MOOC "Essentials in Development Studies" Autumn 2025

This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in Essentials in Development Studies aims to provide students with fundamentals to the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary discipline of development studies and motivate students to further their knowledge in the field.

5 ECTS Credits — Studies start 25 August 2025 — University of Helsinki

Course dates

25 August 2025 – 11 December 2025

Registration period

25 August 2025 – 20 November 2025

Coordinating university

University of Helsinki

Instructors

Happy Tirivangasi

Credits

5 ECTS

Course dates: 25.8 - 11.12.2025
Registration dates: 25.8 - 20.11.2025
Coordinating university: University of Jyväskylä
Responsible teacher: Happy Tirivangasi ()
Credits: 5 ECTS

Please read the information below carefully before registering.

  • MOOC Essentials in Development Studies in a nutshell!

Welcome to the Essentials in Development Studies, a MOOC course created by UniPID, in collaboration with the discipline of Development Studies at the University of Helsinki and the University of Jyväskylä.

The MOOC is part of the Virtual Studies Programme, as well as the University of Jyväskylä's course syllabus. It is held in English and worth 5 ETCs.

Essentials in Development Studies is an online course offered on the DigiCampus platform. The principal target group is master-level students in UniPID member universities. However, the course can be also taken by bachelor students as well as PhD researchers. Additionally the MOOC course is open for all interested participants, such as people working in the field of development policy and/or development cooperation.

UniPID students who complete the course are eligible to apply for a certificate of completion, which can be presented to their home universities to be included as part of their studies. External students are also welcome to complete the course; however, they are only eligible to apply for a certificate of participation, which is not considered an official certificate of completion.

  • Registration and course completion

Registration for this course is through self-enrollment. To access the MOOC content, please visit the DigiCampus page of the course here: https://digicampus.fi/course/view.php?id=6226 and enter the key: Essentials_autumn25 (as it is case-sensitive, please pay attention to the capital letter "E").

Self-enrolment is available from 25 August to 20 November 2025. The Digicampus page for the course will remain accessible until 11 December 2025.

The course content and materials are open access, meaning the course is available to anyone interested in development studies, regardless of institutional affiliation. Access is granted to all participants, even if they do not require credits or a certificate. In such cases, you are not expected to complete the assessment activities.

However, if you aim to receive a certificate of completion/participation, please ensure that you complete all required activities by 11 December 2025. After that, you must apply for either a certificate of completion or participation through the UniPID website. The enrolment form will be available until 15 December 2025.

Further instructions about requesting the certificate will be visible on DigiCampus after completing the whole MOOC content, and in the section below.

  • Requesting a certificate of completion or certificate of participation

Please note that while the course content and material are available for all the public, course credits can only be granted to students enrolled at a UniPID member university. External students (i.e., those not affiliated with a UniPID member university) are eligible to apply for a certificate of participation. However, please be aware that this certificate is not an official certificate of completion.

Once you complete all the assessment activities and pass the quizzes, a new section will appear on the Digicampus platform titled, “If you want to receive credits for the course, see registration instructions below.”

This section includes a link to the enrollment form on the UniPID website. There, you will be asked to provide personal information necessary to process your certificate.

In the first question of the form ("I am"), please select the option that best describes your affiliation:

  • "A student affiliated with a UniPID member university applying for course credits." Select this if you are enrolled at a UniPID member university. You will be eligible for a transcript of credits.
  • "A student not affiliated with a UniPID member university applying for an unofficial certificate of participation." Select this if you are not affiliated with any UniPID member university. You will receive a certificate of participation.

You can read the detailed course instructions here!

  • MOOC content and learning outcomes

The course consists of 5 modules:

  • What is Development?
  • Major theories of Development
  • Actors, institutions and policies of Development
  • Current topics in Development studies
  • Reflections on Development and alternatives

Objective: Provide students with fundamentals to the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary discipline of development studies and motivate students to further their knowledge in the field.

During the course, the students will:

  • Distinguish between development as a historical process of change and as an international intervention with defined outcomes;
  • Be familiar with selected/major theories of development;
  • Identify and analyse actors, institutions, and policies of development;
  • Be acquainted with current debates on development studies or development research;
  • Reflect development from conventional, critical and alternative perspectives as well as from the point of view of inclusion and exclusion.

For further information, you can contact Ana Tarazona ().

Let us remind you when registration for your course(s) of interest opens. Fill in the brief form below, and we’ll send you an email notification so you don’t miss the enrolment period!

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