Central Department of Rural Development

ABOUT CAMPUS

Established in 2001 with the dawn of the 21st century, the Central Department of Rural Development (CDRD), one of the Central Departments under the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tribhuvan University, has been offering Master of Arts (MA) program in Rural Development for about one and a half decade. It has also been facilitating a PhD program in Rural Development (the program that the Dean Office of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences started a few years after CDRD came into existence) for about a decade by assessing and influencing doctoral research conducted by students enrolled in that program through critical comments and suggestions.

Despite rapid urbanization, Nepal is still predominantly rural. Rural Municipalities (460) account for about 61 per cent of total local levels (753) while urban local levels (293)-Metropolitan City (6), Sub-Metropolitan City (11) and Municipalities (276)- make up about 39 per cent. Its overall development essentially involves rural development. Setting in motion the process of development in the Nepali context is, for the most part, setting in motion the process of rural development. Ensuring that setting in motion the process of rural development contributes to the overall development of the country requires that it be as scientific as possible. Likewise, for the process of rural development to be as scientific as possible, it must be informed by the theoretical insights derived from different academic disciplines. It is this assumption that forms the rationale behind the multidisciplinary character of the MA program in Rural Development.

OBJECTIVE

• Equipping the students with the required conceptual knowledge of rural development.
• Enabling them to serve the current needs of rural society.
• Enabling them to translate theoretical knowledge into practice.
• Enabling them to convince rural people to select and use the appropriate technology suitable for them.
• Enabling them to formulate rural development plans at the local level.
• Enabling them to handle independent rural development projects with confidence.

OUTCOMES

• Development workers with transferable skills in rural areas.
• Facilitators of action research.
• Managers of advocacy programs.
• Facilitators between local bodies and development agencies.
• Animators with performance skills.
• Local development planners.

STRATEGIES

• Work in coordination with GOs, NGOs and INGOs in different development sectors.
• Establish academic linkage with national and international Universities and Institutions for exchange programs.
• Organize talk programs, seminars and symposia regularly.
• Develop the existing library into a resource centre.
• Publish an academic Journal on regular basis (Nepalese Journal of Development and Rural Studies) and newsletters.

MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD

Bishnu Bahadur Khatri

Associate Professor.
Head of the Department.

It is my great opportunity to lead this Department as a Head. I attempt to enhance academic programs run by CDRD from the point of view of development studies as RD is a sub-field of development studies and one of the multidisciplinary subjects within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. We welcome students from various disciplines, for example, Anthropology, Demography, Economics, Engineering, Environmental Science, Geography, History, Political science, Public Health, Rural Development and Sociology to pursue an MA in RD which requires a blending of knowledge and perspectives from these multidisciplinary areas. Let me say something about Nepal and why CDRD programs are urgent. It is an inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary enquiry into change and social and economic transformation in rural development. Nepal is a small landlocked Himalayan country between two major Asiatic civilisations: India to the south and Tibet, an autonomous part of China, to the north. For political and administrative reasons, Nepal is structured along hierarchical lines. There are three different levels (listed from the lowest to highest). 

Master of Arts in Rural Development (MA in RD): The MA in Rural Development (MRD) program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the theories, concepts, and practices related to rural development. The program focuses on multidisciplinary insights into rural development, equipping students with the knowledge and skills required for effective rural development planning, implementation, and management. 

Doctor of Philosophy in Rural Development (PhD in RD): The PhD in Rural Development (PhD in RD) program is a research-focused program that aims to produce scholars and researchers who can contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field of rural development. The program allows students to conduct in-depth research on specific rural development topics of their interest under the guidance of experienced faculty members.