Subject to the provisions of General Academic Regulations and the Faculty of Social Sciences Special Regulations, the following Departmental Special Regulations shall apply:
The Department of Sociology offers a Master of Arts Programme in Development Studies.
The objectives of this MA Programme are as follows:
a) To produce highly skilled graduates for the various development practices and educational institutions in Botswana and southern Africa;
b) To enhance the capacity of the Department both for research and for strengthening the quality of undergraduate teaching by involving graduate stu-dents;
c) To enhance the capability of the Department to play a leading role in the advancement of Development Studies;
d) To equip students with the skills for basic research, implementation, and evaluation of the impact of development policies and programmes.
3.3.1 The normal minimum entrance requirements for admission to the Master of Arts Programme in Development Studies shall be:
a) A relevant Bachelor’s Degree from this or any recognized university or equivalent institution with a minimum of 4 undergraduate courses in Social Science or related subjects and at least a Second Class Lower division or its equivalent;
b) Evidence of potential to perform success fully in a graduate level programme;
c) With the approval of Senate, equivalent qualifications and experience may be accepted. Such candidates may be required to perform successfully on an admission examination or satisfy other requirements as deemed appropriate by the Faculty of Social Sciences.
3.3.2 With the approval of Senate, a Bachelor’s Degree plus at least 5 years relevant work experience may be accepted. Such candidates may be required to perform successfully on an admission examination or satisfy other requirements as deemed appropriate by the Faculty of Social Sciences.
3.3.3 Students with a pass in a Postgraduate Diploma in Development Studies or equivalent from a recognised institution of higher learning can be admitted directly into Year 2 of the Master’s Degree Programme provided they satisfy Special Regulations.
3.3.4 Candidates may be required to take and pass pre-requisite courses, which are deemed necessary or desirable. Such prerequisites may be required prior to admission to the MA Programme or prior to a particular semester of study or prior to the granting of the Degree. Pre- requisite courses will not earn credit towards degree requirements.
Upon admission, each student will be assigned an advisor. The advisor will consult with the student regarding coursework and other issues related to the Programme of study and may or may not serve as the research supervisor. During the first year of study a research supervisor shall be appointed for each student.
3.5 Selection of Research Committee for Dissertation Students
A research supervisor shall normally be appointed from among the sta. of the Sociology Department; he/she shall have direct expertise in the topic of the student’s chosen research project. Up to 2 additional Research Committee members shall be chosen by mutual agreement of the student and the supervisor. The supervisor and the Research Committee members shall be selected and approved by the Sociology Departmental Board.
3.6 Qualifications of Research Committee for Dissertation Students
3.6.1 The supervisor shall normally be a member of the Department of Sociology and shall have expertise in the topic area and/or research methodology appropriate for guiding the research process.
3.6.2 The Research Committee members shall be chosen for their potential contribution to the proposed investigation and its methodology. One Committee member shall normally be from a department other than that of the supervisor.
3.6.3 The role of the Research Committee shall be to monitor and guide all aspects of the student’s research work including approval of the proposal. One member of the Committee shall normally serve as internal examiner for the Dissertation.
3.7.1 The Master of Arts in Development Studies Programme shall normally be based on courses of 1 semester each. The Degree shall be offered by either coursework and Dissertation or coursework and Research Essay.
3.7.2 On completion of 8 courses, including core courses, students shall normally be designated to the Dissertation Option or to the Research Essay Option.
3.7.3 All students must take all core courses except when they have a choice as between DVS700 and DVS701 when they can only take one and not both.
3.8 Master of Arts in Development Studies (MA DVS) by Coursework and Dissertation
3.8.1 A student wishing to graduate in the MA(DVS) through the Dissertation Option must take and pass 4 taught core courses (12), a Dissertation (24), and 4 optional courses (12).
3.8.2 To qualify for the Dissertation Option, candidates must have achieved a minimum overall unweighted average of 60 per cent in 8 taught courses ( 24), 4 of which will be core.
3.8.3 The Dissertation proposal must be accepted by the Research Committee and be approved by the Sociology Departmental Board.
3.8.4 The subject of the Dissertation must reveal independent and original investigation and knowledge of methods of scholarship. The Dissertation shall normally not exceed 30 000 words, excluding footnotes, references and appendices
3.9 Master of Arts in Development Studies (MA DVS) by Coursework and Research Essay
3.9.1 A candidate wishing to graduate in the MA (DVS) through the Research Essay Option must take and pass 4 taught core courses (12) a Research Essay (12) and 7 optional courses (21).
3.9.2 To qualify for the Research Essay option, candidates must pass 24 credits of coursework (4 courses of which must be from the core menu) with a minimum unweighted average of 50 per cent.
3.9.3 The subject of the Research Essay must reveal originality in the definition of the topic area and include an extended literature review around the topic. The Research Essay shall not normally exceed 12 500 words, excluding footnotes, references and appendices.
The following are the core courses available for the MA DVS Programme:
a) Taught Courses
DVS601 Development Theory and Practice
DVS607 Research and Analysis Methods
or:
MSW605 Policy Analysis and Planning
ECO701 Development Economics or:
MPA604 Economics for Development Management
POP 604 Methods of Social Science Research
DVS617 Research Proposal and Report Writing
b) Research Courses
DVS 701 Dissertation
or:
DVS700 Research Essay
Students may select optional courses from the following menu:
DAE655 Youth and Development
POP601 Population and Development: An Analytical Approach
ENV625 Wildlife Management and Tourism Development
HIS611 Economic History of Africa
LIS 600 Sociology of Information and Development
MPA612 Project Management and Evaluation
MPA718 Ethics and Accountability in Public Administration
MPA610 State and Development Policy in the Developing World
MPA715 Southern Africa in the World Economy
POP 702 Population, Environment and Development
DVS 603 The Making of Southern Africa
DVS605 Globalisation, Culture and Social Change
DVS606 Gender and Development
DVS 608 Rural Development and Agrarian Change
DVS610 NGOs and Development
DVS702 Rural Livelihoods in Transition
DVS703 The Social Impact of Structural Adjustment Policies in Africa
DVS704 Dynamics of Poverty in the Third World
DVS708 Urban Development
DVS713 Health and Development
DVS715 Communication for Development
POP608 Foundations of Health Policy (3) or:
MNS731 Health Policy and Health Service Management
Candidates may take a total of not more than 6 credits from any other relevant courses in other departments.
3.10.1 Unless specified otherwise in the course outline, each course shall be assessed by continuous assessment. Each course shall be externally examined.
3.10.2 The ratio between continuous assessment and formal examination, if applicable, shall be 50:50.
3.10.3 Courses offered by departments other than Sociology shall be examined in accordance with the relevant regulations in those departments.