The need to improve living standards, health, and quality of life for people throughout the developing world in an environmentally sound manner is increasingly being recognized as a top priority by the global community. Heightened attention to addressing this challenge has in turn created a burgeoning need for professionals who can bring a varied combination of knowledge, skills, and practices to work in relief operations and development programs administered by NGOs, governments, and international aid and policy organizations.

BU Global Development coordinates development research across the university and offers two Master of Arts programs.  This highly interdisciplinary venture is a joint project of the Economics, Geography & Environment, International Health, and International Relations departments. We have melded the strengths of these departments into professional degree programs that will train the next generation of leaders in global development.  We offer two closely related MA programs, Global Development Economics (GDE) and Global Development Policy (GDP).  We also organize a variety of Global Development Seminars over the course of the year, providing students with exposure to current development issues and offering them the chance to meet leading experts in the field.

Students seeking to understand and engage with the complexity of development issues will benefit from curriculum-enhancing expertise and opportunities provided by the University’s rich and dynamic cluster of cognate Centers and Institutes: the Center for African Studies, the African Presidential Archives & Research Center, the Center for Energy & Environmental Studies, the Institute for Economic Development, the Global Health Initiative, the Center for Global Health & Development, and the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Global Future.