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Mission

We are committed to helping students understand the multidimensional nature of development challenges, to gain the analytical capacity and tools to apply to development challenges, and to become critical thinkers about the development process and its implications.

We train students to become skilled practitioners who are able to:

  • Intellectually and culturally address complex sustainable development challenges by working across disciplinary boundaries and bridge scholarship and practice
  • Analyze and communicate multi-dimensional development problems (such as poverty, weak governance, and climate vulnerability) at the interface of the environment, health and development
  • Plan, manage, and monitor development interventions
  • Acquire the knowledge and skills for assessing or managing organizations, staff, and teams

Courses are designed to bridge academic, practice, and skills training. In addition to on-campus instruction, students benefit from field-based training in collaboration with partners internationally as well as domestically in the US. Their practicum field and research experience is designed to help students build strong networks with practitioners and to apply their skills to real development challenges.