MacArthur has invested $16 million to seed the creation of new Master’s programs in sustainable development practice (MDP) at universities worldwide over three years. Together, the universities are expected to produce 400 graduates by 2013, with a total of 800 students enrolled each year.
MacArthur has supported a Secretariat for the Global Master's in Development Practice Network, based at theEarth Institute at Columbia University in New York. The Secretariat serves as the hub for the MDP programs worldwide, and offers an online, Global Classroom that is a keystone for the MDP curriculum, It also has developed an online knowledge platform for sharing curricular materials and other resources among the university partners, and helps to market the programs to students and faculty worldwide.
The universities that have received MacArthur grants to establish MDP programs are:
BRAC University(Dhaka, Bangladesh) ($200,000) has established an MDP program within the BRAC Development Institute. The University is partnering with its sister organization, BRAC, one of the largest non-government development organizations in the world, which manages sustainable development projects in over 69,000 villages throughout Bangladesh. For their field training, MDP students are participating in some of BRAC's projects, addressing issues such as poverty, microfinance, rural health care, and non-formal education.
Columbia University(New York, New York) ($1,066,000) launched the flagship MDP program in 2009 and will graduate the first class in 2011. Collaborating with the Earth Institute and the Millennium Villages Project, the program is supplemented by field training in five Millennium Villages throughout Africa. Play video ››
Emory University(Atlanta, Georgia) ($900,000) is emphasizing the health and governance-related aspects of sustainable development through its work with partners that include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CARE, and the Carter Center. Play video ››
The Energy Resources Institute University (New Delhi, India) ($900,000) is emphasizing energy and climate sciences, building on its contributions to scientific and policy research in energy, environment, and sustainable development. Play video ››
The Institute of Political Sciences (Sciences Po)(Paris, France) ($800,000) is serving as a regional francophone MDP hub ,focusing on sustainable development in the Maghreb and West Africa. Students are able to choose from among four field training opportunities in Senegal, Burkina-Faso, Tunisia, and Morocco.
James Cook University(Cairns and Townsville, Australia) ($900,000) is offering coursework at its two campuses and field training in the Philippines and Indonesia, focusing on the challenges to sustainable development and governance in tropical island nations in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Play video ››
Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin(Dublin, Ireland) ($900,000) are integrating their teaching in international development and are also partnering with the National University of Rwanda, offering field training and coursework in conservation and sustainable development. Play video ››
Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE)(Turrialba, Costa Rica) ($800,000) is a leading research and graduate training institute with expertise in tropical agriculture, natural resource management, and sustainable development. The Center’s MDP program has several partner organizations including the University of Minnesota, which will expand the Center’s focus to include health sciences. Play video ››
Tsinghua University(Beijing, China) ($900,000) is building on its English-language degrees and Master's programs in international development and public administration to focus on development models pioneered in China. Play video ››
Universidad de los Andes(Bogotá, Colombia) ($800,000) is building on its Master's in Environmental Management within the School of Management to focus on climate change and conservation for the Andean-Amazon region, in addition to offering a curriculum in the MDP core competencies of the social, natural, and health sciences and management.
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) ($800,000) is offering courses and field training on the biodiversity of the Atlantic Rainforest and the Amazon Region, as well as the challenges posed by the country's urbanization. Partner universities include a university in Mozambique and three in Brazil serving as the MDP hub for Portuguese-speaking Latin America and Africa.
University of Botswana (Gaborone, Botswana) ($330,000) has created a modular program designed for working professionals. Rigorous independent study is complemented by two to three weeks of on-campus training each semester. University of Botswana is partnering with University of Florida to offer field training experiences in Botswana. Play video ››
University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, California) ($800,000) is housing its MDP program in the College of Natural Resources, drawing faculty from across the University, including engineering, business, and public policy. The program is also offering an open source curriculum that will be available to other universities in the MDP network. University partners include the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (Costa Rica), the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study in Agriculture (the Philippines), and St. Petersburg State University (Russia), among others.
University of California, Davis(Davis, California) ($200,000) is offering an MDP program within its College of Agriculture and Environmental Science. The program serves as an agriculture hub for the MDP network, and offers field training in the Central Valley of California and at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka, where students focus on sustainable tropical agriculture. Play video ››
The MDP program at University of Cheikh Anta Diop(Dakar, Senegal) ($900,000) focuses on current development challenges facing Africa by integrating health, social and natural sciences, engineering, information technology, and management. The program serves as a MDP program hub for French-speaking West African nations. Play video ››
University of Florida(Gainesville, Florida) ($970,000) builds on the University's expertise in conservation and sustainable development, especially in Latin America. The program also incorporates faculty and student exchanges and a field-training program in Botswana, in partnership with University of Botswana. Play video ››
University of Ibadan(Ibadan, Nigeria) ($900,000) is building on existing graduate programs in health, science, and natural resources with the long-term goal of creating a Centre for Development Studies. The University serves as an MDP program hub for English-speaking West African nations. Play video ››
University of Peradeniya(Peradeniya, Sri Lanka) ($200,000) is offering an MDP program with a focus on sustainable development challenges in South Asia, emphasizing tropical coastal areas and small islands. University partnerships include the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University, University of California, Davis, and the Foundation for Environment, Climate and Technology, among others. Field training takes place in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) ($200,000) is building on its existing, inter-disciplinary undergraduate degree in environmental and international development by offering an MDP program housed within the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development. Field training consists of two, three-month postings focused on South Africa, organized through partnerships with Rhodes University and the University of the Western Cape. Play video ››
University of Winnipeg(Winnipeg, Canada) ($800,000) is offering an MDP program with a focus on indigenous peoples and sustainable development. Pontifica Universidad Católica del Peru will serve as the primary partner between the program and indigenous communities throughout Canada and Latin America.
Universities were selected based on five criteria, including support from top university leadership, excellent infrastructure and academic programs, and the ability to serve as a regional hub; geographic representation among students and exceptional faculty across the four core competencies of the natural, health, and social sciences and management; and a timeline and business plan for financial sustainability when funding ends in three years. The Foundation is not making any new grants through this initiative at this time.
The creation of the Master’s in Development Practice Program was a key recommendation of the International Commission on Education for Sustainable Development Practice, whose report (PDF) was released in October 2008. The MacArthur-supported Commission was co-chaired by John McArthur, Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Promise, and Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and comprised of 20 top thinkers in the field of sustainable development from around the world.
MacArthur and the Secretariat are committed to expanding membership in the global network of MDP programs to other universities interested in developing this degree in line with the curriculum laid out by the International Commission on Education for Sustainable Development Practice. Though MacArthur is not providing financial support for additional MDP programs, it and the Secretariat can offer assistance in designing the degree, and can offer membership in the network to qualifying programs. To date, two universities have joined as such members of the network with full MDP programs created without MacArthur funding. These include:
University of Denver(Denver, Colorado) is collaborating with universities and NGOs in Bangladesh, Guatemala, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mozambique, the US and Vietnam, for reciprocally shared classes and field trainings. Play video ››
University of Minnesota(Minneapolis, Minnesota) is offering the MDP degree through the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and provides field training experiences with academic and non-academic partners in Tanzania, Costa Rica, India, and Egypt.
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