International Development & Food Policy

brian1991

Hi,
I'm eighteen, from Dungarvan and have for a few years wanted to study International Development & Food Policy (assuming I pass Ordinary Maths) despite it's long name and people's lack of understanding about the course..
"So, Brian, what do you want to study?"
"International Development & Food Policy at UCC"
"Oh... what?"
But recently I've wanted to make extra sure about my doing the course, so I'm wondering if anyone here studies it and what your thoughts on it are. Is it enjoyable? Is there a lot of economics? Where was/will be your twenty-four week placement? Are the job prospects good?

Thanks,
Brian

gdr

Hi Brian,

I'm a second year International Development & Food Policy student and I have loads I could say about the course..

Like every course there are some really interesting subjects (Human rights law and citizen participation are my favourite) and some pretty boring ones too (SME!). But everyone’s views are different, some people love parts of the course that I don’t enjoy and I enjoy stuff my friends hate. For me I find myself enjoying more subjects than I dislike. There isn’t much economic, two hours a week in first year and that’s introduction to agri economics. It pretty basic, supply and demand all that jazz, not too hard at all.

I don’t know where my placement will be. I would like to work with some form of governmental organisation i.e. UN, Irish Aid or IDEA. Most placements are with NGO's such as Concern, self help or smaller local NGO's tho. This year some of the placements were all over the world from Eastern Africa, South America, ndia, Paris and China. The vast majority were overseas, mainly Africa.

From what we have been told by lectures and guest speakers the employment opportunities seem good. You will probably have to do a masters to specialise tho. Only one class has graduated so far, the majority of whom are doing masters. The government intends to spend 0.7% of GDP on Aid by 2015, so there such be jobs out there and as you probably know it’s the only undergrad programme in Ireland with an International Development focus.

The course has small class size (usually 40/50), so get to know your class really well. There usually a good mix, of great people.

In my view, you can often learn far more outside the lecture hall then inside. Mark Twain said "don’t let schooling interfere with your education". There is a really active Int Dev society, I have learned so much from being involved with that. I was the Finance Officer this year. Getting involved with the society has really been the highlight for me. This year we: got in a really great speakers such as the head of Valid Nutrition; did media workshops with a producer from RTE; had a weekly radio show on Cork Campus Radio called IDFM (International Development Freedom Matters); we also have a really cool garden project wit Envro Soc with three pollytunnels where we grow veg, wild flower, they just built a willow dome; we also produced a magazine called Switch (Students with an Interest in CHange);we do a good bit of fundraising too, we ran a buskaton on campus and did a show called UCC Got Talent with the fabulous LGBT Soc. There is huge potential for the society so if you decided to do the course you should definitely get involved with that.

There’s an open day on this Friday, if you make it down some of the Int Dev student will have a stand and you can have a proper chat about the course. If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask. I'm never really use the boards so I might not see it for a few days.

All the best,


Padraig

brian1991

Thanks, Padraig! This was a really great answer. An A1 for you.

This sounds like a really great course, and it was great to here a real student profile/case study, as there are none for IDFP in the UCC 2010 prospectus.

At the moment, Language, Literature & Film Studies at UL is first on my CAO choices, but I'm still in a real dilemma. I think I will change to IDFP on 1 May.

What is the focus on languages like, do you know? I think you can choose between human rights law and Chinese/Spanish/French, right?

If you know anyone else who studies IDFP and posts here, please tell them about this thread so they can give their input too.

Brian

gdr

At the moment you have a choice between; French, Spanish, Chinese, Development Conflict & Peace or a combination of two of the following Citizenship & Human Rights, Local Development and Public Health and Introductory Nutrition.. I did Citizenship & Human Right and Nutrition and loved them both. Languages were never my thing. There is a similar choice in second and fourth year expect they don’t offer Chinese.


You can have a full look at the modules offered here http://www.ucc.ie/calendar/food/food010.html.

brian1991 wrote: »

If you know anyone else who studies IDFP and posts here, please tell them about this thread so they can give their input too.

Will do.

g.m.k

Hey!

Im a first year int dev student and tbh I think padraig covered it all :P. I know exactly what you mean about people staring blankly at you while you franticly try to explain what it is but cant, I've been doing that for two years having done a PLC in it last year, its rather frustrating alright! The modules in the course are quite interesting but of course you do have a few that you'd rather accidentally sleep out (local development for me), and theres also the ones you hate to miss, Friday mornings with Mike are always quite the class, but each to their own and all that! I surprised myself by finding our rural development class really interesting, which just goes to show and open mind is key! I also took the citizenship and human rights elective but I took it along with local development and public health, which I found really interesting, but most of my class seemed to take either a language (mainly Spanish and French) or the conflict module, which they all highly praise.

Padraigs' right about the out side of the class learning, at the beginning of the year I was the one first year who had the opportunity to go to Stockholm with the int dev society to the EU Development Days event (which we are hoping to get funding for again this year). I was thrown in with second, third, and fourth years who all knew what they were talking about and were soo excited to see different speakers, and I felt so out of place, even though I thought having a year behind me would help. But in the few days I got to learn so much and bring back tonnes (literally!) of literature to help me with my studies, everyone on the trip were helpful to fill me in on the things I was so confused about, it was a learning experience and a half! After that I tried my best to go to the events held, including UCC's got talent, an event for world aids day, and a trip to Dublin we took to attend a suas (i think, i cant remember :S) debate on whether building for the poor is a help or a hindrance and eventually I decided towards the agm that I wanted to get more involved. So I decided to run for the position of ents officer, we have another great committee for the year and each of us has so many great ideas which we hope to put into action! I always think I've learned so much from just social interaction with people who have development on the brain also!

So as you can see, its not just the great lectures who teach you, but also the random development debates you find yourself in with other students!
Hope we are of some help to you! If you've any more questions I'd be happy to help.

Grace

gerbyosaur

Heya,

So Grace and Padraig have pretty much filled u in on everything so ill try not to repeat and regurgitate whats already been put out there. Im also in 1st year and am also loving it, unlike Grace and Padraig I took the conflict module, I really liked it, the lecturer is great and its a real discussion based class. I'd definitely recommend it.

Personally, I LOVE this course, it has opened my eyes into different issues, got me involved in fun events and has allowed me to meet some of the greatest people there are out there.. however, I think it's important not to totally sugarcoat things, in first year we had very few hours of lectures and while this seems to be a blessing in reality it can be quite annoying as instead of lectures we generally have to do alot of reading and lots of essays and assignments which do demand alot of self motivation.. so beware! although i personally quite like public speaking etc i know there are many out there who dont, in this course you are required to do class presentations, but.. its in front of your own class which is relatively small and everyone is really encouraging so dont let that put u off...

Like the others said.. you learn just as much from outside the classroom... the int dev society has been amazing (and award winning).. so get involved! I was 1st year rep this year, it was soooo much fun and if u do decide to come i'd definitely encourage u to go for a position on the committee..!

So, thats it Brian!! Good luck with ur decision making..! Hope the exams go well.. No Stress!

Gill

P.S Cork Rocks...such a good place to go to college :P

tommacg

Hey,
I'm a second year and would just add a couple of things. The others have said pretty much everything that needs saying.

The placement is (almost always) unpaid and even funding for flights tends to be up in the air every year. They've been lucky to get it in the past but it's never guaranteed. Basically you could be fundraising for your placement, as people have had to do in the past.

There isn’t much economic, two hours a week in first year and that’s introduction to agri economics. It pretty basic, supply and demand all that jazz, not too hard at all.

Personally I'd say that economics is the cornerstone of a lot of development and it tends to be important in almost all the background literature you'll read. Plus microeconomics comes up again in Supply Chain Management in second year and possibly in 3rd/4th year. But maybe you can avoid it a bit if you're really allergic

Some of the lecturers are great, really engaging, but, if I'm to be honest, some others are lacking in teaching skill/passion to say the least. Also, as the points are relatively low, the class seems to be split between those who fell into it and are more interested in getting off their faces in Gorbys on a Thursday night and those who have at least some interest. There's a good mix of mature students too though and people tend to bond better than in other courses..

The government intends to spend 0.7% of GDP on Aid by 2015, so there such be jobs out there

The government lies a lot and will not spend 0.7% by 2015. They've broken that promise many a time..BUT the field of development (whatever that might be) is very broad so job options tend to be broad also, with more options for travel than you'll get elsewhere. Wages..well..it depends, as you can imagine.

To sum up..I love the issues my course deals with, loved being involved in the society and look forward to specializing more in a postgrad..but have a love/hate relationship with the actual course :P

Tom

P.S. I you Padraig, Grace and Gill

brian1991

Wow, thanks everyone. I'm quite satisfied with the quality of replies here, considering it took ten days for the first reply.

The course sounds very interesting. I'm not a big fan of economics, but maybe that is from years of those horrible definitions at school and having to endlessly write them out. I also don't enjoy public speaking. I have bad posture, a low voice and no confidence from years of traumatizing public school.

However, I love languages, self-motivated learning and meaningful travel.

I am afraid though that I would bring conspiracy theories into things too much though, and would sound like David Icke and Alex Jones. There is less danger of that with Language Literature + Film Studies at UL I guess.

fairyribbon

considering doing this course next September ...anyone else ? any current 1st year students or otherwise have any more info on the course ?

VALIS

I completed the course if you have any specific questions.

fairyribbon

just some general questions ...what are the hours like ? workload ?job opportunities ? ooh and i would love to hear where you went for your work placement

VALIS

Hi, as someone up above said the number of lecture hours isn't too rigorous, especially compared to some other courses; however they can be ramped up with the addition of any tutorials. You will be given a number of essays however to occupy any free time you find but it's all quite manageable with a bit of effort, so the workload for the most part is quite moderate, even if it feels you have piles to do sometimes. There's a lot of group work aswell which helps share some of the burden--and help you get to know your classmates better.

The course is quite broad and gives you a strong selection of skills and a broad base of knowledge, granting you a wealth of opportunity for further study, and serves as a fantastic platform to get into a lot of different areas from environment, human rights, health, economics, to rural dev, etc. but on its own you will not walk straight into a job mostly (most graduates I know followed up with further study); I'm planning on following it up myself with an MSc in September. But in general you will find it useful later on for working with NGOs, government departments or perhaps even lecturing etc..

For work placement I was in Ethiopia, and that was a fantastic experience and probably the highlight of the course. The course is unique and if you're interested in development, charity, travelling and politics you'll find yourself at home and it will open up opportunities for you. If you have any other questions I'll do my best to answer them.

Sorry for the long ramble!

fairyribbon

thank you for the reply
aww wow Ethiopia, that sounds super fun !it seems a really good course to do . i think i might just put it down as no.1 choice .thanks for your help!

MariaBlaah

hey fairyribbon,
iv applied for IDFD aswell for this coming september.. cant wait to get the exams over and get the course started! (hopefully!haha) it seems really interesting and exactly what i want to do!

just a quick quiry, what masters courses can be done after the degree? id be interested in doing something in international relations along with the development if that would be possible?

and what about a certa/tefl course? is it a good idea or too much or a work load or is there just no point in it? im thinking it might make work to your advantage having done one of those courses when going for a job?

and i see a lot of the jobs offered on the NGO websites specify having french, how important would this be? im doing german for the elaving but am absolutly useless at languages!!

sorry for all the questions! thank

VALIS

just a quick quiry, what masters courses can be done after the degree? id be interested in doing something in international relations along with the development if that would be possible?

There are many possibilities here and the world is your oyster as you may want to study abroad but you will have an opportunity to get into areas like Co-operatives & Rural Dev (see UCC), environment related courses, public/global health, humanitarian action (see UCD), agriculturally skewed courses, human rights, gender, etc. If you want to explore International Relations with Development both DCU and UCD offer a selection of modules in numerous courses that cover this territory--though you will probably want to choose a specific route. See UCD's School of Politics and International Relations here:

http://www.ucd.ie/spire/prospectivepostgraduatestudents/

and what about a certa/tefl course? is it a good idea or too much or a work load or is there just no point in it? im thinking it might make work to your advantage having done one of those courses when going for a job?

I'm not familiar with these to be honest, but if they can be done outside of class hours and it's not too intense and the content isn't covered in the course it's always handy to have something that will distinguish you from other graduates.

and i see a lot of the jobs offered on the NGO websites specify having french, how important would this be? im doing german for the elaving but am absolutly useless at languages!!

Languages aren't essential per se but they are hugely significant; if you wish to work in South America Spanish would essentially be a prerequisite, and for some African countries or central europe, French--both of which are offered in the course (I didn't do a language in college, just leaving cert french).

Hope that helped.

MariaBlaah

thanks!!

the humanitarian action sounds like what I want to do.. but id like to study abroad for a bit just for the experience so if i can find something like that, but theres plenty of time for me yet

the certa is supposed to be pretty intense alright, 5 weeks of preparing classes and teaching and projects... id prob do it over summer! it would just be handy if it was offered with the course as its quiet expensive.

thanks again

fairyribbon

yay least someone else is doing the course ha i've asked around lots of different school and noone seems to be doing it or even know what its about...my guidance counsellor didn't even know what it was ...thought i was going to be the only one doing it !

MariaBlaah

saaame!! but after asking around i actually am friends with a girl whos friend is in first year! and my mom met a girl on a train going to dublin whos friend is in 3rd/4th year!haha mine acted like she knew what it was... but she went on careers portal "showing me how to use it" and looked up the course... :L it seems like such a good course!!

ForeverLoved

I put International Development & Food Policy down as my second choice & Arts as my first but i'm seriously considering changing it to first after reading how amazing the course sounds! Just wondering where everyone is planning on or has stayed? i.e Victoria Lodge, Castlewhite etc..

Thanks in advance

MariaBlaah

I'm booking Castlewhite anyways.. Theres a few of us planning on going to UCC, we're all going to different accommodations! One to Brookfield the other to Vic Lodge.. The rest dont know yet!

fairyribbon

ahh totally haven't even looked into campus accommodation yet !is it too late to book ?:eek:

MariaBlaah

i look like im stalking this thread but im actually not.. trying to do a history project and when i check the emails theres always a new message :P but neooo not at all! we just couldnt help ourselves getting so excited...! booking doesnt open til the 16th for castlewhite/vic lodge... then theres the other places!

ForeverLoved

Hey, I can't find International Development & Food Policy under the UCC Book of Modules, just wondering if any of the people studying it now have a link to it so i can see roughly what i'd be learning (hopefully)

pow wow

Here and here and then tap the module codes in here.

helenosullivan

Hi there!
im just wondering about the realistic career opportunities that this course would have? i would love to know would there be any jobs that would be in ireland? just wondering if anyone could let me know it would be awesome thanks! what type of jobs would this course get you at the end of the day???

VALIS

Realistically there won't be a plethora of options with the degree alone (although this varies by person as significant relevant work experience will give you an edge), especially so in Ireland. That said there are a few NGOs based in Ireland such as Concern and Trocaire with whom you could potentially work, but be prepared to face competition.

Statistically, most seem to go on to further study and a handful might start on their careers. The best advice is to get as much work experience as possible, even at a voluntary capacity with charities or even community development programmes and to consider further study so that you can specialise and distinguish yourself.

helenosullivan

Ok thanks im not really confident about this course now tbh, especially in recession times im not sure will i be able to get a job, thanks for the reply

VALIS

The job market is slim in most sectors at the moment so don't let that discourage you if you are genuinely interested in doing the course, with a little bit of investment you might find the payoff worth it at the end of the day. And as an added benefit in these times, the course prepares you to live and work abroad!:)

MariaBlaah

anoother question... would the course Government (if any of ye know anything about it) allow someone to work with NGOs? i dont think i did too well in exams and im worrying now about points rising! (aswell as passing maths but thats another matter..) also, i have no experience with charity work bar daffodil day collections, fundraising at school and in TY... just wondering would having little experience with the practicalities of the course be a set back?

VALIS

Don't panic, I remember being in your shoes 5 years ago, but it all worked out in the end. And volunteering, while extremely helpful, I would say is not completely essential, not at this point anyway (I have no substantial volunteering experience at the moment for instance) and anyhow there's a Int Dev society which seemed to regularly support causes and you can participate in that--not to mention the 6 month work placement later.

Government could be a plausible route to working in the development field, and you can secure most of the same Masters courses from it (which realistically will probably be necessary), in Int Dev I did the gov department's Public Health and Global Governance modules, which were really good, but I'd imagine overall it would be a drab experience for someone looking for more specialised knowledge in the area of development.

MariaBlaah

phew ok.. thanks, just need to breath then :P i wish i hadnt set my heart on just one course! sure gov is always a back up.. i was thinking about doing the human rights module.. do you know anything about that?

VALIS

I did Human Rights in second year through the law department; I think that was a core module actually. That one in particular was very broad and useful and the lecturer was excellent. I studied Conflict and Peace as an elective (has this one been re-branded to Conflict & Human Rights?) and that was very different, more of an open forum for discussion, but really educational and interesting nonetheless.

MariaBlaah

Just registered for the course and chose to do development, conflict and peace as my elective module... Wondering where will be the place to get 2nd hand books? It says I should be able to get them at the failte fest thing but I dont think Ill be down for that...

VALIS

Congratulations on getting in.

I think you can get second-hand books in the SU bookshop, but being honest in first year I got away with buying only two books which were Poverty and Development into the 21st Century (this one is/was important) and Management and Organisations.

There's always the library to borrow books from before exams and for essays.

Mahony11

Anybody have any advice for choosing electives in first year? Not a fan of languages. Did french for leaving cert and scraped a C2 somehow! But what is conflict like?

MariaBlaah

VALIS wrote: »

Congratulations on getting in.

I think you can get second-hand books in the SU bookshop, but being honest in first year I got away with buying only two books which were Poverty and Development into the 21st Century (this one is/was important) and Management and Organisations.

There's always the library to borrow books from before exams and for essays.

really?! how did you know which ones werent essential though?

Mahony11 wrote: »

Anybody have any advice for choosing electives in first year? Not a fan of languages. Did french for leaving cert and scraped a C2 somehow! But what is conflict like?

I decided to do the conflict one aswell.. i hated german last year and conflict just appealed to me more than the health one - can do that one in 2nd year!

VALIS

Some books can be easily avoided if you're not being asked to read a chapter every week or something; generally you'll be given lots of handouts which tend to take priority and doing self-directed learning reading academic articles when preparing essays. Now Poverty & Development into the 21st Century (don't know if that's still on the course) deals with so many of the basics it's a great resource in general. Also the law books in 2nd year were essential, those could be taken into the exam centres. I'd also recommend 80:20 Development in an Unequal World which will give you a great crash course in development for first year (it's going for nothing second-hand on amazon).

As for electives; you may feel more reassured if you sit in on a few and see what you like during the first week--I think that you have a few weeks to change your mind.

I didn't do a language myself but realistically I'd emphasize the importance of French or Spanish.

MariaBlaah

so wait on a few weeks to see what books are actually needed, yea?

VALIS

I would say that is probably your best option. Most things on suggested reading lists can be found in the library, relatively few things are worth the expenditure to own.

jamas

Looking at this course for 2014, do people still agree with the comments above. Has the course evolved in different ways. Now that it has been going for a while, how are the job prospects looking?

Realistically how is it likely to be viewed by employers outside of the development agencies?

Thanks

jw1234

Ya I would I'm going into final year and I'm quite happy with the prospects for work after (although I plan on doing a masters in human rights law). If by evolved you mean keeping up with current trends I would say definitely, topical issues like refugee law (direct provision in the irish context), agri models/emerging trends are covered. Also emerging areas like LGBT* rights in a developing world context are discussed in gender and development in third year. From what I have heard from graduates they seem to be getting on well I know some of them are working for development agencies here in Ireland and organisations like the UNHCR. With regard to how it is viewed by employers outside the development sphere I would imagine they would ask what is development unless they are involved in say international relations or something along those lines. The opportunities that the course provides are really excellent in third year you are able to get the study you did in 2nd year published as a group, placement and with the Int Dev society you get to go to conferences and talks etc. Hope this helps if you have any other questions ask away.

ItsNotAyne

Hi
Ive been working abroad for the last few years but really want to do this course.
Realistically how much could I do from abroad if I had someone to send me the Lecture notes etc. ie. How much credit goes towards actually attending lectures/tutorials? Or making presentations.
Thanks for your help!