Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata
The Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata is an autonomous research institute dedicated for Development Studies and related subfields, in Kolkata, India. It was established in 2002. Professor Amiya Kumar Bagchi was appointed as its first-Director. It is affiliated to the University of Calcutta.
Scope
It is devoted to advanced academic research and informed policy advice in the areas of literacy, education, health, women, employment, technology, communication, human sciences and economic development. Other programs include training of research scholars in the social sciences working towards a Ph.D. The Institute is committed to the dissemination of its research findings through workshops, seminars, publications in the media, and other public counselling and education programmes.
The institute has carried out a field survey based research programme on literacy and primary education in West Bengal, some results of which have been published as Working Papers. It has also completed a research project on Public Health, Nutrition and Medicine.It has carried out a study of in-service training programs in five districts of West Bengal. It has hosted interns of the UNICEF studying problems of dissemination of vaccines.
It offers a multi-disciplinary course on M. Phil in Development Studies. The degree is awarded by the University of Calcutta
M.Phil in Development Studies
The M.Phil. Course in Development Studies is multi-disciplinary in nature, and designed to provide an understanding of various perspectives on development issues, through a rigorous course work and guided research. The perspectives are drawn from different disciplines, with a strong emphasis on the classics in social sciences and humanities. Students are expected to acquire adequate analytical and quantitative skills to pursue research-oriented career in development studies - in academia, administration, media and non-government organizations. The curriculum emphasizes a heterodox perspective on social science paradigms and the methodological underpinnings of social science research. The strength of the course particularly lies in the balance it maintains between theory and hands-on training on tools of analysis - both quantitative and qualitative.
The degree is to be conferred by the University of Calcutta and the programme conforms to the pattern of the existing M.Phil courses offered by the University. The overall administration of the programme is to be guided by the Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Calcutta and IDSK. The teaching faculty mainly consists of the IDSK faculty and the University faculty associated with CSSH. Eminent academicians from other institutions will also be invited as guest faculty.
The duration of the entire course is two years - equally divided between course work and writing dissertation. The first year of course work is further divided into two halves. The first half deals with the core courses, which all the students have to go through, and the second deals with the specialization courses distinguished by a few select disciplines. On completion of the first semester of course work, each student is to specialize in one of the following disciplinary areas: literature and cultural studies, economics, sociology, history and political science. The specialization courses, irrespective of the disciplinary area, will have a strong emphasis on development-oriented topics. This part of the course work will help the students identify topics for dissertation. By the end of the first year, students will choose their dissertation topics and start working under the close supervision of the faculty.