A new undergraduate minor in global development at Cornell will enhance students’ global perspective and ability to contribute to equitable solutions for the most urgent challenges facing people and the planet. Starting in fall 2024, the minor will equip students with a broad understanding of global development issues and ethical considerations across policy making, non-profit sectors, industry, and more.
The curriculum is designed to provide a complementary layer of training across a range of university majors — from an engineering major who wants to promote sustainability to an information science major who wants to understand what implications technology development may have on local communities.
“Students across the university come to Cornell with a passion to advance equitable and sustainable solutions to global challenges,” said John Sipple, director of undergraduate studies in Global Development.
“We see this minor as an opportunity for all students to understand how multitude of industries intertwine and impact themes of inequality, sustainability, and food systems in the United States and around the globe.”
Based in the Department of Global Development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), the minor’s multidisciplinary nature draws from faculty expertise in areas including sociology, food security, community development, climate change, environmental justice, nutrition and economics.
All global development minors will complete six core courses: Introduction to Global Development (GDEV 1102), Development Ethics (GDEV 2202), one course focused on agricultural or environmental development, one community engaged learning course, and two additional global development elective courses. The Development Ethics course will launch in Spring 2026 and be taught by Aaron Benanav, a new assistant professor of global development and author of Automation and the Future of Work.
“Global problems require diverse sectors to work together on innovative solutions,” said Sarah Giroux, associate dean of academic affairs and strategic programs in CALS and associate professor of the practice in the Department of Global Development.
“The global development minor will encourage students from across the university to think critically about issues — from equitable access to food in rural New York and food security amidst climate change in sub-Saharan Africa to environmental disaster risk recovery in the southeast U.S. and community-based social movements in Latin America.
To declare the minor, students should contact Lynn Morris, the Undergraduate Coordinator in Global Development.
Kelly Merchan is the communications specialist for Global Development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
