Career Paths with an MPA-DP

We aim to prepare students for a range of career paths in sustainable development practice.  Some potential employers include:

• International and national NGOs working in sustainable development;

• Private sector entities, consulting firms, and social enterprises with business operations in developing and emerging economies;

• Government institutions concerned with planning, financing and implementing sustainable development;

• UN development agencies, such as the World Food Program, UNICEF, UNDP and the World Health Organization;

• International finance institutions, such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asia Development Bank (ADB), and Inter-American Development Bank (IADB);

• Bilateral aid agencies such as United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA);

• Foundations and other philanthropic organizations;

• Academic institutions that teach sustainable development practice.

Some examples of employers whom alumni have worked with:

• West African MDG Center (Mali)

• Office of the Mayor of Bogota (Colombia)

• Columbia Global Center, Mumbai (India)

• US Department of Health and Human Services (USA)

• Synergos, Global Philanthropy Circle (USA)

• América Latina en Acción Solidaria (ALAS) Foundation (USA)

• Africa Soil Information Service (Tanzania)

• Table for Two (USA)

• Save the Children (Kenya)

• Fintrac (US Virgin Islands)

• Office of the President, Republic of Korea

• DAI (USA)

• East African MDG Center (Kenya)

• Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development (USA)

• The World Bank (USA)

Skills and Concepts

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Apply cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral knowledge to address complex sustainable development challenges;

• Integrate science and technology into sustainable development policy and implementation;

• Contribute to, and communicate effectively with, teams of specialists across all fields of development;

• Act as a liaison amongst major stakeholders in development, including local community members, NGOs, development practitioners, scientists, private companies, policy makers, and government officials;

• Develop and analyze a broad range of sustainable development interventions and policies;

• Utilize a range of management and leadership models for the implementation of effective development interventions;

• Design a variety of data collection methods and statistical analysis for planning, monitoring, and evaluation; and

• Demonstrate a firm grasp of the political and sociocultural context of development.