If you are a national of one of the countries below, or if you have recently completed a qualification equivalent to a UK Bachelors degree or higher in one of these countries, you will normally meet our English requirements. Note that qualifications obtained by distance learning or awarded by studying outside these countries cannot be accepted for English language purposes.

You will normally be expected to have completed the qualification within two years before starting your course at Sussex. If the qualification was obtained earlier than this we would expect you to be able to demonstrate that you have maintained a good level of English, for example by living in an English-speaking country or working in an occupation that required you to use English regularly and to a high level.

Please note that this list is determined by the UK’s Home Office, not by the University of Sussex.

List of exempt countries

Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada**
Dominica
Grenada
Guyana
Ireland
Jamaica
New Zealand
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
United Kingdom
USA

** Canada: you must be a national of Canada; other nationals not on this list who have a degree from a Canadian institution will not normally be exempt from needing to provide evidence of English.

Admissions information for applicants
Language choice

We welcome applicants whose first or primary language is not English though please note that it is not normally possible for applicants with CEFR B2+ proficiency to study that language within this degree.

  
Transfers into Year 2

Yes. Find out more about transferring into Year 2 of this course. We don’t accept transfers into the third or final year.

  

If your qualifications aren’t listed or you have a question about entry requirements, contact us

For details on any additional costs, check out the Fees and scholarships section.

Don’t meet our entry requirements?

If you don't meet our entry requirements, we recommend our in-house Foundation Year course to prepare you for Year 1 of your chosen degree:

Social Sciences (with a foundation year) BA (Hons)

MODULES

This is a major/minor course, enabling you to study in depth in a core area (your major subject: taking up 75% of your time), while also exploring an additional area (your minor subject: taking up 25% of your time).

Year 1 at Sussex

Core modules

Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

Autumn teaching

Colonialism and After
Global Development Paradigms, Policy and Politics
Sussex Perspectives on International DevelopmentSpring teaching

Aid and Development Cooperation
Global Development Challenges and Innovation
Key Thinkers in Development

Year 2 at Sussex

Core modules

Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

Autumn teaching

Economic Perspectives on Development
Research Skills for Development
Social Change, Culture and Development

Experience Year

Study abroad (optional)

Apply to study abroad – you’ll develop an international perspective and gain an edge when it comes to your career. Find out where your course could take you

If your application to study abroad is successful, you’ll have to meet the academic requirements at Sussex and also at the partner university. Find out more about studying abroad as a Sussex student

Placement (optional)

To help you gain experience and increase your employability, you can apply for an optional placement as part of your course. You’ll be responsible for applying for and securing your placement. Our dedicated careers team can provide you with information and advice. If you’re successful in obtaining a placement, this will form part of your course.

Find out more about placements and internships

Please note that if you’re receiving – or applying for – USA federal Direct Loan funds, you can’t transfer to the version of your course with an optional study abroad period in any country or optional placement in the USA if the number of credits for the placement/internship exceeds 25% of the total credits for your course. Find out more about American Student Loans and Federal Student Aid

Year 3 at Sussex

Options

You choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.

While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.

Autumn teaching

Advanced Sustainable Development: Sustainability in Policy and Practice
Arabic Advanced A
Arabic in Context A
British Sign Language and Deaf Culture 3A
Building Peace After War
Chinese Advanced A
Chinese in Context A
Cultures of Colonialism
Development, Business and Corporate Social Responsibility
Disasters, Environment and Development
Disease, Diplomacy and Development
East Asia Rising: Beyond the American Century?
Environment and Development in World Politics
Environmental Protest: Past & Present
French Advanced A (B)
French For Professional Purposes 3A
French in Context A
Geographies of Money, Finance, and Debt
Geographies of Rising and Declining Powers
German Advanced A
German in Context A
Global Work Experience
Hope for health: Disease, development and society
Human Rights
Italian Advanced A
Italian in Context A
Japanese Advanced A
Japanese in Context A
Mobilities and Global Inequalities
Palestine and the International
Policing Racial Capitalism
Refugees, Migrants and Religion
Religions in Global Politics
Slavery, Emancipation and Legacies
Spanish Advanced A (B)
Spanish for Professional Purposes 3A
Spanish in Context A
The Anthropology of GeopoliticsAutumn and spring teaching

International Development ThesisSpring teaching

Arabic Advanced B
Arabic in Context B
British Sign Language and Deaf Culture 3B
Chinese Advanced B
Chinese in Context B
Critical Perspectives on Conflict and Violence
Decolonial Movements
Designing Alternatives for Development
Development Tools and Skills
Education, Justice & Liberation
French Advanced B (B)
French For Professional Purposes 3B
French in Context B
German Advanced B
German in Context B
Italian Advanced B
Italian in Context B
Japanese Advanced B
Japanese in Context B
Political Ecology and Environmental Justice
Spanish Advanced B (B)
Spanish for Professional Purposes 3B
Spanish in Context B

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.

Check back in January 2025 for more details of the modules running in the academic year 2025/26.

Practical skills and applied learning

In addition to your lectures and seminars, you’ll have the opportunity to take part in:

practice-based modules that foster learning by doing
creative workshops to apply your learning to re-imagining development
guest talks by development practitioners and activists, as well as visits from alumni to learn from their work
access to the Department of Language Studies’ language suite, multimedia workstation and Language Café.

SILVER

The student experience and student outcomes are typically very high quality.
This rating was awarded in 2023, for four years.
(Teaching Excellence Framework 2023)

OUR STAFFI am working on a project with the University of Bergen, Norway, investigating issues of corporate social responsibility in the global oil industry.”DR DINAH RAJAK
Lecturer in Anthropology and International Development

FEES
Home students: 
£9,250 per yearChannel Islands and Isle of Man students: 
£9,250 per yearInternational students: 
£22,575 per yearStudy abroad: 
Find out about grants and funding, tuition fees and insurance costs for studying abroadPlacement: 
Find out about tuition fees for placements

Note that your fees, once they’re set, may be subject to an increase on an annual basis. Find details on our Tuition fees page.

Find out about typical living costs for studying at Sussex

Find out about our terms and conditions