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Master's in Development Practice

RessanceJust and sustainable development is possible through keen partnerships of scholars, practitioners, and communities of the global south and global north. The University of Denver's Master's in Development Practice (MDP) program responds to this need by training development professionals for dynamic work across health and natural sciences, social sciences and policymaking, profit and not-for-profit management, and global education. Global cohorts of students commit to 26 months of full-time in-class, online, and field-based study and research in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. The MDP draws from the faculties of nine DU graduate schools, several international universities, global classroom pedagogy and technology, numerous development practitioners and policymakers, and globally diverse communities of learning. The MDP's overall objective is that students "link to learn, and empathize to transform" as they confidently, intelligently, and respectfully serve the public and sustain the common good.

The MDP is an endeavor of many people across many cultures, lands, and disciplines. Collaborating graduate faculties on the DU campus include biology, education, environmental and natural resources law, geography, international business, international studies, professional psychology, religious studies, and social work. Relations are being developed with campuses, NGOs, policymakers, and development practitioners in Bangladesh, China, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Nicaragua, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, the United States, and Vietnam. DU is also convening Colorado-based activists, businesses, policymakers, practitioners, and scholars in the wide and diverse field of development. Ultimately, the ideal participants in this MDP program are practical idealists and professionals seeking holistic, just, effective, and visionary change toward realizing the Millennium Development Goals - universal primary education, extreme poverty eradication, maternal and child health, food and water security, gender equality, combating infectious disease, environmental sustainability, and global partnerships in sustainable development.

Program resources

Course schedules

All course schedules can be downloaded here.

MDP students news and blog

Student and academic groups

A listing of our student groups can be found here.