Higher education, policy schools, and development studies: what should masters degree students be taught?

What are the distinctive skills and attributes that should be expected of Masters (as opposed to undergraduate and doctoral) graduates of international development programmes? Given the diversity of their academic and cultural backgrounds, the inherent uncertainty of their career trajectories, the variety of country contexts and organizational environments in which they will be working, and the range of constituent groups with which they are likely to interact on a regular basis, I argue that Masters degree programmes in development studies should focus on helping students acquire three core competencies-the skills of 'detectives' (data collection, analysis and interpretation), 'translators' (reframing given ideas for diverse groups), and 'diplomats' (negotiation, conflict mediation, deal making). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.