Note: All MPA concentrations are currently going through a curricular transition. New and updated concentrations will be available for students applying for residential MPA cohort starting in the 2025-2026 academic year. This webpage will be updated in the near future.

MPA students concentrating in International Development Studies are concerned with policy issues and policy formulation and implementation in developing countries. This concentration helps students understand the broad and specific contexts in which international development decisions are made. Students can explore international development concerns using a range of interdisciplinary perspectives and methods including anthropology, demography, economics, regional planning, sociology, biotechnology, and legal studies.

Representative Coursework

• Ethics, Development, and Globalization
• Planning and Management of Agriculture and Rural Development
• Alternative Paradigms, Practices, and Challenges in International Development
• Institutional Reform in Developing Countries
• Development Economics and Public Policy
• Human Migration
• Toward a Sustainable Global Food System: Food Policy in Developing Countries

Representative Employers (Full Time & Internships)

• Inter-American Development Bank
• International Finance Corporation
• International Food Policy Research Institute
• UN Development Programme
• UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
• UN Food and Agriculture Organization
• UN World Food Programme
• US Agency for International Development
• The World Bank

Representative Occupational Titles

• Foreign Service Officer
• Manager
• Operations Manager
• Program Analyst
• Program Officer
• Project Coordinator
• Research Analyst