Career Paths and Alumni

Life After Global Development Studies

Where will your degree take you?

A degree is Global Development Studies provides pathways to a wide range of careers focused on improving lives, reducing inequality, and tackling global challenges. Graduates work across sectors that span local communities and international systems, blending policy, research, and hands-on action.

Our students develop skills that employers in Canada and around the world value highly. Our graduates are well-trained with the necessary skills to address pressing global challenges.

Our undergraduate students enter the workforce with effective analytical and communication skills, combined with a knowledge base that is global in scope.

Our students can gain practical development experience through our work study courses and international placement course.

Our graduate students emerge with a signature portfolio of diverse skills including:

  • cross-cultural communication
  • project design
  • fieldwork proficiency
  • logistical planning
  • network building
  • creation and communication of new knowledge

My experience in 91TV's Global Development Studies (DEVS) program was truly one of a kind. As I work towards a career in global governance, I am grateful for the strong foundation in critical, intersectional thinking that I acquired through DEVS, which helps me bring forward an informed and development-focused perspective in the world.

Catherine Despatie
Bachelor of Arts Honours (DEVS) 2021, Master of Global Affairs 2023

Global Development Studies Alumni

Our alumni hold positions in a variety of fields including academia and research, international development and humanitarian work, government and public policy, advocacy and law, communications and journalism, and the private-sector.

Our alumni have found success in roles such as:

  • Consul and Counsellor, High Commission of Canada in Columbia
  • Foreign Service Officer, High Commission of Canada in the UK
  • Senior Policy Advisor, Global Affairs Canada
  • Director General, Policy and Engagement, Canada Water Agency

Our alumni have found success in roles such as:

  • Director of Corporate Affairs, Microsoft
  • Development Director, Electronic Arts

Our alumni have found success in roles such as:

  • Human Rights Lawyer, United Nations
  • Human Rights Officer, UN Human Rights Legal Counsel, Department of Justice 
  • Assistant Crown Attorney, Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General

Our alumni have found success in roles such as:

  • Associate Professor, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Associate Professor, Political Studies, University of Windsor
  • Senior Lecturer in Global Digital Politics, King's College London
  • Assistant Professor, Political Studies, University of Ottawa
  • Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University
  • Assistant Professor, Political Science, Acadia University

Our alumni have found success in roles such as:

  • Deputy International Editor, Washington Post
  • Investigative Reporter, Toronto Star
  • Assistant Editor, The Narwhal

Our alumni have found success in roles such as:

  • Director of Communications, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada
  • Head of Disability Inclusion, Mastercard Foundation
  • Senior Policy Advisor in Gender Justice, Oxfam America
  • Environmental & Social Justice Educator
  • Senior Project Manager, Policy and Advocacy, Community Change (The ORG)
  • Head of CEO Office, Save the Children International
  • Senior Human Rights Advisor, Human Rights & Equity Office, 91TV
  • Executive Director, KEYS Employment and Newcomer Services