In the early 1990s, the first students were admitted to the collaborative master’s specialization, which provides a focal point for graduate teaching and research on international development topics.

"Collaborative" in this context means that the specialization adds an interdisciplinary IDS focus to the disciplinary master’s program. Students receive a master’s degree in their selected discipline with the added designation "International Development Studies." 

Students and faculty from different disciplines work together to study the contemporary problems of poverty and inequality, as well as long-term change and cross-cultural comparisons, through a variety of disciplinary and inter-disciplinary approaches.

The specialization is governed by its four founding departments: Sociology & Anthropology, Political Science, Geography and Economics, under the guidance of the IDS Director and Graduate Coordinator.