Indira Gandhi National Open University has announced a new one-year Master's programme in Development Studies. The Master of Arts Programme has been launched for the July 2026 session. Candidates who have completed their four year undergraduate programme are eligible to apply.
The programme carries 40 credits across two semesters, with compulsory courses such as Introduction to Development and Development Theories, Dynamics of Development, and Issues and Challenges of Development in the first semester and Research Methodology in Development Studies as a compulsory course in the second semester. The programme also includes electives such as Gender Studies, Development Planning and Communication, Training and Development, Local Self Governance, Health and Development, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Urban Development and Project Work.
Master of Arts in Development Studies - Click Here
Candidates interested in applying for the masters programme need to submit the applications through the link on the official website. The programme is offered by the School of Extension and Development Studies . The university has launched the new programme as per the National Education Policy.
IGNOU has also launched one year MA Programmes in Economics, Sociology, History, English, Hindi, Urdu, and Journalism and Mass Communication and One year Masters programmer in Commerce.
Candidates who have completed four year UG programmes in any discipline are eligible to apply for the Development Studies programme. Graduates of professional gpur yrat or fiv year courses in Agriculture and Allied fields and candidates with BTech and BE Degrees in any branch are also eligible to apply. It must be noted that the newly launched masters programme is applicable only for those who completed their four year degree programmes. Students who have completed their three year undergraduate courses are not eligible to apply for the one year Masters programme. Students completing three-year undergraduate programmes can apply only for the two-year master's programme.
Documents Required to Apply
Before filling the online application form, candidates need to have the following documents ready with them
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Clear, Color, Passport size photograph with white background (less than 100 KB in JPEG format)
Softcopy of Signature (less than 100 KB in JPEG format)
Softcopy of relevant Educational Qualification (less than 200 KB in JPEG / PDF format)
Softcopy of Experience Certificate (if any) (less than 200 KB in JPEG / PDF format)
Softcopy of Category Certificate, if SC/ST/OBC (less than 200 KB in JPEG / PDF format)
