Who Should Apply for the MPA in Development Practice?

The MPA-DP program is designed to provide the necessary knowledge and skills for:

“Generalist” development practitioners, for understanding the complex interactions among fields, and enabling them to design, coordinate and implement best practices in different sectors;

Sector-based practitioners, in broadening their knowledge base for the effective practice of sustainable development, so that they can contribute to cross-disciplinary policy and program teams;

Policy administrators, policy professionals, and other decision makers who want to pursue effective strategies for sustainable development practice;

Private-sector professionals dealing with decision-making and problem-solving relating to sustainable development;

Educators preparing a new generation to meet the challenges of sustainable development practice.

The program encourages potential students to gain hands-on field experience before applying to the program. For each cohort, we seek diverse international representation and a range of disciplinary backgrounds to enrich the learning environment. The first two MPA-DP classes include students from 21 countries, coming from a range of academic backgrounds, including economics, business, engineering, computer science, agriculture, public health, biology, religion, history, communications, political science, law and international relations.  This cultural and professional diversity within each cohort is a powerful asset for learning and contributing to a vibrant program.