UNISA Development studies Course Module 2025-2026
Major combinations:
NQF Level: 5: DVA1501
NQF Level: 6: DVA1601, DVA2601, DVA2602
NQF Level: 7: DVA3701, DVA3702, DVA3703, DVA3704, DVA3705
| Rural and Urban Development – DVA3702 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: To gain insight, through reading and text analysis, into development policies and strategies for rural and urban areas, interaction between rural and urban processes, urbanisation and rural and urban poverty as key development issues. |
| Development Policy and Strategies – DVA3703 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in |
|
| Purpose: To gain insight into the process of formulating development policies and strategies at local, national and international levels, and to analyse the dynamics and issues of policy implementation. |
| Development Planning – DVA3704 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: To gain insight into development planning theories and practices by reading texts and case studies on various approaches, actors and methods. |
| Empowerment and Popular Initiatives – DVA3705 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: To gain insight into the debate on empowerment and popular initiatives, and to analyse concepts such as mobilisation, participation, human action, classes, social formations, struggles and resistance in this context. |
| Development Debates and Issues – DVA4801 |
| Honours |
|
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 24 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: To equip students with advanced knowledge and understanding of the contemporary field of Development Studies. Qualified students will be able to analyse global dynamics, recent debates, theories and selected topical and symptomatic issues. |
| Human Security and Development – DVA4802 |
| Honours |
|
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 24 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: To equip students with comprehensive and systematic knowledge of themes of insecurity, risk and vulnerability in the development context. The second purpose is to provide students with in-depth knowledge and skills that will enable qualified learners to assess and apply strategies and frameworks of human security such as sustainable livelihoods, humanitarian intervention and frameworks to minimise risk and vulnerability in a development context. |
| Governance and Development – DVA4803 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
|
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 24 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: To equip students with systematic knowledge and understanding of debates and issues of governance of development at global, national and local levels. |
| Sustainable Development: Policy, Practice and Environment – DVA4804 |
| Honours |
|
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 24 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: To equip students with well-rounded systematic knowledge and an understanding of key themes of sustainable development within the development context. These are themes such as the nature of the environmental crisis within the global system, national and local sustainable development policy, theories of sustainable development, the clash between development and conservation as well as issues in sustainable development practice. |
| Gender and Development – DVA4805 |
| Honours |
|
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 24 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: To equip students with systematic knowledge and understanding of debates and issues of gender and development at global, national and local levels. To also provide students with in-depth knowledge and skills to empower women and make them an integral part of a holistic approach to all development efforts. |
| Research Methodology in Development Studies – HMDVA81 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Year module |
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: To equip students with advanced knowledge and understanding of the contemporary field of research methodology in Development Studies. Qualified students will be able to utilize relevant research methods in postgraduate research projects |
| Research Report in Development Studies – HRDVA82 |
| Honours |
|
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 36 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: To equip students with advanced knowledge and practical experience of research in the field of Development Studies at the honours level.. Qualified students will be able to conduct competent basic research in the development field and will be able to conceptualize masters level research projects and draft masters’ level research proposals. |
| Introduction to Development Studies – DVA1501 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: To equip students to gain insight into basic concepts in the field of development studies. |
| Development Problems and Institutions – DVA1601 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: To introduce students to integrated development problems such as education and health, the role of the state in development, policy approaches, political and economic dynamics within states, the role of development institutions, and the importance of participatory development and empowerment. |
| Projects and Programmes as Instruments of Development – DVA2601 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: To gain insight into projects and programmes as instruments of development, and to demonstrate understanding of functions and management techniques appropriate in development context. |
| Community Development and the Basic Needs Approach – DVA2602 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: To enable students to demonstrate an understanding of the process and dynamics of community development and the basic needs approach by linking related concepts and theories to practice. |
| Development Theories – DVA3701 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: To introduce students to key development theories such as modernisation, underdevelopment, sustainable and participatory development, to enable them to demonstrate understanding by comparing theories and by linking them to practical situations. |
