The MDP Program offers an interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Development Practice (SDP). To obtain the SDP Graduate Certificate, graduate students at the Master’s level are required to take 12 credits, while PhD students must complete 15 credits. Students must achieve a GPA of 3.00 or higher in certificate courses. The MDP Program is administered jointly by the UF Center for African Studies and Latin American Studies and is part of the Global Association of MDP Programs.
The MDP Program has a strong core of program faculty committed to issues of development and practice, and an expanding list of over thirty affiliate faculty from different departments throughout the University of Florida.
Required credit hours include the following courses:
- 3 credit hours of LAS 6943/AFS 6305 Development Theory and Practice in Africa and Latin America (cross-cutting overview course that focuses on relevant aspects in each of the four MDP pillars);
- At the Master’s level, 3 MDP required courses (9 additional credit hours), or equivalents, one each in three of the four MDP pillars: social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, and management skills (the latter may include up to 3 credits of a supervised practicum in development practice, taken as LAS 6940 Tropical Conservation and Development Practicum);
- At the Ph.D. level, 4 MDP required courses (12 additional credit hours), or equivalents, one in each of the four MDP pillars: social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, and management skills (the latter may include up to 3 credits of a supervised practicum in development practice, taken as LAS 6940 Tropical Conservation and Development Practicum).
To fulfill these requirements, students will select from existing core courses or appropriate substitutes approved by the MDP Graduate Coordinator. In many cases, substitute courses may be counted from the student’s major.
Prerequisites:
- Admission and enrollment in the UF Graduate School in a participating academic department
- Interest in international sustainable development
Step one
Apply through UF admissions before registering for the first course of your certificate program. Scroll down until you see CERTIFICATE, then follow the instructions, selecting the SDP Certificate from the list.
Step two
Schedule and meet with the SDP Graduate Certificate Coordinator, Dr. Renata Serra.
Step three
Download, complete, and submit the SDP Certificate Enrollment form to Dr. Renata Serra, SDP Graduate Coordinator, and to Andy Noss, MDP Program Coordinator. You will be added to the certificate database and the MDP Listserv. Welcome to the UF MDP Community!
Step four
During the mid-point of your degree program, check in with the MDP Program Coordinator to ensure you are on track to completing the certificate.
Step five
Once you have finished the certificate requirements and before graduating, go into your ONE.UF account, then go to “My Record,” and select “Certificate/Degree Application.” This will insure the SDP Certificate to appear in your transcript.
Step six
During your final semester prior to your graduation, download and complete the SDP Certificate Credit Verification form. You are required to have a final consultation with SDP Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Renata Serra in order to finalize completion of the certificate requirements and assess the SDP Certificate student learning outcomes (SLOs).
For general information about the SDP Graduate Certificate, please email Andy Noss, MDP Program Coordinator