This course introduces students to the structure and strategy of international project finance in the energy sector, with emphasis on projects central to the global energy transition and LNG market expansion. Through real-world case studies and hands-on modeling exercises, students will analyze project risks, develop risk ratings, and assess cashflows to determine equity returns and lender credit metrics.

Geopolitics is complicating the already difficult task of moving from a carbon-intensive energy system to one of net-zero emissions. Today’s geopolitical tensions risk slowing the pace of the urgently needed clean energy transition, while some dynamics within the transition itself are exacerbating existing geopolitical challenges. Competition between great powers—a defining feature of the emerging global order—now threatens progress through trade disputes and national security concerns. The uneven global transition is also deepening divides between developed and developing countries.

Emerging and developing economies are expected to account for the bulk of the energy demand and carbon emissions growth in the coming decades. Drastic changes are necessary to their current energy systems and future energy infrastructure so that it is in line with global climate goals—an effort that will require significant amounts of capital. This course will look at the formidable task of financing the energy transition in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs).

Instructor permission required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration.

Today’s most pressing challenges, including climate change, social inequities, and financial instability, are complex, global, and systemic. This course explores how investors can respond through system-level investing, an emerging approach that considers the deep interconnections among financial markets, the real economy, and long-term environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes.

Instructor permission required. Students must 1) submit an application via https://forms.gle/TRbJrFMZKE8NbpJu7  and 2) join the waitlist in Vergil to be considered for enrollment. Without both of these steps complete, student applications cannot be considered. Please do not email any materials to the Professor or the TA.

The seminar explores how political and legal philosophers, as well as leaders of political movements and established states, envision international order.  It asks and critically assesses how they imagine international politics is governed and how it should be governed. 

This is the first of a two-course sequence for second-year students concentrating in Development and Governance (D&G), formerly Economic and Political Development (EPD). The second course is the Workshop in Sustainable Development Practice. These courses are integrated into a year-long encounter with the applied practice of sustainable development, guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This course offers students a strategic and applied framework for understanding the global financial services industry, spanning commercial and investment banking, asset and wealth management, central banking, and financial regulation. Students will examine the sector’s evolution, current challenges, and future direction. Topics include risk management, regulatory change, financial technology, global competitive positioning, and the strategic dilemmas faced by CEOs in a post-2008 financial landscape.

Industrial policy is returning, and this is not just a US phenomenon  China, the European Union (EU), Japan, and Korea have each increased subsidies in support of key industries, while a number of countries, such as Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) have been updating their national lists of sensitive sectors that are required to remain in the hands of domestic firms and individuals  New export control measures have been introduced by the United States and other nations, and a combination of legal and policy tools are being utilized to support priority sectors, limit, and dire

This interdisciplinary course explores how technology, policy, and law intersect in addressing complex cybersecurity challenges. Taught by experts in each field, the course examines how different disciplines approach problems such as cybercrime, national security threats, and corporate intrusions. Students will gain foundational knowledge in Internet architecture and computer security, legal frameworks governing cyber activity, and policy strategies for defense and resilience.

This seminar critically examines the evolution and current trajectory of Russian security policy, with particular attention to the ongoing war in Ukraine and its broad strategic implications. The course explores the political, historical, and structural factors that shape Russia’s national security outlook, as well as its use of military force, energy policy, diplomacy, and information operations to advance its interests.

Prerequisite: Instructor-Managed Waitlist. Propaganda, Russia and the World Information War is a highly current guide to propaganda and disinformation, the geopolitical impact of information, and how false, weaponized narratives threaten the world's news and information environment. 

Prerequisites: Instructor-Managed Waitlist & Course Application. This short course explores techniques that enable sophisticated problem solving and data analysis in Microsoft Excel. Topics include implementing advanced logic using complex formulas and intermediate calculations; managing complexity with Excel's auditing features; importing, parsing and cleaning raw data; pulling data together using lookup functions; and summarizing and analyzing data with conditional aggregate functions and PivotTables.

Prerequisite: Course Application. In an era increasingly defined by geopolitical competition, it is more important than ever for future policymakers to understand why and how foreign policy decisions are made.

Perhaps the greatest challenge of policymaking is how to manage the urgent while maintaining focus on the important.  Foreign policy leaders must maintain a strategic direction while also responding to the unexpected, and they often struggle to craft a policy that pursues long-term interests while also meeting the needs of the present and recognizing the reality of limits. This is especially true at a moment of tremendous geopolitical change, uncertainty, and political polarization. Historians will likely remember the years from 2020-2025 as an inflection point for the U.S.

This immersive, two-day workshop examines the concept of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of historic negotiation efforts, most notably the Camp David Summit (1999–2001). Guided by former Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, students will explore the political, legal, and narrative frameworks that have shaped these peace talks, with particular attention to the components of Palestinian statehood.

Henry Kissinger remarked in the 1970s that "Israel has no foreign policy, only domestic politics." Moshe Dayan, Israel's quintessential general, observed that "Israel has no foreign policy, only a defense policy with international implications." These statements highlight an enduring question for the Middle East: What explains Israeli foreign policy? How do history, security challenges, ideology, and domestic politics influence Israel's position in a globalized world? This question carries special relevance when considering the war in Gaza.

This intensive two-day workshop examines North Korea’s nuclear program within the broader security dynamics of the Indo-Pacific region. Students will explore how North Korea’s ambitions intersect with U.S.-China strategic competition and the evolving roles of Japan, South Korea, India, and other regional actors. Topics include extended deterrence, crisis escalation, alliance management, economic statecraft, and the linkage between Korean Peninsula security and Taiwan Strait tensions.

This workshop-style course introduces students to the principles of social entrepreneurship and human-centered design. Working in teams, students will identify pressing social or environmental challenges, conduct stakeholder research, and develop new venture ideas through iterative prototyping, budgeting, and pitching. The course emphasizes design thinking methodologies and includes instruction in customer discovery, solution testing, and storytelling for social impact.

Instructor permission required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration. This seminar explores the strategy and storytelling behind effective social impact campaigns. Through case studies on topics such as reproductive rights, racial justice, teen pregnancy, and climate change, students will examine why certain narratives succeed in shifting public opinion and policy.

Pre-reqs: CEEN IA7200: Fundamentals of Environmental Economics and Policy, or CEEN IA7300: Energy Systems Fundamentals, or SUMA PS5155: Energy Markets and Innovation. Instructor permission is also required for registration. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a hot topic. More than 800 million people now use ChatGPT each week, trillions of dollars are being invested in data centers globally, and policymakers around the world are considering how best to respond to the growth in AI.

Instructor permission required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration.

Today’s most pressing challenges, including climate change, social inequities, and financial instability, are complex, global, and systemic. This course explores how investors can respond through system-level investing, an emerging approach that considers the deep interconnections among financial markets, the real economy, and long-term environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes.

Instructor permission required. Students must 1) submit an application via https://forms.gle/TRbJrFMZKE8NbpJu7  and 2) join the waitlist in Vergil to be considered for enrollment. Without both of these steps complete, student applications cannot be considered. Please do not email any materials to the Professor or the TA.

Pre-req: SIPA IA6501 - Quant II or equivalent quantitative methods course. Instructor permission required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration. 

This course bridges the gap between data science and public policy by bringing together students from diverse academic backgrounds to address contemporary policy challenges using large-scale data. With the rapid growth of digital information and the increasing influence of machine learning and AI on public life, the ability to work across disciplines is becoming essential.

Pre-req: SIPA IA6500 - Quant I, and prior experience with R are required. Instructor permission required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration. 

Pre-req: DSPC IA6000 - Computing in Context, or see option for testing out. In Computing in Context, students "explore[d] computing concepts and coding in the context of solving policy problems." Building off that foundation of Python fundamentals and data analysis, Advanced Computing for Policy goes both deeper and broader.

Instructor permission required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration.

Instructor permission required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration. This is a course for thoughtful people who wish to influence actual policy outcomes related to sustainability challenges in major cities. Its objective is not to provide a primer on urban sustainability solutions; this is readily available from textbooks and will change by the time you are in a position to act. Rather, the course’s objective is to prepare you for the kind of challenges that will face you as a policy practitioner in the field of urban sustainability.

Instructor permission required. This graduate seminar explores the politics of international economic relations, with a focus on contemporary issues in trade, finance, monetary policy, foreign investment, climate change, and globalization. Rather than surveying the entire field of international political economy (IPE), the course investigates selected topics in depth, emphasizing how interests, institutions, and interactions shape economic policy across borders.

Instructor permission required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration. This seminar explores the role of intelligence in U.S. national security and foreign policy, focusing on both historic and contemporary controversies. Topics include intelligence failures such as 9/11 and Iraq’s WMDs, challenges in cyber and surveillance, and debates about covert action and interrogation practices. The course also considers the Intelligence Community’s (IC) relationship with policymakers, particularly during election cycles and presidential transitions.

Instructor permission and application required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration.

This course prepares students to engage in peacebuilding practice by developing fieldwork-related competencies rooted in critical reflection, professional strategy, and ethical engagement. Students examine foundational values, frameworks, and dilemmas in the peacebuilding field, while cultivating skills in project design, monitoring and evaluation (MEAL), communication, collaboration, and cultural awareness.

Prerequisites: Instructor-Managed Waitlist & Course Application. This short course explores techniques that enable sophisticated problem solving and data analysis in Microsoft Excel. Topics include implementing advanced logic using complex formulas and intermediate calculations; managing complexity with Excel's auditing features; importing, parsing and cleaning raw data; pulling data together using lookup functions; and summarizing and analyzing data with conditional aggregate functions and PivotTables.

This intensive two-day workshop examines North Korea’s nuclear program within the broader security dynamics of the Indo-Pacific region. Students will explore how North Korea’s ambitions intersect with U.S.-China strategic competition and the evolving roles of Japan, South Korea, India, and other regional actors. Topics include extended deterrence, crisis escalation, alliance management, economic statecraft, and the linkage between Korean Peninsula security and Taiwan Strait tensions.

Instructor permission required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration.

Instructor permission required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration. This seminar explores the strategy and storytelling behind effective social impact campaigns. Through case studies on topics such as reproductive rights, racial justice, teen pregnancy, and climate change, students will examine why certain narratives succeed in shifting public opinion and policy.

This course provides an introduction to both financial and managerial accounting and emphasizes the analysis and evaluation of accounting information from the perspective of managers in the planning, decision-making, and control processes. The objective is to provide an overview of financial accounting and reporting, including basic accounting concepts and principles, the financial statements, financial statement analysis, and the use of AI in accounting.

This course examines key issues in open economy macroeconomics, including the determinants of exchange rates; causes and consequences of inflation; central banking and international monetary arrangements; the money supply process in open economies; capital flows and global banking; the balance of payments and current account imbalances; national income accounting and the nature of twin deficits; the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policies in open economies; fixed versus flexible exchange rates; the economics of monetary integration, and the role of the supply side and long-run economi

Pre-req: EMPA IA8213 - Microeconomics or equivalent. Familiarity with Excel is strongly recommended. This course introduces students to the principles and practice of cost-benefit analysis for evaluating policies and projects. Emphasizing practical skills over theoretical complexity, students will learn to apply key tools, including valuation methods, discounting, sensitivity analysis, and Excel-based modeling.

This course is designed for future leaders and top-level advisors within both governmental and non-governmental (i.e. private for-profit and non-profit) organizations. The goal is to introduce the participants to the basic concepts, skills, and tools of “positive political theory” in policymaking.

This course asks how global cooperation can help meet global challenges. The readings, lectures, and class discussions address ongoing debates over the prospects for global governance. Special attention is given to the role of international institutions, including the United Nations, regional organizations, and international financial institutions. We discuss global policies on investment and trade, combating poverty, and sustainable development.

This course equips mid-career professionals with the statistical tools needed to make data-informed decisions in public management and policy contexts. The course begins with foundational concepts in probability and statistics and advances through hypothesis testing, regression analysis, and applied data interpretation. Emphasis is placed on practical application, allowing students to critically evaluate research and apply quantitative findings to real-world policy and business challenges.

This course facilitates learning about 1) basic principles related to ecological interactions of life on earth and 2) the causes and consequence of changes in biological diversity. For the first portion of this course, we will focus on how organisms interact with one another and with the non-living environment. For the second portion of this course, we will study the effects of biodiversity at the genetic, population, community, and landscape levels.

Students learn how ecology can inform land use decisions and applied management strategies of natural resources (e.g. water, air, biodiversity), particularly in urban environments. The course covers topics ranging from applied ecology and conservation biology to sustainable development. It uses a cross-disciplinary approach to understanding the nature of ecology and biological conservation, as well as the social, philosophical and economic dimensions of land use strategies.

Students learn how the atmosphere, oceans, and freshwater systems interact to affect climate. Causes of greenhouse warming, energy production and alternatives are studied. A local case study focuses on planning for climate change on inter-annual, decadal, and centennial time scales. A goal of the course is to teach an appreciation of uncertainties and predictability in earth systems.  A particular emphasis will be placed on the role of humans over the last centuries, in the perturbation of the natural climate.

Students are introduced to the hydrologic cycle, as well as to processes governing water quantity and quality. Students learn how the atmosphere, oceans, and freshwater systems interact to affect the hydrological cycle and climate. The course focuses on basic physical principles (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, stream flow, percolation, and groundwater flow), as well as environmentally relevant applications based on case studies.

The course teaches basic techniques for understanding particular environments and the key chemical processes of environmental science, including those that have to do with pollution generation and control. The purpose of the course is to teach students how to analyze chemical information that they will encounter as environmental managers. The focus is on chemical contaminants on local-to global-scale levels. Students learn how these contaminants are influenced by the physical, chemical, and biological processes that naturally take place in ecosystems.

The purpose of this course is to foster an understanding of how environmental scientists think and solve environmental issues, and to develop an expertise in assessing the validity of scientific research and its conclusions. The course explores the effects of contaminants on human health and the health of other living beings within an ecosystem. While toxicologists study a wide variety of toxicants, from naturally occurring poisons (venoms) to synthetic chemicals, this course will emphasize anthropogenic toxicants, and whether and how exposure to these chemicals should be controlled.

This course is about social science research methods, with a heavy focus on quantitative techniques. Students in this course will learn to formulate research and policy questions amenable to empirical inquiry and to identify and apply appropriate methods of measurement and analysis to answer these questions.

This course begins with a discussion on the formulation of research questions derived from policy and management objectives, followed by the collection and organization of data, and finally the presentation and analysis of facts.