The Curriculum

During the school year, students undertake coursework in a wide range of disciplines and sectors.  This classroom education is supplemented by a three-month summer field internship.  The program's core courses teach students the skills and professional knowledge needed to effectively address ongoing sustainable development challenges.

"Getting Started"

Prior to the fall semester, MPA-DP students participate in an intensive program called "Getting Started."   This program incorporates aspects of the broader SIPA orientation and refresher courses, while providing an introductory overview of development practice.  There are formal classes and field visits that lay the foundation for a successful learning experience.   

Core Requirements

Columbia University is a dynamic institution, attracting new faculty and introducing new courses every year.  As a result, the curriculum may vary slightly from year to year.  In some of the core areas, we require students to take a specific course.  In others, we give students options among different course offerings that meet the core learning requirement.  However, our commitment is to ensure that all students have access to courses that cover each of these core curriculum areas:

Food systems - agriculture, food and nutritional security, and agribusiness; Public health - nutrition, epidemiology, reproductive health, infectious and non-infectious diseases, health policy, health system design and management, and health technology; Infrastructure - energy, transport and communications infrastructure to support sustainable development; Environmental sustainability - biodiversity conservation, land degradation, water resources and climate change; Business enterprise - designing and financing business enterprises to increase incomes and employment; Economics and statistics - micro-and macro-economics and quantitative analysis;

Management - project design and management, monitoring and evaluation, budget planning and financial management, communication, decision-making tools and human resource management.

In addition to these core areas, all MPA-DP students take cross-disciplinary courses, including:

Global Classroom: Foundations of Sustainable Development

This is an innovative and interactive IT–based course that fosters cross-border, cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration, and allows students and teachers to participate in collective assignments and learning experiences. MPA-DP students join an international community of development practitioners and students through the use of an internet-based “global classroom.”

Practitioners Seminars

These weekly seminars are designed specifically and exclusively for MPA-DP students.  The seminars provide a unique forum for students to engage with policy leaders and practitioners to discuss current issues and experience in sustainable development.  Recent speakers include development practitioners from UNICEF, The World Bank, the International Rice Research Institute, Concern Worldwide, World Vision, and the UN General Assembly. 

Illustrative Sequence of Coursework

(All courses are 3 credits unless otherwise noted)

Electives

Beyond satisfying core requirements, students must take other relevant graduate-level courses to meet the SIPA degree requirements of 54 credits. Courses can be taken in any of the Columbia graduate schools. Students are encouraged to take skills-based elective courses, such as:

• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Cost Benefit Analysis
• New Media & Development Communication
• Decision Models
• Microfinance
• Investing in Emerging Markets
• Budgeting for Non-profits