Training next-generation development practitioners
Our 1-year Master of Professional Studies in Global Development is designed for early and mid-career professionals to take their career to their next level. This program will enhance your practical and technical skills and prepare you for a career in field-based development and policy in low-income and rural communities around the globe. Our graduate students and alumni are at the frontlines of developing solutions to pressing issues — from agriculture and food systems to gender, economics and demographics — on the local and global scale.
Take your development career to the next level
Explore the curriculum, learn about admissions requirements, and apply to the program.

Upcoming information sessions
Interested in learning more about doing a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Global Development at Cornell? Please join one of our informal information sessions, led by the Co-Directors of the program, to answer any question you might have about the MPS in Global Development.
Register for an upcoming session:

Student research
Learn how our MPS students connect their research interests with a passion to make a difference in the world.
Youth in Cameroon
At the intersection of youth empowerment & agricultural development
“Youth are most effective when they are building self-confidence and self-awareness, leading to the ability to define specific goals that serve at the forefront of development work,” David says.
Learn more about David’s inspiring story, love for mentorship, and his advice for Global Development undergrads
Agricultural development
Policy for technology adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa
With an interest in how the government can encourage and regulate the process of agricultural development, Sumire Doi, MPS '22 is devising a recommendation for intervention by comparing different governmental extension systems and policies in several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on technology adoption for rice production.
Engaged learning
Access & equity in globally engaged learning
Andrea Durmiaki is conducting mixed methods research on issues of access, equity, and the outcomes of globally engaged learning experiences for undergrads in Global Development. Her research will measure students’ professional and academic growth, cultural humility, and the impact of critical reflection to identity spaces within curriculum or support infrastructure to target future interventions to increase equity and access.
Gender
Social & economic impacts of COVID-19 on women and girls in Peru
Emily McGinnis, MPS '22 is researching how the global pandemic affected the lives of women and girls in Peru, specifically focusing on the dimensions of education, economic empowerment (employment/income), and gender-based violence.
Food justice
Building Food and Community Solidarity Across North America: A Photo Series
In this photo essay, Louise Erskine MPS ’21 utilizes photography to tell the stories of rural and agricultural communities across Canada, the United States and Mexico. Behind the lens and on the global stage, Louise advocates for the need to build solidarity within and across communities.





Alumni spotlights
Are you wondering where a graduate education in Global Development can take you? Meet some of our MPS alumni who have taken lessons learned to advance their careers in every corner of the world.

Science & Technology Policy Fellow, USAID/American Association for the Advancement of Science

Assistant vice president, Infrastructure Development Company Limited (Bangladesh)

Director, Clinton Development Initiative

Ph.D. student in Food Science and Technology, Cornell University

Consulting Specialist, Deloitte; Field Coordinator, AgResults Project

Founder, Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy (Pakistan)
Connect with us

Professor of the Practice
Department of Global Development
Co-Director, Graduate Field of Global Development
Department of Global Development
- (607) 351-8389
- twt2 [at] cornell.edu

Research Professor
Department of Global Development
Director, Humphrey Fellowship Program
Department of Global Development
Co-Director, Graduate Field of Global Development
Department of Global Development
- (607) 280-0264
- em37 [at] cornell.edu
- mmp85 [at] cornell.edu