Global Human Development (GHDP)
GHDP 2252 Intro to Global Development 3 Credits
Living standards and the quality of life vary significantly across the world. Some places have experienced significant improvements in our own lifetimes, while others have not. This course explores the economic, political, social, and technological drivers of these disparities within the framework of the interdisciplinary field of "development studies". The first part of the course focuses on the meaning and measurement of development, the relationship between economic growth and development, and the overall growth and development experience of countries and regions in the world. The second part focuses on the practice of development through an examination of the program life cycle, and more specifically program design and evaluation.
Level: Undergraduate
Course attribute: FS42 name
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Equivalent to BSFS 2252, INAF 2252
GHDP 2253 The Practice of Development 3 Credits
This course focuses on the practice of development, providing students the opportunity to design a project aimed at addressing a problem of relevance for a selected marginalized group (e.g., Dalits, Rohingya, Quilombos). More specifically, students will work on:
Defining the scope of their project after analyzing the causes and effects of the problem
Conducting a stakeholder analysis and developing a stakeholder engagement plan to ensure that all relevant parties, especially those typically excluded, are involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the project
Designing a project by defining its theory of change, which involves:
Specifying strategies to address the problem
Defining activities to implement these strategies
Specifying the short-term, interim, and long-term results these activities will produce if the project is successful
Developing a monitoring and evaluation plan to determine the success of the project, which includes:
Defining indicators for the various project results to allow for tracking progress toward achieving them
Developing an evaluation plan, which includes defining evaluation questions, selecting the evaluation design, identifying data sources, specifying data collection and analysis methods, and developing a plan for dissemination of evaluation results
Conducting a risk assessment to: a) determine both the internal and external risks of the projects, and b) specify actions that could be implemented to minimize risks.
This course is very interactive. Students will learn concepts and have the opportunity to apply them in class through practical exercises and activities to prepare them for completing the related assignments.
Defining the scope of their project after analyzing the causes and effects of the problem
Conducting a stakeholder analysis and developing a stakeholder engagement plan to ensure that all relevant parties, especially those typically excluded, are involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the project
Designing a project by defining its theory of change, which involves:
Specifying strategies to address the problem
Defining activities to implement these strategies
Specifying the short-term, interim, and long-term results these activities will produce if the project is successful
Developing a monitoring and evaluation plan to determine the success of the project, which includes:
Defining indicators for the various project results to allow for tracking progress toward achieving them
Developing an evaluation plan, which includes defining evaluation questions, selecting the evaluation design, identifying data sources, specifying data collection and analysis methods, and developing a plan for dissemination of evaluation results
Conducting a risk assessment to: a) determine both the internal and external risks of the projects, and b) specify actions that could be implemented to minimize risks.
This course is very interactive. Students will learn concepts and have the opportunity to apply them in class through practical exercises and activities to prepare them for completing the related assignments.
Level: Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
GHDP 4950 Lrn Lstn: Afg from Afg POV 1.5 Credits
Afghanistan represents the west’s biggest, longest, and most complicated military, diplomatic and development conflict state investment in the 21st century. And yet it failed. Analysts, veterans, former army commanders and even novelists have written extensively about the problems of the west’s approach to Afghanistan, but to date not enough has been heard from the Afghan official and civil reformers on what they themselves were trying to achieve.
This seminar takes advantage of the presence of many Afghans who until recently were participants in the Afghan government or civil society movements to hear from the inside what they were attempting to do. How did they assess the landscape of possibilities and what enabled or blocked progress? What is different from an insider’s perspective versus what international partners think needs to be done? What lessons can be drawn from the Afghan’s experience of international development and diplomacy that would change future efforts elsewhere? And can we find ways to hear from ordinary citizens how these policy debates played themselves out in their lives?
Students will be encouraged to probe, challenge, and understand Afghanistan from an Afghan’s point of view. Each session will tackle a major theme from the reform effort – fighting corruption, addressing human rights, negotiating with neighbors, political participation, etc – from the perspective of one or more Afghan reformers who had been inside the system. The goal of the seminar is less to run an alternative “it could have been different” version of history, than to provide students with a unique chance to hear from the participants inside the system who were trying to effect change.
This seminar takes advantage of the presence of many Afghans who until recently were participants in the Afghan government or civil society movements to hear from the inside what they were attempting to do. How did they assess the landscape of possibilities and what enabled or blocked progress? What is different from an insider’s perspective versus what international partners think needs to be done? What lessons can be drawn from the Afghan’s experience of international development and diplomacy that would change future efforts elsewhere? And can we find ways to hear from ordinary citizens how these policy debates played themselves out in their lives?
Students will be encouraged to probe, challenge, and understand Afghanistan from an Afghan’s point of view. Each session will tackle a major theme from the reform effort – fighting corruption, addressing human rights, negotiating with neighbors, political participation, etc – from the perspective of one or more Afghan reformers who had been inside the system. The goal of the seminar is less to run an alternative “it could have been different” version of history, than to provide students with a unique chance to hear from the participants inside the system who were trying to effect change.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
GHDP 4970 Dev Relig Act: Diverg Cmn Grnd 1.5 Credits
This module will focus on operational policy challenges in selected lower and middle income countries where religious factors play significant roles in shaping development strategies and programs: What would strategic religious engagement by government and development partners entail? Despite a growing consensus that “religious literacy” must be part of the skill set for development and humanitarian work, knowledge gaps and misperceptions persist. A central question is how approaches to religious institutions and practices have evolved, both overall and in relation to specific topics. Students will focus on issues where tensions often arise, notably policies towards children and families, migration, minorities, and health. They will also explore more positive examples. Students will gain a nuanced appreciation for the issues and hone their strategic approaches to religious engagement.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
GHDP 5001 Economics of Dev:Growth 3 Credits
This course is aimed at providing students with an overview of some of the major ideas, models and frameworks in the area of economic growth and development. The course will begin with a detailed introduction to concepts, definitions, measurements and approaches used by development economists. This will be followed by an overview of key drivers of growth. These will include the role of geography, capital, technology, institutions, demographic changes, and investments in human resources. Additional topics will include structural transformations and monetary and fiscal policies. Theoretical and empirical models will be supplemented by country case-studies throughout the course.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development or Global Human Development.
GHDP 5002 Political Economy of Int'l Dev 3 Credits
International political economy is a field of study that closely examines the role of the state and international organizations in an economy. The course begins with a study of institutions, i.e. the formal and informal constraints that shape political, economic and social interactions. Next, it will focus on role of the state, the rationale for state intervention in markets and societies, and examples of state interventions. This will pave the way for an exploration of some important contemporary topics in the study of developing countries: causes of government failure, causes of state failure, the role of interest groups and bureaucracies, the challenge of fragile and/or failed states, and the current architecture of international political institutions. The course will also highlight the relationship between political institutions and society at large by examining the importance of culture. It will conclude with some contemporary topics that are likely to emerge from the field in the next several years.
The class has three main learning goals. First, it will provide students with some of the key theoretical, analytical and quantitative skills and frameworks that are used in the field of political economy. Second, it trains students to become participants in the global debates about politics and economics. Students will be exposed to some important examples and case studies from a number of countries. Third, it introduces students to the field of actors in the profession of political economy. It examines key international institutions from the World Bank to global social movements, from national and local governments to nonprofits and NGOs, from multinational corporations to philanthropic foundations.
The class has three main learning goals. First, it will provide students with some of the key theoretical, analytical and quantitative skills and frameworks that are used in the field of political economy. Second, it trains students to become participants in the global debates about politics and economics. Students will be exposed to some important examples and case studies from a number of countries. Third, it introduces students to the field of actors in the profession of political economy. It examines key international institutions from the World Bank to global social movements, from national and local governments to nonprofits and NGOs, from multinational corporations to philanthropic foundations.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development or Global Human Development.
GHDP 5003 Quantitative Methods 3 Credits
The increasing availability of individual, household, and enterprise survey data has fueled not only a greater role for applied econometrics in guiding development policy but also a new demand for practitioners and scholars who have the capacity to produce this type of quantitative analysis. The purpose of this course is to equip you with the tools necessary to tackle projects involving the empirical analysis of development issues that you might encounter in a professional environment. You will become fluent in Stata’s intuitive language and learn how to manage data, conduct regression analysis, document your work for publication, and more. Several popular databases will be incorporated into the course, including World Bank Enterprise Surveys and USAID’s Demographic and Health Surveys. The course will be taught with lectures, journal articles, and class discussions in combination with weekly Stata assignments.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development or Global Human Development.
GHDP 5004 Strategy, Design Implementat 3 Credits
This course is designed to acquaint GHD students with best practices in development planning and management that support rigorous and responsive program and project design, and to set the stage for effective implementation. The first segment of the course introduces strategies used by a range of different donor agencies and nontraditional actors to analyze critical development problems and formulate solutions to these problems. In the second segment, building on this material, student teams will learn, practice and apply standard analytical techniques used in the process of program and project design. Each team will tackle a complex development scenario in a specific country, and prepare a detailed design presentation that includes problem tree and root cause analysis, stakeholder analysis, economic analysis, and technical and institutional analysis. The teams’ design presentations will be reviewed and critiqued by a panel of experienced practitioners from agencies and implementing organizations in the Washington area. The third segment focuses on the process of organizing the implementation of program activities, including staffing, budgeting, work plans, and performance monitoring systems. Key topics in the course will be covered through selected readings, guest lectures and workshops, case studies, and interactive small group exercises in the classroom.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development or Global Human Development.
GHDP 5006 Evaluation of Programs Proje 3 Credits
The challenge of development centers on determining what actually works in delivering results that change peoples’ lives for the better. Key questions range from “what shall we evaluate and is this program or policy working?” to “how and why is it working?”, “is it efficient”, and “can we do better?”. Through a wide selection of readings and case studies, students will gain an overview of the field of evaluation, learn specific applied skills in quantitative evaluation methods, as well as techniques and common pitfalls in interpreting, presenting and using the results. The course exposes students to the most innovative and advanced evaluation skills used in the field today, as well as to on-going debates over the application and effectiveness of these techniques. The course is participatory in nature, and students will be engaged in hands-on exercises involving evaluation design and interpretation of results. [open only to GHD students]
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a major in Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development or Global Human Development.
GHDP 5007 Development Finance 3 Credits
The course will familiarize students with the major issues of global finance that have a direct impact on development and development prospects. It will prepare students to grasp the issues and challenges of the international financial system and familiarize them with key issues, concepts and vocabulary that have a direct bearing on developing countries. The course is a combination of lectures and discussion with a heavy emphasis on outside speakers who are or have been at the center of global financial decisions and led the design and implementation of subsequent initiatives. The class will draw on scholarly articles, business case studies and articles from leading financial publications.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development or Global Human Development.
GHDP 5012 Econ of Dev:Pov. Alleviation I 1.5 Credits
The purpose of this course is to provide students with a conceptual framework and analytical tools, rooted in microeconomic theory, to design and evaluate policies aimed at reducing poverty and inequality in developing countries. After an overview of the measurement of poverty and inequality and recent trends, we will present the framework of market failures and government failures that explain these phenomena and suggest policies to address them. We will then examine interventions to reduce poverty and inequality along three dimensions: (i) expanding economic opportunities, especially employment; (ii) enhancing human capital, especially health and education; and (iii) protecting vulnerable populations from shocks. The course will conclude by applying the framework to four topics that are especially relevant to reducing poverty and inequality: (i) fragility and conflict; (ii) gender; (iii) urbanization; and (iv) politics.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies or Security Studies.
GHDP 5013 Econ of Dev:Pov.Alleviation II 1.5 Credits
The purpose of this course is to provide students with a conceptual framework and analytical tools, rooted in microeconomic theory, to design and evaluate policies aimed at reducing poverty and inequality in developing countries. After an overview of the measurement of poverty and inequality and recent trends, we will present the framework of market failures and government failures that explain these phenomena and suggest policies to address them. We will then examine interventions to reduce poverty and inequality along three dimensions: (i) expanding economic opportunities, especially employment; (ii) enhancing human capital, especially health and education; and (iii) protecting vulnerable populations from shocks. The course will conclude by applying the framework to four topics that are especially relevant to reducing poverty and inequality: (i) fragility and conflict; (ii) gender; (iii) urbanization; and (iv) politics.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
GHDP 5014 Ethical Leadership in Dev. 1.5 Credits
TBA
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 992
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in E, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development or Global Human Development.
GHDP 5098 Mgmt Analysis Practice I 1.5-3 Credits
This is the first half of a full-year 6-credit course, with 3 credits earned each semester. It is structured around weekly class discussions, small group work, and practical exercises in the classroom. The course has been designed to provide students with a perspective on management and leadership in the development field, and to support the year-long process of developing a Capstone Project that students will deliver to their client organizations in the spring of 2017. The range of potential clients includes government ministries, donor agencies and development banks, NGOs, social enterprises, corporations, and foundations. Students typically will work in teams of two, with a great deal of independence, and will be guided by the client, professors, and a faculty adviser.? Each team will submit a Capstone Prospectus in late October, and a Detailed Capstone Outline at the end of the semester. The first part of the course is a six-week segment that focuses on Consulting Frameworks, Methods and Contests, with an emphasis on problem-solving skills required for crafting creative and practical solutions to the complex challenges faced by businesses, NGOs, and public sector agencies. Students will be exposed to a range of analytical frameworks and will apply these frameworks to case studies and their Capstone projects. In the second half of the semester, students will become acquainted with organizational characteristics, business models, and management and decision-making processes across donor agencies, NGOs and private enterprises that implement development activities in the field.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development or Global Human Development.
GHDP 5099 Mgmt Analysis Practice II 3 Credits
This is the second half of a full-year 6-credit course, with 3 credits earned each semester. It is structured around weekly class discussions, small group work, and practical exercises in the classroom. The course has been designed to provide students with a perspective on management and leadership in the development field, and to support the year-long process of developing a Capstone Project that students will deliver to their client organizations in the spring. The range of potential clients includes government ministries, donor agencies and development banks, NGOs, social enterprises, corporations, and foundations. Students typically will work in teams of two, with a great deal of independence, and will be guided by the client, professors, and a faculty adviser.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a major in Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development or Global Human Development.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6008 Social Innov. for Global Dev. 1.5 Credits
The only constant in life is change. While every field and discipline requires an open and adaptive mindset and approach to respond to change, the challenges development practitioners face are interconnected and complex. Responding to these challenges requires innovative strategies, products, designs, and solutions that are sustainable and scalable. As the gateway course to the social innovation and global development (SIGD) certificate, this course explores the history, drivers, trends, and pathways to innovation; the processes and methodologies that drive innovation; and the conditions, challenges, and opportunities associated with scaling innovation. Through this course, students will: Define social innovation and review the historical drivers and evolution of innovation in development practice: Identify the pathways through which social innovation can take place (i.e., within government, the for-profit sector, the non-profit sector, and the spaces in between such as social enterprises); Discover how to choose the right innovation method for the development challenge that needs solving; Review innovative design approaches, including innovation mapping, systems innovation, human-centered design, design sprints, lean startup, and open innovation; Put into practice an innovation design methodology during a mini-design practicum; Explore the role of evidence, data, and insights confirming innovation fit and utility; Understand pathways to scaling innovation (i.e., via organic growth, multi-stakeholder partnerships, government, licensing, open-source/licensing, and acquisition); and Explore the policy, financial, and implementation challenges and barriers that can prevent sustainable innovation growth.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Equivalent to GHDP 6009
GHDP 6009 Global Social Innovation 1.5 Credits
The Global Social Innovation Lab will provide human-centered design pedagogy and experiential immersion toward solution generation for humanitarian and refugee system challenges. The module will involve desk research, stakeholder interviews and data collection, a three-day intensive team-based design, prototyping, and pitching collaboratorium and creation of Business Model Canvases. The module will be delivered in partnership with GHD/SFS, DAI, the Global Development Lab/USAID, the Maker Hub/Gelardin Center, and the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation. It is open to undergraduate and graduate students in SFS, particularly those in the ISIM certificate program, MSB, CCT, and McCourt.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6010 Ntrl Clim Sol: Tackling Chall 1.5 Credits
The course is designed to provide a practical understanding of the new ways being used to correct environmental problems through conservation, improved land management, and ecosystem restoration. Through discussion and examination of real-world examples, students will explore how these methods affect the reduction of greenhouse gases and promote the increased storage of carbon globally. We will also discuss the effects that these methods may have on developing nations and if these practices are equitable across all income levels. Globally we are on a race against time to reverse the disastrous effects that rising carbon levels are causing. Governments around the world have committed to making measurable changes to reduce carbon emissions by 2030, but is this achievable? Climate change affects everyone but is disproportionately affecting economically disadvantaged communities. The goal is to save the environment while not harming vulnerable populations.
In this course, we will learn what is meant by natural climate solutions and how this differs from previous practices. We will examine the following questions: Are these practices accessible to all countries and income levels? Can practices be good for the environment, but also bad for society? Is there bias, nationalism, or racism baked into these proposed solutions? What is the role of technology in implementing these solutions? How can these practices help communities adapt to climate change? This course has students (working alone or in a small group) to discuss and debate strategies for problems posed. Classes will be highly interactive and will challenge students to broaden their perspectives and make them more effective practitioners in international development.
In this course, we will learn what is meant by natural climate solutions and how this differs from previous practices. We will examine the following questions: Are these practices accessible to all countries and income levels? Can practices be good for the environment, but also bad for society? Is there bias, nationalism, or racism baked into these proposed solutions? What is the role of technology in implementing these solutions? How can these practices help communities adapt to climate change? This course has students (working alone or in a small group) to discuss and debate strategies for problems posed. Classes will be highly interactive and will challenge students to broaden their perspectives and make them more effective practitioners in international development.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6013 Geographic Information Systems 3 Credits
Geospatial technologies include a suite of inter-connected technologies, such as geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing technologies (e.g. satellite imagery). These technologies have emerged in recent decades as cross-cutting, enabling, and prevalent in all aspects of life. This course primarily focuses on illustrating how GIS is enabling decision makers and professionals in understanding the needs of our rapidly changing, extremely diverse, yet ever more interconnected world. This course is designed primarily for graduate students who aspire to be leaders in the public, private, and non-profit sectors of international affairs and global development. Graduate students interested in international development, global politics and security, global human development, reducing poverty, global public health, and humanitarian/crisis management are welcome to join this course. Special attention will be put on the importance of ethics and best practices in applying GIS and other related technologies in these fields.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6014 Agri-Food Sys Econ Devel 3 Credits
In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), agri-food systems can be instrumental not only in reducing poverty and hunger, but also in ensuring sustainable food and nutrition security; healthy populations and environment; efficient use of resources, and resilience to shocks and crises. The objective of this course is to introduce students to the concept of agri-food systems, their role in economic development, and why and how they should/ could be transformed to be sustainable, resilient, and inclusive in providing livelihoods and nutritious food for current and future generations. The course will focus on topics such as global trends in food demand and supply; the roles of organizations, institutions, policy and technology, and shocks and crises affecting/caused by agri-food systems (such as climate change and COVID-19), and will highlight national, regional and global level opportunities and challenges for LMICs to transform their agri-food systems. In addition to providing the theoretical framework and the latest literature on each topic, each session will also feature a guest lecturer/expert from the field, as well as a case study to make the topics and working thereon more relatable and accessible to those who may want to work in this field.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 5014, GHDP 514
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6015 Trnsfm Ed for Dev: System Rfrm 1.5 Credits
This course discusses the need, barriers and potential for education systems
transformation in the 21 st century with a focus on developing countries. We introduce the
international environment for education through the Sustainable Development Goals
and the Education Aid Architecture. We review the evidence about the key challenges
education systems are facing including the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic with a
particular attention to the rapid changing environment in terms of skills needs and the
uncertainty attached to it. We analyze the policy process in the education sector and
discuss the use of evidence alongside political economy aspects. Introducing tools and
concepts from complexity theory, system thinking and collective action, we discuss
barriers and opportunities for education system transformative reforms. We review
innovations in the education sector and connect the concepts of innovation and
education system transformation. Finally, we present a pathway for leapfrogging.
Students apply what they have learned to design a leapfrogging approach in a
developing country of their choice.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies or Security Studies.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6017 Ren. Enrgy. Clm. Chng. Dev. 3 Credits
Human development is inextricably connected to the multiple dimensions of economic, political, social and environmental development, most succinctly captured in the now conventional term “sustainable development.” Despite the rise of environmental concerns on the global agenda, development is still often achieved at the expense of the environment. However, while there will continue to be issues that punctuate the need for deliberate reconciliation between “growth” and “sustainability”, we have entered an era that promises to redefine many of the traditional concepts of sustainable development. The provision of energy services is the absolute precondition for everything on the development agenda, from education, health, gender equity, and job creation, to food and water security and democratic governance models. The world is currently experiencing an energy revolution that is sure to affect the multiple dimensions of human development in profound ways. As renewable forms of energy slowly but inexorably supplant conventional forms of energy, the resulting technological system portends significant shifts in social, cultural, economic, and political structures. It is expected that the environmentally sound forms of renewable energy will bring the goals of sustainability closer to fruition in all development areas. The course will explore both the fundamental ways in which energy service delivery affects sustainable development and, in particular, the various claims that a global shift to renewable energy technologies colors the very contours of development practices and the results pursued. We will study the unique technical, socio-cultural, and political qualities of renewable energy systems and assess the extent to which renewable energy technological systems, as many advocates profess, enhance and foment the goals of sustainable development.
Level: Graduate, Undergraduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6020 Cln Energy Invest Develop Econ 1.5 Credits
The course will explore investments in major renewable energy projects in developing countries in the context of navigating the clean energy transition to address climate mitigation and adaptation. It will provide a practitioner’s perspective for making investment decisions by analyzing a series of applied global case studies taught through a multimedia approach. Students will be exposed to all stages of a project development cycle, from design and appraisal through implementation to post evaluation of investment performance. They will also gain an understanding of how international finance and development institutions operate in this space. The classes will expose students to the application of a variety of analytical techniques and methods that underpin investment decisions, including financial valuation, economic justification of interventions, distributional impacts on key stakeholders, stochastic risk analysis (Monte Carlo), valuation of environmental externalities, assessment of power system vulnerabilities, cost-benefit analysis (CBA), qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), (Delphi) forecasting utilizing expert opinions, and multi-method performance evaluation. Prior knowledge of these approaches is not required as students will be provided with a short primer and related multimedia information to familiarize them with applicable methods and techniques prior to each case-study discussion.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6022 Humanit. Action in Practice 3 Credits
From Ebola to Syria, South Sudan to Haiti, the humanitarian community needs to respond quickly, appropriately, and scale. Within the complex, dynamic, and challenging contexts in which humanitarian actors implement life-saving programs, it is essential to understand the systems and coordination mechanisms involved to carry out quality support to affected communities. The Humanitarian Action in Practice course will provide a response-centered perspective on humanitarian operations, informed by case studies of significant current and historical humanitarian crises. It will explore the coordination, funding, logistics, programmatic, human resources, security, and monitoring and evaluation components to understand the “behind the scenes” challenges involved in carrying out relief efforts. Students will become familiar with the core response tools, policies and practices of the international humanitarian system, the major types of emergencies that prompt a response operation, and the process by which a response is planned, financed, and executed. The course will also focus on the perspectives and priorities of different actors within the humanitarian landscape and how their power dynamics and agendas shape response priorities in the field. Students will explore the challenges and ethical dilemmas that often characterize humanitarian action.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 522
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Arabic, Arabic, Arabic, Arabic, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies or Security Studies.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6025 Applied Econometrics Workshop 3 Credits
This course fosters a dynamic intellectual environment where students acquire the skills necessary to produce a high-quality applied econometrics paper suitable for publication in the field of international development. The primary learning objectives are (1) to master quasi-experimental research design and estimation methods using large-sample microdata, and (2) to develop expertise in writing, critiquing, and presenting evidence-based policy analysis. By the end of the semester, students will have completed a working paper ready for the job market. Assignments are designed so that all analytical scripts to reproduce results from publicly-available raw data files, along with documentation, can also be packaged and submitted to potential employers.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 525
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6026 GHD Sem in Public Writ in Dev 1.5 Credits
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6030 Govern in Dev: Thinking Strat 1.5 Credits
Most countries consider fighting poverty as a priority. However, policies that should be effective in generating positive development outcomes are often not adopted, are poorly implemented, or end up backfiring over time. Traditional economics mainly studies what policies and interventions are needed to generate better outcomes, often framing the analysis as interventions aimed at fixing market failures, or at promoting redistribution. Much less attention has been given to learning why those approaches succeed so well in some contexts but fail to generate positive results in others. This course examines why well-intended and well-designed anti-poverty policies remain so often ineffective. In particular, in this course, poverty and prosperity are intended as the result of the interaction between state and non-state actors, institutions, and social norms. The course will discuss how development issues such as conflict, lack of economic growth, and poverty can be interpreted as the outcome of governance failures, defined as power asymmetries, in the form of exclusion, elite capture, and clientelism. Finally, it will discuss how change can be brought about to break vicious cycles and foster prosperity.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6035 Environ., Develop. Conflict 1.5 Credits
The course is designed to provide a practical understanding of the relationship between development and environmental issues, using real world examples and experiences, to showcase how western ideologies and biases have and continue to affect environmental perspectives and resource use across the global South. Developing countries are at crossroads today. On one hand, they want to pursue development-oriented policies that have often delivered the promise of economic prosperity and social progress to millions around the world. At the same time, these countries are also being disproportionately affected by adverse environmental conditions and the outcomes of climate change.
In this course, we will think about how our perception is shaped based on where we live and the societal values we embrace. We will examine the following questions: How does need change with the development process? Can development be bad for the environment, but also good for society? What are examples of hypocrisy (real or perceived) in how western nations interact with their southern neighbors when addressing environmental issues? What is the role of government in addressing those barriers? What conflicts may arise or could be avoided related to natural resource allocation. We will also look at how technology and migration transform landscapes, affect development, and increase natural resource use.
This course has students (working alone or in a small group) to develop mitigation strategies for problems posed. Classes will be highly interactive and will challenge students to broaden their perspective and make them more effective practitioners in international development.
In this course, we will think about how our perception is shaped based on where we live and the societal values we embrace. We will examine the following questions: How does need change with the development process? Can development be bad for the environment, but also good for society? What are examples of hypocrisy (real or perceived) in how western nations interact with their southern neighbors when addressing environmental issues? What is the role of government in addressing those barriers? What conflicts may arise or could be avoided related to natural resource allocation. We will also look at how technology and migration transform landscapes, affect development, and increase natural resource use.
This course has students (working alone or in a small group) to develop mitigation strategies for problems posed. Classes will be highly interactive and will challenge students to broaden their perspective and make them more effective practitioners in international development.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 535
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6036 Climate Change and the Economy 3 Credits
This course will cover: (1) Climate change and its impacts: what we know, what we don't know; (2) Adapting to climate change (assuming carbon emissions continue with the baseline scenario); (3) Mitigating climate change: What developing countries can do.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies or Security Studies.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6037 Cost-Benefit Analysis 1.5 Credits
This course will focus on both the theory and the practice of cost-benefit analysis in the context of international development. Students will learn cost-benefit analysis modeling techniques to estimate financial and economic returns of development interventions. The course will explore concepts such as time preference, discounting, net present value, internal rate of return and points of view. Students will learn how to test key project assumptions through sensitivity analysis and risk analysis. Case studies and hands-on examples will be used to illustrate the application of cost-benefit concepts in several sectors, such as agriculture, power and roads.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 537
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies or Security Studies.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6038 Applied Public Finance 3 Credits
This course explores the role of government in countries around the world and the government financing and provision of public goods and services. The course has three goals: First, it aims to teach students key concepts in public finance, including externalities, public goods, social insurance and redistribution. Second, it will compare countries and regions around the world in terms of the size of governments, their expenditures, revenues and deficits, the structure of taxes and expenditures, and the efficiency and equity of government operations. Third, it will introduce students to analytical tools and techniques in public finance analysis. This will include the economic analysis of public projects; empirical approaches for assessing the progressivity of taxes and expenditures; tools for assessing the efficiency of public expenditures; etc. The course expects to develop the following skills and knowledge: knowledge of key concepts in public finance; knowledge of analytical tools and techniques; and technical and practical skills in the analysis of government operations.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies or Security Studies.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6040 Food Sys, Transform, Glbl Dev 1.5 Credits
People say you are what you eat. Can what we eat change the world? Today’s food system is not fit for purpose - it produces more than enough food, yet more people are living in hunger than ever before, it is a leading source of GHG emissions, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, unhealthy diets, and a large share of people that run it live in poverty. This course explores the public policies and investments necessary to bend the arc of the food system to deliver healthy people, a healthy economy, and a healthy planet. Students will learn to apply economic and financial cost-benefit analysis techniques to public policies and investments in the food system. Each student will undertake a case study tailored to their specific area of interest in the food system (food security, nutrition, agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, etc.
Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a major in Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies or Security Studies.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6043 Soc. Protect.: Theory/Practice 3 Credits
Social protection (SP) is the field of study that examines policies and programs to prepare societies and individuals to manage socio-economic risks. SP aims to protect people from a range of shocks, including those caused by economic crises, pandemics, chronic poverty and climate change. SP also seeks to provide people with opportunities to build a better life for themselves and their families. This course will provide students with an overview of the major concepts and policy instruments in the area of SP, covering social insurance, social assistance, safety nets and labor. This includes cash transfers (conditional and unconditional), in-kind transfers (seeds, fertilizer, school feeding, etc.), fee waivers and scholarships, public works, old age pensions, and programs for specific vulnerable populations. Second, the course will examine social protection systems and delivery mechanisms, including targeting, payments, monitoring and evaluation. Country case studies will be used to illustrate how these concepts and instruments are applied in practice by policymakers.
This course has two main learning objectives. First, to equip students with the key theoretical, analytical and practical skills and frameworks used in the field of social protection. Second, to enable students to approach the assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation of SP programs and schemes both at the country and specific program level in a systematic, evidence-based manner. The course is organized as an interactive seminar, with a premium on student participation.
This course has two main learning objectives. First, to equip students with the key theoretical, analytical and practical skills and frameworks used in the field of social protection. Second, to enable students to approach the assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation of SP programs and schemes both at the country and specific program level in a systematic, evidence-based manner. The course is organized as an interactive seminar, with a premium on student participation.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 543
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6044 Child Rights and Resilience 1.5 Credits
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
GHDP 6045 Food, Water, and the World 1.5 Credits
Everyone knows water and food are essential for life. But food and water also play
fundamental, if often underappreciated, roles in the political stability of individual states
and the functioning of the international system. In this class we will examine some of the
ways in which food and water are connected to domestic and international affairs, how our
food and water environment is changing, and some of the insights needed to find solutions
to key food and water challenges.
Learning objectives
By the end, students will be able to answer questions such as:
1) Can the world produce enough food? Is producing enough food enough?
2) What are the implications of a ‘multiple breadbasket failure” and why is the risk of one
happening increasing?
3) What does climate science have to say about the future of water and food supply?
4) Why won’t the wars of the 21st century be over water, but why will water will be part
of wars?
5) What is the 4th Agricultural Revolution, how will it fundamentally transform our
ability to grow food and why, despite this, won’t it solve global hunger?
6) How are Qatar’s food and water security challenges and solutions unique?
7) How can you see all of international politics in a grain of rice?
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: BADM 6019
GHDP 6050 Global Soc. Entrp. and Innov. 1.5 Credits
Across the globe, social enterprises and social entrepreneurs can be powerful creators of prosperity, innovation, and solutions to change. They can not only boost economic development but also promote social capital, equity, and community development. However, social enterprises present a unique challenge for development practitioners: while there is a strong desire to promote them, it is difficult to quantify the precise ways in which they affect development.
The course is intended to provide a thorough understanding of the role of social enterprises and social entrepreneurs in poverty alleviation and in promoting sustainable growth in developing countries and emerging markets, and an introduction to both approaches and actors in the field. It will include analysis of social enterprises as units, and social entrepreneurs as leaders and change agents, through exploration of the system and networks of global social enterprises, examination of leading social enterprises, and direct engagement and case study development with individual social entrepreneurs and their enterprises.
The course is intended to provide a thorough understanding of the role of social enterprises and social entrepreneurs in poverty alleviation and in promoting sustainable growth in developing countries and emerging markets, and an introduction to both approaches and actors in the field. It will include analysis of social enterprises as units, and social entrepreneurs as leaders and change agents, through exploration of the system and networks of global social enterprises, examination of leading social enterprises, and direct engagement and case study development with individual social entrepreneurs and their enterprises.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 550
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6051 Prvt. Sctr. Apprchs Glbl. Dev. 1.5 Credits
Increasingly, development innovation and social service and product delivery are being initiated by the private sector, in particular with a focus on projects that are sustainable, scalable and with a positive social or environmental impact. The private sector, both domestic and international, now holds the largest slice of the global development contribution pie. What roles does the private sector play, and how might their impact be maximized? The role of the for-profit sector in social value creation will be examined, with particular attention to impact investing, impact bonds/pay-for-performance schemes, intrapreneurship, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and public-private partnerships.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 551
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6052 Writing for Development 1.5 Credits
This course is designed to provide graduate students studying development the opportunity to research more deeply into their area of specialization within development, and to learn to write more effectively for professional and public audiences. This course will help you build your writing and editing skills to enable you to communicate more effectively to professional and public audiences through a set of varied writing assignments focused on your area of specialization.
During the seven weeks of the course, you will write three different assignments focused on your area of interest, all approximately 800 words in length: (1) an “academic minute” (explaining an academic paper to your boss), (2) a blog on a topic of your choice (that we will try to publish on a website), and (3) a project “concept note” (pitching an idea for a project in your area of interest). You will write, re-write, and polish these products to the highest professional standards, incorporating feedback from your classmates and from the professor. You will also practice editing and providing feedback to your peers in a professional and constructive manner.
By the end of the course, you will have a deeper knowledge of your area of interest, stronger skills in professional writing and editing, and three writing products that you can use as writing samples. The course is particularly well-suited for second-year master’s degree students that are completing their degree and are about the enter the job market, but first year students are welcome to join as well.
The course will be offered twice in the spring semester: the first half of the semester on Fridays from 12:30-3:00 (GHDP 6052), and the second half of the semester on Wednesdays from 2:00-4:30 (GHDP 6053). Enrollment is limited to 12 students per course.
During the seven weeks of the course, you will write three different assignments focused on your area of interest, all approximately 800 words in length: (1) an “academic minute” (explaining an academic paper to your boss), (2) a blog on a topic of your choice (that we will try to publish on a website), and (3) a project “concept note” (pitching an idea for a project in your area of interest). You will write, re-write, and polish these products to the highest professional standards, incorporating feedback from your classmates and from the professor. You will also practice editing and providing feedback to your peers in a professional and constructive manner.
By the end of the course, you will have a deeper knowledge of your area of interest, stronger skills in professional writing and editing, and three writing products that you can use as writing samples. The course is particularly well-suited for second-year master’s degree students that are completing their degree and are about the enter the job market, but first year students are welcome to join as well.
The course will be offered twice in the spring semester: the first half of the semester on Fridays from 12:30-3:00 (GHDP 6052), and the second half of the semester on Wednesdays from 2:00-4:30 (GHDP 6053). Enrollment is limited to 12 students per course.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6053 Writing for Development 1.5 Credits
This course is designed to provide graduate students studying development the opportunity to research more deeply into their area of specialization within development, and to learn to write more effectively for professional and public audiences. This course will help you build your writing and editing skills to enable you to communicate more effectively to professional and public audiences through a set of varied writing assignments focused on your area of specialization.
During the seven weeks of the course, you will write three different assignments focused on your area of interest, all approximately 800 words in length: (1) an “academic minute” (explaining an academic paper to your boss), (2) a blog on a topic of your choice (that we will try to publish on a website), and (3) a project “concept note” (pitching an idea for a project in your area of interest). You will write, re-write, and polish these products to the highest professional standards, incorporating feedback from your classmates and from the professor. You will also practice editing and providing feedback to your peers in a professional and constructive manner.
By the end of the course, you will have a deeper knowledge of your area of interest, stronger skills in professional writing and editing, and three writing products that you can use as writing samples. The course is particularly well-suited for second-year master’s degree students that are completing their degree and are about the enter the job market, but first year students are welcome to join as well.
The course will be offered twice in the spring semester: the first half of the semester on Fridays from 12:30-3:00 (GHDP 6052), and the second half of the semester on Wednesdays from 2:00-4:30 (GHDP 6053). Enrollment is limited to 12 students per course.
During the seven weeks of the course, you will write three different assignments focused on your area of interest, all approximately 800 words in length: (1) an “academic minute” (explaining an academic paper to your boss), (2) a blog on a topic of your choice (that we will try to publish on a website), and (3) a project “concept note” (pitching an idea for a project in your area of interest). You will write, re-write, and polish these products to the highest professional standards, incorporating feedback from your classmates and from the professor. You will also practice editing and providing feedback to your peers in a professional and constructive manner.
By the end of the course, you will have a deeper knowledge of your area of interest, stronger skills in professional writing and editing, and three writing products that you can use as writing samples. The course is particularly well-suited for second-year master’s degree students that are completing their degree and are about the enter the job market, but first year students are welcome to join as well.
The course will be offered twice in the spring semester: the first half of the semester on Fridays from 12:30-3:00 (GHDP 6052), and the second half of the semester on Wednesdays from 2:00-4:30 (GHDP 6053). Enrollment is limited to 12 students per course.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
GHDP 6056 Engines of Growth: SMEs 1.5 Credits
Small and medium enterprises or “SMEs” represent a large share of developing countries’ private sectors. The support and promotion of their development is, therefore, an intuitive reaction of international development actors. Yet, many challenges arise when establishing the target, type, and level of intervention. Targets can be unclear due to country-specific definitions, often lacking statistics and data due to the heterogeneity and informal character of SMEs. Interventions can be financial or technical and their focus can vary widely, from poverty reduction to economic growth. They can address SME-internal, sector-specific or countrywide issues. Furthermore, the most appropriate actor to lead the intervention may be the national government, the subnational administration, business associations, NGOs, international donors and organizations, or the private sector.
Recently, a new dynamic that integrates business-management approaches related to organization, process, or service models into human-development efforts has gained momentum. Many of these new ideas are tested and promoted by small enterprises. Thus, the course will look at private sector and SME development as an objective, the private sector as an actor for development, and business management as a toolbox for innovative development ideas.
Recently, a new dynamic that integrates business-management approaches related to organization, process, or service models into human-development efforts has gained momentum. Many of these new ideas are tested and promoted by small enterprises. Thus, the course will look at private sector and SME development as an objective, the private sector as an actor for development, and business management as a toolbox for innovative development ideas.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6058 Imp Inv/Blend Fin in Glob Dev 1.5 Credits
There are multiple types of strategies - from venture philanthropy to impact investing - that have been designed to address various capital-markets based solutions to global social change.These solutions range in their use of grant capital, aid, and market-based investments. The course will explore core concepts Philanthropy, Impact Investing, and Blended Finance as core strategies to understand many of the different tools to achieve growth and development in emerging markets. This course will also provide a live tutorial on the basics of financial modeling and impact reporting.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Arabic, Arabic, Arabic, Arabic, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies or Security Studies.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6059 Venture Cap Impact Investing 1.5 Credits
The Venture Capital (VC) and Impact Investing (II) in Emerging Markets module focuses on the intersection of venture capital and impact investing, primarily exploring cases in financial inclusion, as the financial services sector has had both early stage commercial VC support and multiple exits. This emphasis on financial inclusion will highlight the power of investing to drive value creation, economic growth, and social and financial returns. Students will have the opportunity to explore how investors source and evaluate investments, structure deals, manage and grow a portfolio, drive towards exits, and manage challenges that arise through this process. With a skills building and application orientation, students will work with existing cases and experience investment proposal preparation and presentation.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6060 Corporate Finance 3 Credits
The course provides an essential minimum grounding in Corporate Finance. The subject matter is therefore universal in application whether one’s ultimate interest is in Government, Not for Profit or the Private Sector. The course is designed to be accessible to students with zero prior corporate finance knowledge and is not quantitatively demanding. >br>
Upon completion of the course students will achieve familiarity with financial statements and the underlying principles and techniques surrounding their preparation. Students will also be able to take a first look at analyzing financial statements and drawing broad conclusions as to the financial characteristics and stability of the subject entities.
As an integral part of understanding the economic substance of Finance, the course will also introduce basic aspects of security valuation – debt, equity including the principles around their appropriate combination.
The course will draw upon an eclectic series of readings involving both theory and practice (the latter commencing in a highly stylized manner but becoming more realistic as skills and confidence increase). Hence, towards the end of the course, more time will be spent reviewing case-study type material and engaging in the study and discussion of relevant contemporary financial news.
The culmination of the above elements will provide students with a basic vocabulary and tool kit in finance that will both be useful in itself and provide an essential knowledge base for other more specialized MSFS Courses.
The book “Accounting Made Simple” by Mike Piper is mandatory pre-reading ahead of the first class.
Upon completion of the course students will achieve familiarity with financial statements and the underlying principles and techniques surrounding their preparation. Students will also be able to take a first look at analyzing financial statements and drawing broad conclusions as to the financial characteristics and stability of the subject entities.
As an integral part of understanding the economic substance of Finance, the course will also introduce basic aspects of security valuation – debt, equity including the principles around their appropriate combination.
The course will draw upon an eclectic series of readings involving both theory and practice (the latter commencing in a highly stylized manner but becoming more realistic as skills and confidence increase). Hence, towards the end of the course, more time will be spent reviewing case-study type material and engaging in the study and discussion of relevant contemporary financial news.
The culmination of the above elements will provide students with a basic vocabulary and tool kit in finance that will both be useful in itself and provide an essential knowledge base for other more specialized MSFS Courses.
The book “Accounting Made Simple” by Mike Piper is mandatory pre-reading ahead of the first class.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6061 DevPolicy: Market/Gov Failures 3 Credits
This course will analyze public policies in developing countries from the perspective of the market failures they were intended to correct and the government failures created by the interventions. Using cases from education, health, trade, industry, energy, water, sanitation, agriculture, labor, and social protection, the course will examine whether the policies addressed the original market failures; how government failures came about; and possible remedies. Students will write two policy briefs on sectoral policies in a selected country, and one assessment (with recommendations) of a country’s overall development policies. The goal is to equip students with the ability to analyze development policies in terms of market and government failures, and design reforms that balance the two.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6067 Human Security 3 Credits
The multiple crises plaguing the world today make evident the mutual interdependence and vulnerability among people and nations. The idea of human security has gained increasing significance within this increasingly complex and interconnected world. The concept of human security extends well beyond the traditional analysis of the military and diplomatic efforts spearheaded by nation-states. Human security instead emphasizes the security needs of individual citizens, rather than being preoccupied by traditional, state-centric conceptions of security. It considers the impact of varied security threats such as cycles of economic crises, health pandemics, and the threat of climate change on the lives of individuals within and across national boundaries. Yet, while human security seeks to shift the focus of security from the state to the individual, the role of the states in terms of ensuring human security cannot be underestimated. While recognizing the responsibility of states to protect their citizens from security threats, this course goes beyond focusing on the traditional understanding of security, sovereignty, and international politics. It draws attention to alternative interpretations of what constitutes security threats and how to contend with the underlying causes of volatility and human insecurity prevailing in different parts of the contemporary world. The course employs illustrative examples from around the world to examine varied approaches, and to highlight linkages between the theory and practice of major human security challenges.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6072 Locally-Led Dev: Thry - Pract 1.5 Credits
For decades, there has been a near consensus within the international development community that good development is locally led development. Since the 2005 Paris Declaration, effective development policy and practice has been a key feature of the international cooperation agenda. Moreover, the concept has been embraced by successive USAID administrations, NGOs, humanitarian non-profits, consulting firms, industry associations, and academics alike. Few concepts seem less controversial than shifting power to and sharing it with local actors who take charge of setting the agenda, making decisions, and designing, managing and implementing programs. At the same time, dynamics within low and middle-income countries are independently driving localization. More so now than ever, aid recipient countries and local actors have access to finance and expertise to increasingly direct their own resource allocation and decision making.
In light of these trends and in recent years – especially in the wake of the COVID pandemic, the global DEI movement, and a collective reconciliation of international development’s colonial past – there has been a renewed push toward better defining what exactly is meant by and required to achieve locally led development. The question goes beyond the capacity of local actors, although that is certainly an important consideration. In this new paradigm, fundamental questions are arising about the nature and role of international donors themselves, how they view and manage risk, if their procedures and requirements are fit for purpose, and whether they are the ones with capacity gaps that must be filled. And what are the implications for international Implementing Partners (IPs) – i.e., NGOs, consulting firms, humanitarian focused non-profits, university centers and the like – and must they start redefining their role and adapting their operating models?
This 7-week module course will explore the complex dynamics at work both within the international community, as well as within aid recipient countries themselves, surrounding locally led development, localization, or local ownership (all terms heretofore used interchangeably). The course will seek to better understand where localization comes from, how it is defined, what it will take to put it into practice, and where are its limits. Working individually and in teams, students will gain a practical understanding of locally led development, and obtain skills in influencing the on-going policy debate, as well as the inevitable programmatic, technical, and operational transitions of various actors in the system. Students will challenge assumptions and examine successes, failures and track record of locally led development policy and practice. Class discussion will center on real-world reading material from international development policymakers and practitioners – i.e., policy statements, analytic and diagnostic reports, case studies, toolkits, operational documents, program evaluations and other grey literature. Students will gain practical skills to analyze arguments, assess challenges and make recommendations on key policy issues, and develop an actual localization strategy for a client organization.
In light of these trends and in recent years – especially in the wake of the COVID pandemic, the global DEI movement, and a collective reconciliation of international development’s colonial past – there has been a renewed push toward better defining what exactly is meant by and required to achieve locally led development. The question goes beyond the capacity of local actors, although that is certainly an important consideration. In this new paradigm, fundamental questions are arising about the nature and role of international donors themselves, how they view and manage risk, if their procedures and requirements are fit for purpose, and whether they are the ones with capacity gaps that must be filled. And what are the implications for international Implementing Partners (IPs) – i.e., NGOs, consulting firms, humanitarian focused non-profits, university centers and the like – and must they start redefining their role and adapting their operating models?
This 7-week module course will explore the complex dynamics at work both within the international community, as well as within aid recipient countries themselves, surrounding locally led development, localization, or local ownership (all terms heretofore used interchangeably). The course will seek to better understand where localization comes from, how it is defined, what it will take to put it into practice, and where are its limits. Working individually and in teams, students will gain a practical understanding of locally led development, and obtain skills in influencing the on-going policy debate, as well as the inevitable programmatic, technical, and operational transitions of various actors in the system. Students will challenge assumptions and examine successes, failures and track record of locally led development policy and practice. Class discussion will center on real-world reading material from international development policymakers and practitioners – i.e., policy statements, analytic and diagnostic reports, case studies, toolkits, operational documents, program evaluations and other grey literature. Students will gain practical skills to analyze arguments, assess challenges and make recommendations on key policy issues, and develop an actual localization strategy for a client organization.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
GHDP 6073 Fragil, Conflict, Viol Dev 1.5 Credits
This course is built around five key issues bringing a development lens to fragility, conflict, and violence. First, we will reflect on the link between fragility, conflict, violence (FCV), and poverty, why FCV represents such a pressing development challenge for both low- and middle-income countries. Second, working on select country case studies, we will discuss how practitioners apprehend the complex factors that influence resilience to shocks and stresses in a given context, a process critical to developing and improving a theory for effecting change. Third, we will discuss how forced displacement has become an urgent development challenge for hosting countries facing significant challenges in meeting their own development goals while accommodating people displaced for long periods of time. Fourth, and because over the past decade, more people have been killed from political violence and homicides in middle-income countries than low-income ones, we will discuss the extent of the issue drawing on several case studies. And fifth, we will discuss the role Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) can play in addressing fragility, conflict, and violence around the world, whether by addressing root causes of conflict, remaining engaged in crisis situations, or supporting countries that are recovering from violent conflict, in partnership with security, development, peacebuilding, and humanitarian actors.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
GHDP 6626 GHD Sem in Public Writ in Dev 1.5 Credits
This seminar focuses on developing students’ writing skills for external audiences. The course will be modelled on the "Calderwood Seminars" at Wellesley College, which have become among the most popular courses in many departments at the school. This course emphasizes public writing—writing that appeals to a general readership rather than to an audience of specialists. As a result, it will follow a pedagogical model different from that of most other courses. Instead of being organized around reading lists, chapters in a textbook or sequential topics, the seminar will be organized around discrete assignments. In a 1.5 credit course, each student will complete about 3 such assignments. Depending on the class interests, these may include blog posts or short essays on articles found in professional journals or in public reports; coverage of public lectures; book reviews; Op-eds; interviews and profiles of professionals; text boxes that might appear in an undergraduate textbook; and mock proposals for grants. Students complete each assignment once as a writer and once as an editor. Each writer’s 1st draft is workshopped in class; the final draft, reflecting the comments of the entire seminar, is generally due one week after class discussion.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6628 Clt Resp Equit Evaluation 3 Credits
This course prepares students to become thoughtful practitioners who understand the impact of their own cultural identity on program design and evaluation. In addition, it gives students the opportunity to learn and apply a step-by-step approach on how to design and evaluate programs using approaches that are culturally responsive and equitable. More specifically, the course provides a systematic process to integrate cultural responsiveness and equity into all phases of program design and evaluation, namely 1) developing the program’s theory of change, 2) formulating and prioritizing evaluation questions, and 3) answering evaluation questions, which includes selecting the appropriate methodology, as well as methods for data collection, analysis, and dissemination. The course will connect theory to practice through practical assignments such as case studies and scenario-based exercises.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6631 Crime,StateCapture,Devel:LatAm 1.5 Credits
Disorganized Crime, State Capture, and Development in Latin America (1.5 cr. – GHD) Professor Christopher Johnson During the last decade, homicide rates in El Salvador, Honduras, and Venezuela place those countries only behind Syria and ahead of Afghanistan and other war-torn countries in terms of the risk of violent death. Moreover, narcotics-related violence in Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica, Colombia, and Brazil has been a pervasive threat to the well-being of those populations. In some cases, drug trafficking groups have captured parts of the state and, in more extreme examples, have ascended to the highest political office in the country, as is the case for Honduras. This insecurity has spawned major development challenges, such as mass migration, poverty, institutional decay, underinvestment, and lower life expectancy. In national surveys where homicides are high, violence/security is often cited as the top concern for people migrating out of the country. In Central America, violence costs the GDP on average between 11 and 18 percent, diverting limited resources to security and away from job creation, healthcare, social security, and other social priorities. Yet despite these devastating impacts, criminal violence has traditionally been combated especially by national governments by ‘mano dura’. That is by imprisoning those that are suspected of being perpetrators which often means young poor men. Governments have used the police and also military to suppress violence often through mass imprisonment however this approach has not resulted in dramatic reductions in violence over the long term. This course is project-based but will provide a broad historical overview of the political, economic, and social forces that have allowed gangs and criminal organizations to become integrated into many parts of Latin American and Caribbean societies. The course will use selected countries to provide greater detail as to how these forces have shaped the current trajectories of each country and the varied responses. The course will focus on additional countries that have had innovative responses to addressing gang violence in their country, including gang-mitigation and reinsertion projects as well as adapting traditional development projects in the context of criminal violence. Through project-based work, students will develop a proposal to address the root causes of gang and criminal violence in a Latin American or Caribbean country. The projects developed will draw upon real-world examples from the World Bank and other international institutions. Students will present their proposals to World Bank officials who work in security and development in Latin America and the Caribbean for practical feedback.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6632 Build Cross-Sector Partnership 1.5 Credits
Building Cross-Sector Partnerships for Social Innovation and Impact Cross-sector partnerships have the power to solve big problems and drive transformational change. Governments, companies, civil society, philanthropists, and innovators are increasingly exploring and testing new ways to work together to address global development needs. The scale, complexity, and interconnectedness of our world’s greatest challenges require a collaborative, cross-sector response to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic. While there is no single blueprint to design and operationalize a successful cross-sector partnership, there is an art and science to building partnerships that work. This course will equip students with a foundational understanding of proven and novel cross-sector partnership models designed to solve global development challenges, examine real world cases of partnerships addressing local-to-global social and environmental issues and provide a roadmap to conceptualize, build and operationalize cross-sector partnerships for social impact.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6648 The Queering of Intl Devel 1.5 Credits
How do we address social and economic exclusion and leave no one behind? This module will discuss the well-being of LGBTQ+ people around the world and strategies and approaches for promoting their inclusion. Despite some legal and social advances in the past two decades for segments of the broader lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community, many LGBTQ+ people continue to face widespread poverty, discrimination and violence in many countries around the world. Tackling these issues is challenging but the Sustainable Development Goals’s principle of ‘leaving no one behind’ and WBG Twin Goals of promoting shared prosperity and ending extreme poverty offer a path for action.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 6663 Climate Change Resilience 1.5 Credits
This course will focus on how international development needs to move away from a reactive approach to crises (natural disasters, climate shocks, energy shocks, food crisis, pandemics, etc.), and move to more proactive, interdisciplinary approaches that can build resilience in low and middle income countries. The course will bring together the best lessons from the Disaster Risk Management practice, the latest thinking on adaptation to climate change, the lessons from the response to the current pandemic (and the future ones that will follow), with a special focus on developing countries and the key international institutions.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
GHDP 7027 Independent Thesis/Research 3 Credits
Advanced Topics in International Development: Independent Study. Independent Study project under the guidance of a GHD faculty member, open to students pursuing the Master of Global Human Development degree.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development or Global Human Development.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 7028 Independent Thesis/Research 3 Credits
Independent Study project under the guidance of a GHD faculty member, open to students pursuing the Master of Global Human Development degree.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 528
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 7031 Jobs, Workers, and Development 3 Credits
Jobs are the key to economic and social progress at every stage of development. A job is not just a source of income — it shapes who people are, how societies hold together, and whether people can work their way out of poverty. But the nature of jobs varies hugely across countries.
We will study jobs and development from two angles. The top-down view covers structural transformation, labor market policies and institutions, employment challenges facing women and youth, globalization and trade, social protection, and how AI is reshaping the future of work. Throughout, we will keep a focus on policy and think about winners and losers.
The bottom-up view is hands-on: you will analyze household survey data yourself. You will learn enough Python to do this, with generative AI tools to help you write code. No prior knowledge of Python is assumed; you will learn everything you need in class, including how to use AI responsibly.
Assessment will be based primarily on an individual empirical research project on jobs and well-being, developed in stages with instructor feedback along the way.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 7032 Using Econ to Undrst Ed Hlth 3 Credits
Economics and the Social Sectors: A global perspective
With more evidence linking adult outcomes to investments in human capital, healthcare and education are poised to become one of the largest sectors of the global economy over the next 10 years. Ensuring that this spending enhances the health and education of the poor is critical, but difficult. This course introduces students to the economics of the social sectors with an emphasis on low-income countries. The education part of the course starts with an overview of historical trends in enrollment and learning worldwide. It then takes students through key concepts in measurement, description and causal analysis, with a focus on a systems approach to education. This part of the course will cover key concepts such as development accounting, item response theory, value-added measurement modelling, the industrial organization of the private sector and government failures in education. The health part of the course focuses on the delivery of health care in low-income countries and will cover the economics of preventative healthcare, the quality of care, private sector care and healthcare insurance. The emphasis throughout is the further development of empirical and theoretical tools from economics as they apply to the social sectors in low-income countries.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Russian East European Stud, Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies or Security Studies.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 7038 Advanced Quantitative Methods 1.5 Credits
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 538
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 7048 Advanced Econometrics I 1.5 Credits
The linear regression model (also known as the OLS regression model) assumes that the dependent variable is continuous, such as income, or population of a town or country. However, many dependent variables in applied empirical research are not continuous. Some are binary, such as answers to “yes/no” questions in surveys, others are discrete – i.e. they take on a limited number of integer values – and distinctly bounded, such as a (non-negative) number of terrorist attacks, and even unordered, such as items a household purchases from a basket of goods. Sometimes, the dependent variable equals zero for many observations, such as the number of farm animals owned by urban dwellers. In these circumstances, the linear model is usually not well-suited. This class will familiarize you with alternatives to the linear model better suited for non-continuous data, such as probit, logit, multinomial, count, and duration models. We will study their theoretical underpinnings, as well as read applied research employing these methods.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 548
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 7049 Advanced Econometrics II 1.5 Credits
A major recent trend in empirical social science has been a concerted effort to approximate the gold standard of scientific inquiry in many natural sciences: the experimental method. Experiments involve a scientist randomly manipulating a “treatment” in a carefully controlled environment in order to isolate its causal effect on dependent variables of interest. Experiments in social sciences and program evaluation have become increasingly common. At the same time, many social phenomena we care about cannot be experimentally manipulated for practical, ethical, and/or financial reasons. As an alternative, researchers have been developing a number of quasi-experimental techniques that attempt to approximate the true experiments. This class will give an overview of the design and analysis of social science experiments, as well as quasi-experimental methods such as matching, instrumental variables, differences-in-differences, and the regression discontinuity design. We will study both the theoretical underpinnings and read applied research employing these methods.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Mutual exclusion: GHDP 549
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 7052 Trnsfrm Ed for Dev Implem Chng 1.5 Credits
The goals of this course are to prepare students with the skills to analyze education performance, advise education policymakers, and deploy the evaluation techniques needed to generate new evidence on program innovations and policy reforms. The course will leave students with mastery of existing data and research evidence and a deeper capacity to present policymakers with succinct presentations of relevant evidence-based recommendations for transforming teaching and learning in their context. Policy advice would include a full understanding of implementation and political challenges. The course includes opportunities to talk directly to leading researchers (such as Eric Hanushek) and education reformers about their experience. The core premise of the course is that virtually all programs or policies aimed at raising student learning are mediated by the interaction of teachers and students in the classroom. We explore key policy issues developing countries face in improving student learning and other competencies (socioemotional and other 21st century skills) and ensuring the equity of schooling outcomes. We analyze how these outcomes can be measured and how policies and programs designed to improve them can be evaluated, with attention to differential impacts on students of different genders, ethnicity and geographic location. We review the latest global research on education system performance and recent country experience with systemic education reforms. We analyze in depth the global evidence that teachers are the most important in-school determinant of student learning, and the key policy levers education systems have for increasing the supply of effective teachers and motivating high performance. Given the political stakes around systemic education reform and the especially complex politics of teacher reforms, the course gives attention to the political dynamics of reform and includes an opportunity to interview reform leaders.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 7054 Survey Methods 1.5 Credits
Do you ever wonder where data come from? Evidence-based policy-making relies on data and data-- run through elegant econometric models-- inform billions of dollars of social spending globally. Where does all this data come from? How is it produced? And is it any good? Do the data we use meet quality standards of precision, accuracy, timeliness and relevance? In this course we will focus on the most common types of quantitative data from surveys and censuses used in developing countries and how these fit into a statistical system. Specifically we will look at how such quantitative data are produced: from the framing of an answerable policy question, through cognitive testing of questions, developing and testing questionnaires, designing and as importantly, implementing the right sample design, managing field work (and understanding how every aspect of this affects data quality), analyzing and disseminating data, and finally, to creating institutional memory. By the end of the course, students will have a solid understanding of the types of survey data most used in public policy in developing countries, have practical knowledge of how to actually generate high quality data in the field, and be able to make sound judgments on the quality of existing data.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Arab Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Eurasian, Russian, E Euro Stud, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, Foreign Service, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, German and European Studies, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Latin American Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Arab Studies, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Foreign Service, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Law/Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies, Security Studies or Security Studies.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 7057 Designing Field Research 1.5 Credits
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
GHDP 7058 Topics Qual. Research Methods 1.5 Credits
Qualitative data pervades the human development landscape in numerous forms. Be it in rapids needs assessments or longitudinal, mixed-method studies, the purpose of a study alongside time and budget considerations often lead scholastic, governmental, and humanitarian agencies to rely on qualitative data for emergency response provision, long-term programming, and monitoring and evaluation. Like its quantitative counterpart, qualitative data is often used to identify urgent problems and barriers to services; inform evidence-based policies; and demonstrate both accountability and impact to donors and beneficiaries. To such ends, this course is designed to equip students with selected tools to design, generate, and analyze qualitative data. Accordingly, the class is divided into two parts:
Part I: Research Design, Questions, Concepts, and Measurement Part II: Conducting and Analyzing Data from Interviews and Focus Groups
While Part I provides students with the foundational components to consider when designing a qualitative study, Part II provides instruction on two types of data collection methods. In the context of interviews and focus groups, students will learn about case selection, qualitative sampling and recruitment techniques, questionnaire design, field note taking, and translation and transcription considerations. Finally, students will learn how to synthesize and detect patterns in qualitative data.
Part I: Research Design, Questions, Concepts, and Measurement Part II: Conducting and Analyzing Data from Interviews and Focus Groups
While Part I provides students with the foundational components to consider when designing a qualitative study, Part II provides instruction on two types of data collection methods. In the context of interviews and focus groups, students will learn about case selection, qualitative sampling and recruitment techniques, questionnaire design, field note taking, and translation and transcription considerations. Finally, students will learn how to synthesize and detect patterns in qualitative data.
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 7949 GHDP Tutorial 0.25-6 Credits
Level: Graduate
Grading: Main Campus (UGrad, Grad)
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 9991 Continuous Registration
Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor
Grading: No Grade
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Global Human Development, Global Human Development, Global Human Development or Global Human Development.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
GHDP 9992 Continuous Registration
Continuous Registration
Level: Graduate
Grading: No Grade
Course registration restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.