition security

- sustainable food systems

- value chains and corporate power

- agri-food technology and its contestations

Our faculty have extensive knowledge and direct field experience. And our guest speakers – from government bodies, international organisations, NGOs, and local food networks and movements – introduce you to contemporary policy debates and practices.

World-leaders in development studies
The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) delivers world-class research, learning and teaching that transforms the knowledge, action and leadership needed for more equitable and sustainable development globally. IDS has been ranked first in the world for development studies, in partnership with the University of Sussex, for the last seven years. The School of Global Studies is world leading in the field of development studies and offers the opportunity to learn from critical and engaged academics who are making a difference to global communities through research, teaching and activism.

Who is the degree for?
We welcome applicants with a broad range of career trajectories. Successful applicants will typically have at least one year’s practical experience in development alongside an interest in critical academic enquiry. Previous experience and engagement with issues relating to food in development (e.g. food security, nutrition, food systems, food policy and regulation, food rights or food sovereignty) is an advantage.