Development Practice
Interdepartmental Graduate Group
Program Office: 311 Wellman Hall, (510) 542-1585
Director: David Silberman, PhD (Agricultural and Resource Economics Department)
Program Website: Master of Development Practice
Overview
The creation of the Berkeley Master of Development Practice (MDP) is part of the response to one of the core recommendations of the International Commission on Education for Sustainable Development Practice, and is generously supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The commission concluded that there is a significant and growing demand for generalist development professionals—individuals highly trained in a set of cross-disciplinary competencies that prepares them to address the complexities of sustainable development. Students in the program will be immediately plugged into the Global MDP network of 20 universities and partner organizations all over the globe.
For information regarding the curriculum and degree requirements, please see the program's website .
DEVP 220 Climate Change and Energy 3 Units
Department: Development Practice
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing or consent of instructor.
The first segment of the course provides an overview of the conceptual science of climate change. The second segment of the course will review energy management concepts. The third segment will present economic and policy perspectives to assess evolution of energy policies and to analyze the political economy of climate change policies and their implications.
Instructors: Baldocchi, Nazaroff, Traeger, Rhew, Chiang, Roland-Holst, Kammen, Fisher, Rajagopal
DEVP C221/ENE,RES C221/PUB POL C221 Climate, Energy and Development 3 Units
Department: Development Practice; Energy and Resources Group; Public Policy
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing or consent of instructor.
Graduate seminar examining the role of energy science, technology, and policy in
international development. The course will look at how changes in the theory and practice
of energy systems and of international development have co-evolved over the past half-
century, and what opportunities exist going forward.
A focus will be on rural and decentralized energy use, and the issues of technology, culture,
and politics that are raised by both current trajectories, and potential alternative energy
choices. We will explore the frequently divergent ideas about energy and development that
have emerged from civil society, academia, multinational development agencies, and the
private and industrial sector.
Instructor: Kammen
DEVP 222 Economics of Sustainable Resource Development 3 Units
Department: Development Practice
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing or consent of instructor.
This course will introduce the basic concepts including economic welfare, externality, public good, global commons, policy approaches for dealing with externality, and techniques for quality analysis. It will include case studies where groups will design economic incentives and policy solutions to major problems. It will have sections on particular problems including climate change, water and air quality, animal waste, toxic contamination, forestry and fishery policy.
Instructors: Zilberman, Sunding, Roland-Holst, Norgaard
DEVP 225 Innovation, Product Development, and Marketing 3 Units
Department: Development Practice
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing or consent of instructor.
This course will introduce the basic concepts of innovation, product development, and marketing in developing countries. Students will analyze alternative knowledge and innovation systems, and the role of public and private sector interactions. The course will also introduce models of technology transfers, adoption, and diffusion of technology, as well as introduce students to basic principles of marketing, assessment of consumer choices, and the challenge of bringing to market efficient solutions to meet customer needs.
Instructor: Villas-Boas
DEVP 227 Principles of Natural Resource Management 2 Units
Department: Development Practice
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing or consent of instructor.
This course will introduce concepts in natural resource management. Segment 1 will cover basic modeling, techniques, and methodology in natural resource mamangement and sustainability. Segment 2 will address genetic resources and agriculture. Segment 3 will cover principles of natural resource management, namely water and air, in the development context. Segment 4 profides an overview of major concepts in the conservation of biodiversity. Students are expected to present research reports based on case studies.
Instructors: Resh, Kremmen, Feldman, Lemaux
DEVP 228 Strategic Planning and Project Management 3 Units
Department: Development Practice
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing or consent of instructor.
A pragmatic, interdisciplinary introduction to strategic planning and project management, introducing students to a portfolio of models, tools, and techniques drawn from the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. It will offer an opportunity through case studies, simulations and class projects to apply those approaches in settings relevant to the development field.
Instructors: Horvath, Agogino, Danner, Scharffenberger
DEVP 229 Quantitative Methods and Impact Evaluation 3 Units
Department: Development Practice
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing or consent of instructor.
This course is designed to introduce students to the basic concepts of estimation, prediction, and hypothesis testing. The course will focus on impact evaluation theory and methods and will explore the variety of tools available for rigorously measuring the impact of development programs on poverty.
Instructors: Auffhammer, Miguel
DEVP C232/PB HLTH C253 Foundations of Public Health 2 Units
Department: Development Practice; Public Health
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
The seminar will introduce core disciplines and concepts in public health, using a case-based, integrated approach. Examples of cases discussed include: respiratory disease and air pollution; tobacco control and prevention of smoking-related conditions; disease elimination or eradication via childhood immunization; environmental control and prevention of schistosomiasis; behavior change and prevention of HIV/AIDS; and novel economic approaches to improving healthcare delivery to impoverished groups.
Instructors: Reingold, Smith
DEVP 233 Law, Politics, and Policymaking 3 Units
Department: Development Practice
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing or consent of instructor.
Law, Politics, and Policymaking will introduce students to principles of law, the mechanisms of politics, political economy, and policymaking delving into fundamentals of business, as well as environmental, international, and human rights law in the context of development. This course will provide students with insights into real-world contexts in which sustainable development practice takes place. It will consist of case studies of political economic and legal analysis.
Instructors: Farber, Rausser
DEVP 235 Economic Development and Policy 3 Units
Department: Development Practice
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Microeconomics and econometrics at the undergraduate upper-division or Master's level.
Learn to apply the tools of economic analysis to problems of growth, poverty, and environmental sustainability in developing countries and to understand what can be done to promote development through policies and investment projects, and learn to analyze the economic, social, and environmental impacts of specific initiatives. This course will teach students to use data to conduct development analyses and learn to prepare the corresponding reports for international development agencies and policymakers.
Instructors: de Janvry, Roland-Holst, Raphael
DEVP 237 Leadership, Conflict Resolution, and Community Development 3 Units
Department: Development Practice
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing or consent of instructor.
This three-segment course starts with critical evaluation of literature and methods for communal natural resource management, followed by a segment that emphasizes leadership skills and conflict resolution approaches for development. The third segment will address issues of conflict and policymaking in a global context and provide the institutional perspective of development organizations and strategies.
Instructors: Ray, Carpenter, Barclay
DEVP 299 Independent Study 2 - 4 Units
Department: Development Practice
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: Individual conferences with Instructor
Supervised Independent Study and Research
Course may be repeated a maximum of 2 times. Instructor: Zilberman
DEVP 300 Interactive/Multidisciplinary Seminar 2 Units
Department: Development Practice
Course level: Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing or consent of instructor.
This course provides an opportunity for Master of Development Practice students to interact with a diverse group of invited guest speakers, including academics and practitioners. It will also provide opportunities for group discussion of basic questions, and it will provide opportunities to present ideas and discuss research and internship plans and experiences.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Instructors: Zilberman, Scharffenberger, Marsh
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