The doctoral program by thesis at IDS is a full-time course of study, taking three years post-MA degree. The program of PhD study at IDS leading to the doctoral degree is organized to attain the following objectives:

• To enable students to engage in advanced study and research in a variety of development fields, such as economics, education, health, gender issues, technology, rural and urban issues, governance and globalization, ethics, planning and management, communication, human rights, philosophical and political issues;
• To foster original and scholarly research that contributes to the field of development;
• To enable graduates to integrate their professional education and experience with the larger problems of development.

To reach these objectives, students in the doctoral program at IDS will work closely with one or more members of the institute who are doing or have done research in their related fields of study. Students’ primary supervisors are a key factor to success in graduate school and will take upon themselves the mentoring roles in a student’s academic progress.