 offerings offerings master s in strategic development studies programme description the programme is fundamentally designed to bring awareness of and identify ways to operate in the contemporary environment and to give effect to local regional and global development the primary objectives of the programme are 1 to produce a graduate who possesses the competencies essential to and required for analyzing policies and practices of the contemporary environment and applying research skills of empiricism to generate conceptual theoretical and practical solutions necessary for national development 2 to produce highly skilled graduates for the various development practices who will be able to operate in the contemporary environment to give effect to local regional and global development 3 to equip students with the skills for basic research implementation and evolution of the impact of development policies and programmes email us  ihrssf uogedugy call us 592 6241311 5 the programme has several secondary objectives aimed at enabling participants to understand how states influence the contemporary environment by their interests decision making and strategic networking programme details the master of science strategic development studies is a one academic year 2 semester programme participants are expected to complete eight modules one of which is any elective on a master s programme whether 3 or 4 credits or a foreign language students will need to satisfy a minimum of 35 or maximum of 36 credits to graduate the courses are as follows semester i msd 5101 the strategic environment the module seeks to bring into focus the operating environment in which guyana exists the major players who exert influence through varying interests and the implications resulting from threats to these interests the objective of the course is to enable participants students to understand the interests of states and institutions and appreciate how these interests determine influence behavior and shape policies msd 5102 state institutions and governance this module seeks to inform on the political framework of governance and institutional structures necessary for growth and development it presents an understanding of how government public sector private sector civil society and other key stakeholders interact to help shape good governance practices the objectives of the course are to enable participants students to understand the concept of governance and its relevance to the contemporary environment appreciate the role institutions play within the governance construct appreciate the need for public policies to promote good governance and develop the aptitude to make convincing recommendations of the most appropriate democratic institutions and governance structures for the achievement of national policy strategic and developmental goals msd 5103 policy formulation for strategic development this module identifies strategic studies in areas of policy formulation at the national regional and international levels it takes a theoretical and practical 6 approach by exposing participants to the dynamics of policies and to various frameworks for policy development msd 5104 data and information management it is often said that data is the new oil this module provides students with an introduction to the core concepts in data and information management and their application in organizational decision making data management is concerned with the processes of capturing organizing and managing data as an organizational resource with the goal of providing maximum benefits to an organization individual and information systems whereas information management is mainly concerned with the processes technology and people that define and implement structures and controls over the processing delivery and usage of information in organizational management decision making and business intelligence to this end this course introduces students to various tools techniques approaches and issues associated with these organizational resource management goals it acknowledges that academic rigour and practical relevance are important to the pursuit of these goals in this regard this course tends toward practical relevance as it provides students with the opportunity to combine theory and practice students will collect data using different collection methods and analytical techniques in a practical decisionmaking context while maintaining requisite academic rigour the preceding will serve as the basis for student s appreciation of the nexus between evidencebased organizational decision making and policy development semester ii msd 5201 evolving issues in democracy and the contemporary environment the module provides the historical context of political theories their evolution and impact participants will be exposed to the fundamentals of the modern state and the obligations such states have to this realm the objectives of the course are to enable participants students to understand and appreciate the theories and practices of democracy and how they help shape relations with other international and regional actors it also equips students with the critical thinking skills for participation in a democratic society msd 5202 strategic leadership this module exposes students to the challenges of strategic leadership in an increasingly complex environment it is anchored on the foundational principle that leadership is a behaviour and not a position therefore the module examines strategic leadership through the framework of what behaviours are required what 7 knowledge must be acquired and what actions must be taken by a strategic leader msd 5203 capstone research this course seeks to guide students in the fundamentals of research which culminates in a capstone project thesis on a topical issue relating to strategic development in their context students will also be exposed to critical thinking skills as a necessary tool for writing and producing research which is well argued the course will also seek to provide participants with an of understanding of the research process and the basic structure of a research students will employ critical thinking skills while engaging with the literature and writing up research and apply the tools of research in the conduct preparation and finalization of a research project thesis semester i or ii www 5201 any three four 34 credits master level course subject to approval as an elective entrance requirements a first degree in any discipline or a diploma or associate degree plus five 5 years experiences at a management level or any other qualification considered acceptable by the university of guyana in instances where applicants do not have the requisite qualifications for entry into the programme a bridge programme could be offered for matriculation into the masters shomari fri 9232022 1117  