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.

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. 

Man on campus
Sumire Doi headshot
Andrea Durmiaki in the mountains
Girls paint on wall in Peru
Louise Erskine looks off into the distance holding a camera

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.

A man poses near corn in a greenhouse

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

student ashraf bhuiyan sitting with computer outside.

Assistant vice president, Infrastructure Development Company Limited (Bangladesh)

Ariana Constant

Director, Clinton Development Initiative

student michal matejczuk working in field.

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

Parasto Hamed

Consulting Specialist, Deloitte; Field Coordinator, AgResults Project

6 women sit at press conference table

Founder, Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy (Pakistan)

Connect with us

Terry Tucker headshot
Terry Tucker

Professor of the Practice

Department of Global Development

Co-Director, Graduate Field of Global Development

Department of Global Development

Terry Tucker
International agriculture & rural development
Participatory research & extension
Higher education & development
Ed Mabaya
Ed Mabaya

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

Ed Mabaya
Applied Economics and Policy
Food and Agricultural Economics
International and Development Economics and Policy
Headshot of Maria Vargas
Maria Vargas

Graduate Field Coordinator

Department of Global Development

Maria Vargas
  • mmp85 [at] cornell.edu