Affiliated Research Institutes, Departments, and Schools

A truly interdisciplinary venture, the MPA in Development Practice relies on a broad-ranging set of experts, researchers, and teachers. The resources of Columbia University speak to the challenge of the problems at hand.

The Earth Institute at Columbia University http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu

The MPA in Development Practice is enriched by its connection with The Earth Institute. The Earth Institute at Columbia University is the world’s leading academic center for the integrated study of Earth, its environment, and society. Through research training and global partnerships, it mobilizes science and technology to advance sustainable development, while placing special emphasis on the needs of the world’s poor. The Earth Institute also provides students with an array of resources, from networking at the countless student events across campus to regular announcements for internship and work opportunities.

The School of International and Public Affairs
http://www.sipa.columbia.edu

For more than 60 years, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs has been educating professionals who make a difference in the world. Through rigorous social science research and hands-on practice, SIPA’s graduates and faculty work to improve social services, advocate for human rights, strengthen markets, protect the environment, and secure peace in their home communities and around the world. The School draws its strengths from the resources of New York City and Columbia University and yet has a global reach, with 15,000 graduates in more than 155 countries.

SIPA students are an extraordinary group from a variety of backgrounds; today half of SIPA’s nearly 1,200 students are international, coming from 100 countries. They are enrolled either in one of the traditional two-year programs, in the executive program in public administration, or in one of several dual degree programs with international schools such as the London School of Economics, the National University of Singapore, and the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po).

The Columbia Center for New Media
Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL)
http://www.ccnmtl.columbia.edu

The MPA in Development Practice at Columbia and abroad is also enriched by the CCNMTL’s extensive expertise in building interactive learning resources. The Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning was founded in 1999 as a University-wide initiative with a mission to enhance teaching and learning through the purposeful use of new media. In partnership with faculty, they provide the necessary support for a range of efforts from building basic course Web sites to developing advanced projects. CCNMTL is committed to remaining a leader in the field, engaging with its faculty partners in the reinvention of education for the digital age.

All CCNMTL projects focus on overlapping areas of innovation to support student inquiry and improve students’ understanding. Their projects include visualization and modeling tools, real-time data collection tools, data sharing programs, annotation and study tools, media archives, training environments, simulations, and multimedia study environments. Projects emphasize collaboration, interaction, and student activity. They promote better communication, personalization, and the multiplication of spaces, both real and virtual, in which students are invited to study, research, communicate, and learn.