The Institute for Development Studies (IDS) is a Behavioral, Social and Management Sciences Research Unit of the University based at the Enugu Campus.  The Institute was established in 1963 primarily for research into social and economic and sustainable human development problems in the country.  Its purpose is to contribute to solutions of problems, partly through research and partly by providing specialized training as well as facilities for scholars, government personnel and others directly engaged in research and in the organization and execution of development programmes at various levels.
The Institute received its first foundation grant from U.S.A.I.D. and the Ford Foundation in 1964 for basic facilities, namely a research library, a conference hall and staff offices on Campus.  
Occasional Workshops, seminars and conferences, generally based on themes from completed or on-going research, are organized to bring together local and international representative of Universities, governments and business corporations for result-oriented exchange of views.
The University Senate has approved PGD, M.Sc. and Ph.D programmes in Development Studies for the Institute .
The PGD and M.Sc. programmes took off in the 2006/2007 Session and the Ph.D programme took off in the 2007/2008 Session.
Research at the Institute is not only directed at solutions of social and economic problems but at provision of badly needed socio-economic data on a wide range of topics in various fields of social and economic studies.  A full and current bibliography of such studies completed and published or still being done, is kept for authorized requests.  The IDS also has a vibrant publishing section that has published many books and still working on several others.  The IDS also publishes the Nigeria Journal of Development Studies (NJDS).