The 2020 MDP Curriculum

**Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, MDP courses will be accessible online in Fall 2020**

Some interesting facts about the MDP Curriculum

  • MDP students require 50 credits to graduate.

  • Required credits take three forms: core, flex-core, and elective. Core courses are specific, preselected courses that MDP students must take to graduate. Flex-core courses are pre-selected course sets from which students choose the best fit. Elective courses (not listed below) are courses that MDP students use to reach the 50 credit requirement and are chosen to meet their specific areas of interest not covered by the core and flex-core requirements.

  • Inter-disciplinary program = inter-departmental coursework. Whenever possible, classes are offered in the specific academic units (colleges, departments) where the research and knowledge reside and taught by faculty from that area.

  • Many of the core and flex-core courses put students one step closer to a minor in a particular focus area. Popular minors include program evaluation, non-profit management, natural resource sciences and management, and human rights.

  • A minor is not required but many students elect to pursue a minor.

  • This link directs to the University Graduate School's programs and minors catalog.

  • This link re-directs to the 2020 Program Planning Worksheet (PPW).

Students choose *one* of the following courses, taken where their schedule permits, [1.5-3 credits]

  • PA 5003 (1.5 cr) | Introduction to Public Financial Analysis & Management OR

  • PA 5032 (2 cr) | Intermediate Regression (recommended concurrent with PA 5521) OR

  • PA 5044 (2 cr) | Advanced Regression OR

  • PA 5311 (3 cr) | Program Evaluation OR

  • OLPD 5501 / EPSY 5243 (3 cr) | Principles and Methods of Evaluation

Fall Semester, First Year [14-15 credits]

  • MDP 5001 (2 cr) | Ways of Knowing for Sustainable Development [Wilsey]

  • PA 5501 (3 cr) | Theories & Policies of Development [Friedemann-Sánchez]

  • PA 5031 (4 cr) | Statistics for Public Affairs or PA 5045 Statistics for Public Affairs, Accelerated [How to decide?]

  • PA 5151 (3 cr) | Organizational Perspectives on Global Development & Humanitarian Assistance [Oelberger] (This course can also be taken in fall of second year) *** ALERT: As of June 25 2020, this course will not be offered in the fall of 2020 and instead will be rescheduled for spring 2021. It will also be offered again in fall of 2021, which is likely to be the most realistic option for first year students interested in taking the course given the heavy spring load in the first year***.

  • PUBH 6134 (2 cr) | Global Public Health [Instructor To be Determined] OR

….PUBH 6320 (3 cr) | Fundamentals of Epidemiology [Var.]**see note under Fall Semester, Second Year below:

Spring Semester, First Year [13 credits]

  • MDP 5002 (3 cr) | Program Development Workshop [Wilsey]

  • MDP 5005 (3 cr) | Qualitative Methods for Development Practice [Valentina Salas]

  • AGRO 5321 (3 cr) | Ecology of Agricultural Systems [Jordan]

  • PA 5521 (4 cr) | Development Planning & Policy Analysis [Assaad]

Summer [3 credits]

  • MDP 5004 (3 cr) | Summer Field Experience

Fall Semester, Second Year [7 credits]

  • MDP 5100 (1 cr) | Post-Field / Pre-Capstone Seminar [Johnstone/Wilsey]

  • PA 5503 (3 cr) | Economics of Development [Assaad]

  • PA 5151 (3 cr) | Organizational Perspectives on Global Development & Humanitarian Assistance [Oelberger] -

  • PA 5011(3cr) | Management of Organizations [Oelberger] (alt for PA 5151)

  • OLPD 5104 (3 cr) | Strategies for International Development Education [Johnstone] OR

OLPD 5107 (3 cr) | Gender, Education & Development [DeJaeghere].

*Note: On April 16 2020 the program was informed that GEOG 5401 (See section below) would not be offered in spring 2021 and would instead be offered fall 2020. This change was described as temporary but may ultimately become a permanent change within the GEOG offerings.

**For students who may have not met the PUBH requirement in Fall of your first year, please take:

  • PUBH 6108 Foundations of Global Health [Munoz-Zanzi].



Spring Semester, Second Year [6-7 credits]

  • MDP 5200 (3 cr) | Capstone Workshop in Development Practice [Var.]

  • GEOG 5401*** (4 cr) | Geography of Environmental Systems & Global Change [Klink] OR

  • GCC 5008 (3 cr) | Policy and Science of Global Environmental Change [Polasky, Reich, and Hobbie ]

***Note: On April 16 2020 the program was informed that GEOG 5401 would not be offered in spring 2021 and would instead be offered fall 2020. This change was described as temporary but may ultimately become a permanent change within the GEOG offerings.