Modules of the Master Development Economics


Compulsory Modules (18 credits) - You have to study all of these modules:


ModuleTitle Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0008 Development Economics I, Macro Issues in Economic Development 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0009 Development Economics II, Micro Issues in Development Economics 6 Credits
M.SIA.E11 Socioeconomics of Rural Development and Food Security 6 Credits


Further Mandatory Modules in Development Economics I (6 credits) - You have to study one of these modules:

ModuleTitle Credits
M.WIWI-QMW.0004 Econometrics I 6 Credits
M.WIWI-QMW.0005 Econometrics II 6 Credits


Specialization (12 credits)

You have to select two modules either from the economics specialization or from the agricultural economics specialization:

Specialization Economics

ModuleTitle Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0010 Development Economics III: Regional Perspectives in Development Economies 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0019 Advanced Developement Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0099 Poverty & Inequality 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0147 Empirical Political Economy 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0138 Quasi-Experiments in Developing Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0175 International Developement Policy 6 Credits

and the
Specialization Agricultural Economics

ModuleTitle Credits
M.SIA.E12M Quantitative Research Methods in Rural Development Economies 6 Credits
M.SIA.E14 Evaluation of Rural Development Projects and Policies 6 Credits
M.SIA.E24 Topics in Rural Development Economics I 6 Credits
M.Agr.0086 Weltagrarmärkte 6 Credits


Further Mandatory Modules in Development Economics II (36 credits)

a) You have to study one of the following modules (6 credits)

ModuleTitle Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0023 Seminar on the Economic Situation of Latin America in the 21st Century: 'Trade-related and Macroeconomic Issues for Latin American Policy Making' 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0024 Seminar on the Economic Situation of Latin America in the 21st Century: 'Challenges of Economic Development in Latin America' 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0025 Seminar Development Economics IV 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0035 Economic Effects of Regional Integration 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0055 Seminar: Globalization and Development 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0063 Seminar: Sustainable Development,Trade and Environment 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0065 Seminar: Economics of Crime 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0096 Essentials of Global Health 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0105 Seminar: Controversies in Development Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0137 Games in Development Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0143 Mind, Society and Development 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0182 Evaluating Development Effectiveness 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0184 Empirical Analysis of Conflict and Development 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0185 Seminar in Development Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0187 Social Assistance in Developing Countries 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0190 Seminar Topics in Urban Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0191 Seminar Advanced Topics in Urban Economics 12 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0192 Economics, Politics and African Societies 6 Credits
M.SIA.E20 Agricultural Policy Seminar 6 Credits


b) Furthermore, modules totaling 30 credits must be successfully completed. In addition to the modules that were not selected in the area of specialization nor in the sections "Further Modules in Development Economics I" and "Further Modules in Development Economics II", the following modules can be selected if they have not yet been successfully completed:
1) All modules of the Faculty of Business and Economics with the designation M.WIWI-QMW. may be selected.
2) You may select the following modules:

ModuleTitle Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0001 Advanced Microeconomics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0019 Advanced Development Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0021 Gender and Development 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0040 Empirical Trade Issues 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0041 Panel Data Econometrics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0046 Topics in European and Global Trade 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0083 Economic Reform and Social Justice in India 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0086 Macroeconomics of Open Economies 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0092 International Trade 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0095 International Political Economy 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0113 Macroeconometrics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0117 Growth, Resources and the Environment 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0122 Behavioral Development Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0123 Recent Topics in Macroeconomics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0128 Deep Determinants of Growth and Development 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0132 New Development in International Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0135 Advanced Economic Growth 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0140 Economics of Education 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0144 Migration Economics: Replication Course 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0147 Empirical Political Economy 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0148 Field Research in Development Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0174 China's Economic and Political Development 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0175 International Development Policy 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0176 The Political Economy of Social Protection 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0183 Geospatial Analysis for Development Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-VWL.0186 Topics in Development Economics 6 Credits
M.WIWI-WB.0005 Advanced Topics in Stata 6 Credits
M.WIWI-WB.0016 Growth Econometrics with Stata 6 Credits
M.Agr.0106 China Economic Development: From an agricultural economy to an emerging economy 6 Credits
M.Agr.0118 Applied Microeconomics 6 Credits
M.Agr.0148 Policy analysis of international agri-environmental schemes 6 Credits
M.Agr.0156 Microfinance for the Rural Poor: A Business Class 6 Credits
M.SIA.E02 Agricultural price theory 6 Credits
M.SIA.E19 Market Integration and Price Transmission I 6 Credits
M.SIA.E34 Economic valuation of ecosystem services in developing countries 6 Credits
M.SIA.E37 Agricultural Policy Analysis 6 Credits
M.SIA.E40 Agriculture, Environment and Development 6 Credits
M.SIA.E42 Agriculture, Nutrition and Sustainable food systems 6 Credits


The following module may also be taken if the entry requirements are met and teaching capacity is available. Possible free places for this highly demanded module can be requested from the respective lecturers:
ModuleTitle Credits
M.Agr.0151 Data Analysis with R in Agricultural Economics 6 Credits


Elective Area (18 credits)

Modules comprising a total of 18 credits according to the following requirements must be successfully passed:

  • All modules of the Faculty of Business and Economics with the designations M.WIWI. may be selected, as long as the entry requirements have been fulfilled.
  • All modules of the Faculty of Agricultural Science from the Master’s programme „Sustainable International Agriculture“ (SIA) may be selected, as long as the respective entry requirements have been fulfilled. In addition, the following courses can be selected:
    ModuleTitle Credits
    B.Inf.1236 Machine Learning 6 Credits
    B.Inf.1237 Deep Learning 6 Credits
    M.Agr.0197 Sustainability - basics and application 6 Credits (NEW; summer semester 2023)
    M.Inf.1151 Vertiefung Softwaretechnik: Data Science and Big Data Analytics 5 Credits
    M.MIS.30 Development Economics of India Seminar 6 Credits
    S.RW.1229 Internationales und europäisches Wirtschaftsrecht 6 Credits
    S.RW.1230 Cases and Development in International Economic Law 6 Credits
    SK.MIS.3 Studienreise nach Indien 6 Credits
    For capacity reasons, examinations for the following modules can only be taken with the consent of the examiners:
    ModuleTitle Credits
    M.Agr.0151 Data Analysis with R in Agricultural Economics 6 Credits
    B.Geg.04-1 Geoinformatik 1 5 Credits
    M.iPAB.0015.Mp Applied Machine Learning in Agriculture with R 6 Credits
  • Modules from the language offer of the university (except for English and native language) may be selected, as long as they are B-level courses and not part of the bachelor's degree.
  • Students, who have acquired their university entrance qualification neither in the Federal Republic of Germany nor in any country or region in which German is the official language, and students whose programme of study that is the basis for entry into the Master's degree programme is not in German can also acquire 12 credits in the elective area by successfully taking modules from "German as a foreign language". Prerequisite is the verification of the level "Grundstufe III" (A.2.1).
  • The certificate "Fachliches und literarisches Übersetzen (FLÜ)" (18 C) can be chosen as an elective module since summer semester 2023, but students must complete the entire certificate programme and will only get credits for the complete certificate.


In the elective area, other modules (alternative modules) instead of the stated modules may be taken according to the following conditions. Requirements for the consideration of an alternative module are:

  • a) A written application from the student that must be submitted to the Dean of Studies of the Faculty of Business and Economics before beginning with the alternative module
  • b) Consent by the Dean of Studies of the Faculty or teaching unit that offers the alternative module

  • The decision as to the approval of the application is made by the Dean of Studies of the Faculty of Business and Economics. The Dean will first obtain a statement on the purposefulness of the alternative module from a teacher of the programme in which the student is enrolled. The application may be rejected without a statement of the reason; no legal right is constituted for the applicant. Modules already taken cannot be considered as an alternative module.