The PhD in Development Studies is a 3rd cycle program of studies that aims to provide high quality training and produce original research in the area of Development Studies, a field of interdisciplinary research of the process of economic, social and political changes in modern societies.

This PhD program was created in 2009 and accredited by the national agency A3ES in 2015. After 2017/18 this program became a joint PhD of Universidade de Lisboa, including: 
ICS (Institute of Social Sciences) 
ISEG (School of Economics and Mangement) 
IGOT (Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning) 
ISA (School of Agriculture)

What kind of themes can I study in the Program

Research themes for the doctoral thesis and course units are grounded in a broad range of issues related to the development of contemporary societies. What are the main challenges that modern societies are facing today? What are the main effects of globalization? What is expected to be the role of the government policies for the future of the societies? And, what about that of the civil society? What is the dynamics of NGOs in development? How does religion shape development? What is the impact of migration (voluntary or not) on development? How are rural communities changing in the process of growth? What about the regional and geographical asymmetries? What are the trends of global and national income inequalities? Where is poverty increasing and what kind of policies strengthens inequalities reduction? What are the main issues regarding gender in development? What is the new paradigm in the development cooperation: from aid to public-private-partnership (PPP), the government, civil society and private sector triad? What is the role of the emerging donors (partners)? What are the main drivers of development: policies, politics, institutions, or geography? In what way economic, political, and human development differs from each other? How geopolitics shapes development: Asian donors vs. western donors; the security-development nexus? How do notions of the Anthropocene and of the need for transitions change our idea of development? What is the importance of "leaving no-one behind": the Sustainable Development Goals? What is the relevance, and how, to look at development from a historical perspective? What are the main challenges of development from the perspective of urbanization and of the urban-rural nexus? How can development transitions be contested, governed and realised in the cities of the 21st century? How can we explore social justice and sustainable consumption in the urban-rural nexus areas? How important is food production and ecosystem services for the future of these areas?

These are some examples of questions to be discussed in this course, and some of them can be topics of further research in the doctorate thesis. These topics are in the scope of the research centres that support this program. New topics are very welcome and will be offered adequate academic tutorship and scientific supervision.

These questions and underlying issues are explored in our PhD programme through course units related to the development of contemporary societies, including: theories of development and modernity, the policy and politics of development, sustainability transitions and a focus on urban development. As a Development Studies programme, interdisciplinary links are established between economics, sociology, geography, social and economic history, political science and law, thus providing an integrated perspective on development and sustainability issues in contemporary societies. A great attention is paid to the improvement of students skills on research methods and techniques required for development studies.

Here you can find an outline of the course 'Development in Transitions' which will be coordinated by ICS and IGOT, and will take place in the second semester. If you are interested in these topics, please contact Olivia Bina or Simone Tulumello