Students line up for kayak ride

MPS in Global Development

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.

Learn more about the MPS in Global Development
Man and woman walk through urban crowd in Africa
Collage of 20 headshots
Meet our current cohort
Two scientists talking in greenhouse with wheat plants
MPS field faculty in Global Development
Lecturer Sarah Giroux and graduate student Anthony Poon discuss research
Student handbook

Student research

Learn how our MPS students connect their research interests with a passion to make a difference in the world.

Two individuals show dragon fruit banner

News

Maria Orozco, MPS '24: Bridging global farming communities
Maria Orozco came to Cornell with a commitment to empowering farmers, namely through outreach and education that can address the ever-evolving needs of underserved and marginalized communities in our food systems. When a research opportunity...
  • Department of Global Development
  • Global Development
Woman tends to a strawberry field in Nigeria

Field Note

Mercy Abutsa, MPS '24: Engaging youth in climate action in Nigeria
In the wake of Nigeria's devastating 2022 floods, Mercy Awazi Abutsa, MPS ’24 , a dedicated advocate for climate action and rural development, found renewed purpose. Inspired by the urgent need to address climate change alongside existing...
  • Department of Global Development
  • Global Development
Elizabeth Arrazola headshot

Field Note

Coverdell Fellow Elizabeth Arrazola's drive for immigration justice
After serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco, Elizabeth Arrazola returned to the United States with a passion to support equitable immigration rights, particularly for unaccompanied minors. This path led her to the Master of Professional...
  • Department of Global Development
  • Global Development
Group conducts fieldwork in Ghana

News

Gretchen Hanson MPS '23: At the nexus of agriculture, education and equity
Gretchen Hanson , MPS ‘23 came to Cornell hoping to build on her international development implementation experience in agriculture and education. When the opportunity arose to spend a summer in Ghana, she did just that. With support from the...
  • Polson Institute for Global Development
  • Department of Global Development
  • Global Development
Man on campus

News

David Ngam, MPS ‘22: Youth empowerment and agricultural development
The future of agricultural development is in the hands of youth who want to make a difference, according to David, a current Master of Professional Studies (MPS) student in Global Development and recipient of the Bouriez Family Fellowship...
  • Polson Institute for Global Development
  • Department of Global Development
  • Global Development

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
Rex Ukaejiofo, MPS ‘20

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

student ashraf bhuiyan sitting with computer outside.
Ashraf Hossain Bhuiyan, MPS '19

Assistant vice president, Infrastructure Development Company Limited (Bangladesh)

Ariana Constant
Ariana Constant, MPS '14

Director, Clinton Development Initiative

student michal matejczuk working in field.
Michal Matejczuk, MPS '19

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

Parasto Hamed
Parasto Hamed, MPS '14

Consulting Specialist, Deloitte; Field Coordinator, AgResults Project

6 women sit at press conference table
Sameena Nazir, MPS '10

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 headshot
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 Derar Lulu
Derar Lulu

Graduate Field Coordinator

Department of Global Development

Derar Lulu
  • dl987 [at] cornell.edu