Training for development practitioners
The Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) Program is a rigorous, economics-centered program designed to train the next generation of practitioners and leaders in the field of global development.
Within a multidisciplinary core curriculum, you will take advanced economics and quantitative methods sequences with an emphasis on key policy applications to development. You will also complete core courses in politics, institutions, and management, integrated with the theory and practice of development.
In your second year, you'll choose from an array of elective options at HKS, at the other graduate schools at Harvard—such as Business, Design, Education, Law, and Public Health as well as the Faculty of Arts and Sciences—and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Core courses in the MPA/ID curriculum
- Advanced Microeconomics (API-109, API-110)
- Advanced Macroeconomics (API-119, API-120)
- Advanced Statistics and Econometrics (API-209, API-210)
- Economic Development: Theory and Evidence (DEV-101, DEV-102)
- Applications and Cases in International Development (DEV-401)
- The Politics of Development (DPI-410)
- Political Philosophy for Development (DPI-411)
- Getting Things Done: Management in a Development Context (MLD-102)
- Second Year Policy Analysis Seminar (DEV-250)
You will gain professional expertise through the case workshop and speaker series, a required summer internship, and an integrative capstone paper. Read about our degree requirements for more about the MPA/ID curriculum.
Earn a second professional degree
You are committed to a future in public policy and public service. You’re also interested in how the world’s challenges can be addressed at the intersection of business, law, medicine, design, or other fields.
You might consider combining the MPA/ID degree with another professional degree, such as business or law. Read about the combined degree track.
STEM-Eligible Program
The MPA/ID Program is a designated STEM-eligible program (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). MPA/ID students with F-1 visas may apply to work in the United States for two additional years, beyond the standard 12 months of Optional Practical Training (OPT), following graduation.
Featured MPA/ID Courses
Economic Development: Theory and Evidence
DEV-101
DEV-101 is a semester-long course that evaluates theories of economic development and scrutinizes empirical evidence to understand key features of the economic development processes across countries.
Getting Things Done: Management in a Development Context
MLD-102
The role of public policy has grown in the world over recent generations, with governments and other policy organizations doing more in societies than ever before.
Development Policy Strategy
DEV-309
This course will integrate the analyses of short- and long-run dimensions of development in the design of an overall development strategy.