This course is designed to develop the approach to investments and security analysis pioneered by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd. The course details the comprehensive statistical evidence in favor of such an approach and the types of investments that are likely to be fruitful targets of a value approach. The course focuses on an approach to determining intrinsic values in practice that has the advantage of segregating valuation information by reliability level and using only the most reliable information as a basis for investment decisions in order to obtain a margin of safety." The course consists of lectures and visiting speakers who are successful practicing value investors."
The international development landscape is being reshaped by skeptical policymakers at home and partner countries – both of whom increasingly see the need to adopt new approaches. This course examines several cases of successful innovation in development finance — not to recycle those models, but to identify patterns of what makes innovation work, so the next generation of policymakers can reshape the field as conditions demand.
Through looking at several case studies, notably the International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFFIm), the Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) and disaster risk insurance pools, we will identify some of the factors for success and failure. Students will experiment with developing new ideas through practical application.
The instructor will draw on personal experience in global health and education financing. Guest speakers will provide practitioner perspectives on what works, what doesn’t, and why.
By the end of the course, students will develop their own innovative proposal to address a current development challenge and present it as a pitch to a hypothetical CEO, applying lessons learned from historical cases to contemporary problems.
This course examines global and national energy policies with international implications, focusing on the intersections of energy sustainability, energy security, and energy equity, commonly referred to as the "energy trilemma." Students will explore how national decisions shape global outcomes and how international frameworks influence domestic policies. Special attention is given to the political economy of the energy transition, with case studies on fossil fuels, renewables, subsidies, and critical mineral supply chains.
The first half of the course covers technical and market dimensions of high- and low-carbon energy sources, fiscal policies, and transition projections. The second half explores geopolitical drivers of energy policy, international trade and investment, and the financing of the low-carbon transition in developing economies. Students will assess real-world policy challenges through a data-driven and interdisciplinary lens, applying a political economy approach to sustainability and global energy governance.
Geopolitics is complicating the already difficult task of moving from a carbon-intensive energy system to one of net-zero emissions. Today’s geopolitical tensions risk slowing the pace of the urgently needed clean energy transition, while some dynamics within the transition itself are exacerbating existing geopolitical challenges. Competition between great powers—a defining feature of the emerging global order—now threatens progress through trade disputes and national security concerns. The uneven global transition is also deepening divides between developed and developing countries. War, conflict, and political backlash against transition costs further hinder coordinated climate action.
This course explores the complex entanglement of geopolitics with energy and climate change. Through lectures, guest speakers, and discussion of current developments, students will: Analyze how geopolitical tensions influence the pace and structure of the energy transition. Examine net-zero scenarios from institutions like the IEA and IPCC. Develop practical skills to communicate energy policy recommendations effectively. Participate in structured debates to sharpen critical thinking and strategic analysis.
Despite growing pressure to decarbonize, oil and natural gas continue to shape global power and politics. This course examines how energy markets drive foreign policy, economic security, and international conflict. Students will explore the central role of oil and gas in geopolitical relations, from OPEC+ and the petrodollar to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The course is organized in three parts: the geopolitics of oil, the geopolitics of natural gas (with a focus on LNG), and shifting dynamics as the world transitions toward lower-carbon energy. Case studies include Russia’s energy leverage, US–Saudi relations, the rise of US LNG exports, and Venezuela’s paradox of poverty amid vast oil reserves.
Students will assess global energy trade patterns and analyze the political impact of price shifts, sanctions, and infrastructure development. Classwork emphasizes oral analysis, policy writing, and active debate.
This course is ideal for students interested in energy diplomacy, security studies, or climate and foreign policy intersections. No technical background is required.
This course will introduce fundamental concepts and a high-level overview of the burgeoning blockchain and cryptocurrency space. The course will begin by providing a background in fundamental concepts in Computer Science such as in cryptography, distributed systems, and data structures. It will then move on to an in-depth overview of blockchain, the history of Bitcoin and the proliferation of new consensus models, ICOs, smart contracts, and more. Industry guest speakers will share their perspectives.
This course explores the foundational and advanced dimensions of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), alongside relevant aspects of International Human Rights Law (IHRL) as they apply to situations of armed conflict. Designed for students interested in the legal regulation of contemporary warfare, the course focuses on providing the conceptual and practical tools to identify, interpret, and apply international legal norms in real-world conflict situations. It examines the mechanisms through which legal rules are developed, implemented, and enforced, including the role of international courts and tribunals in addressing violations.
Case studies drawn from recent and ongoing conflicts—such as in Ukraine, Gaza, Ethiopia, Congo, Syria, Yemen, and Myanmar—serve as the backbone of the course’s analytical approach. These are methodically examined through a case analysis framework developed specifically for this course, enabling students to break down humanitarian crises into legally relevant components and formulate appropriate responses grounded in IHL and IHRL.
This analytical work is complemented by a focused introduction to the core principles of international criminal law, including the structure and substance of landmark war crimes cases. Students will engage with the legal elements of crimes such as willful killing, torture, attacks on civilians, and the use of prohibited methods of warfare, drawing on key jurisprudence from international tribunals and courts.
The course supports the development of legal reasoning, critical thinking, and research skills. Students will learn to articulate law-based, action-oriented proposals and define key legal questions relevant for academic work and professional practice—whether in international organizations, the media, or humanitarian institutions. By the end of the semester, participants will have a solid understanding of IHL’s core principles, terminology, and legal architecture, and will be equipped to navigate and respond to the complex legal challenges presented by modern armed conflict.
Key issues discussed include the legal protection of internees, prisoners, and hostages under the Geneva Conventions; the erosion of civilian protection in asymmetric warfare, especially where individuals participate directly in hostilities or are used as human shields; the regulation of indiscriminate attacks and destruction of civilian infrastructure, including the legal implications of missiles, drones, autonomo
This course equips students with the tools to critically evaluate empirical research through the lens of causal inference. Emphasizing real-world policy relevance over statistical correlation, it introduces students to identification strategies that approximate randomized trials using observational data. Students will explore advanced econometric methods, including instrumental variables, difference-in-differences, fixed effects, regression discontinuity, and synthetic controls, while examining their strengths and limitations in drawing causal conclusions.
Designed for students with prior coursework in quantitative methods (U6500 and U6501), this course stresses conceptual rigor and applied skills. Assignments include STATA-based replication exercises, a research design proposal, and seminar engagement. Readings and examples draw from policy-relevant domains such as health, education, and environmental economics. Students will leave the course with a deeper understanding of how to produce, assess, and apply causal evidence to inform public decision-making.
This course examines the relationship between energy production, human development, and sustainability. It explores how energy projects, businesses, and policies—collectively referred to as “energy enterprises”—operate in frontier markets and developing countries. Students will analyze how energy access and use intersect with critical issues such as poverty, gender, health, displacement, and environmental justice.
Course modules cover energy systems and actors, urban and agricultural applications, and thematic challenges such as energy ethics, cooking fuels, and displaced populations. Students will conduct applied research on one of five selected topics, culminating in an enterprise proposal. Assignments include issue mapping, case analysis, and basic financial feasibility assessment.
By the end of the course, students will be able to connect global sustainability frameworks to practical, locally grounded enterprise planning. The course emphasizes systems thinking, ethical analysis, and a balanced approach to energy and development goals.
In many parts of the world, humanitarian actors cannot successfully alleviate and prevent the suffering of people living in areas affected by armed conflict without engaging with armed groups. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) estimates that there are over 450 armed groups of humanitarian concern worldwide, over 130 of which are parties to a non-international armed conflict. Africa accounts for over 40% of these groups, with about 20% in each of the Near and Middle East (NAME), the Americas, and in the Asia and Pacific. In 2024, the global population living in areas fully controlled or contested by armed groups is estimated by the ICRC to have increased to 210 million people, with 83 million living in areas fully controlled by armed groups, up by 19 million from 2023.
Many armed groups that control territory provide a degree of services and governance structures in areas they control, including health care, education, taxation, public utilities, justice/dispute resolution, security and taxation. However, the basic needs of the population in areas controlled by many armed groups are often not fully met. Humanitarian access, and dialogue on protection and assistance matters with such armed groups is an important part of humanitarian action worldwide.
The last 30 years, however, have made these aspirations more difficult, as a multiplicity of armed conflicts and different types of non-state actors have emerged, posing significant challenges on the ability of humanitarian workers to effectively engage with belligerents, and hindering their access to these individuals. The lack of separation between those actively participating in conflict and those who do not have particularly made it difficult for external actors to identify who, when and how to engage on humanitarian issues, together with the level of engagement and the timing of such interactions. Additional existing inquiries relate to the strategies set in place for effective engagement: who should be in the lead of humanitarian engagements on the ground? And how can the humanitarian community best assist and increase the protection of civilians in areas controlled by entities designated as terrorist, or in fragile States?
This class will examine these inquiries, together with the parameters of engagement with a range of actors- from peacekeepers to formal armies to paramilitary groups and designated entities to community and religious leaders to determine what legal and moral bases exist for en
In the 21st century, armed conflict continues to put millions of children in harm’s way, exposing them to human rights violations, including recruitment and use by armed forces and armed groups, military detention and ill-treatment, rape and other forms of sexual violence, forced displacement, family separation, and physical injuries. Children also suffer from trauma and other serious and long-lasting psychological consequences resulting from the violence they have experienced. In addition to these direct violations, children are equally affected by indirect violations of their rights, including attacks on schools and hospitals and the denial of humanitarian access.
In this course, students will examine the international legal framework for the protection of children in armed conflict and the international humanitarian response system designed to assist affected children and address their physical and psychosocial needs. Students will critically assess these mechanisms for their efficacy and continued relevance for protecting children during war.
This course develops the skills necessary to prepare, analyze, and present data for policy analysis and program evaluation using R. Building on the foundations from Quant I and II—probability, statistics, regression analysis, and causal inference—this course emphasizes the practical application of microeconometric methods to real-world policy questions. (Note: macroeconomic topics and forecasting methods are not covered.)
The central objective is to train students to be effective analysts and policy researchers. Key questions include: Given the available data, what analysis best informs the policy question? How should we design research, prepare data, and implement statistical methods using R? How can we assess causal effects of policies rather than mere correlations? What ethical considerations arise when working with data on marginalized populations?
Students will learn through hands-on analysis of datasets tied to a range of policy issues, including: caste-based expenditure gaps in India, racial disparities in NYPD fare evasion enforcement, water shutoffs in Detroit, Village Fund grants in Indonesia, public health insurance and child mortality, and Stand Your Ground laws and gun violence. The course culminates in a student-led project on a policy topic of their choosing.
This course develops the skills necessary to prepare, analyze, and present data for policy analysis and program evaluation using R. Building on the foundations from Quant I and II—probability, statistics, regression analysis, and causal inference—this course emphasizes the practical application of microeconometric methods to real-world policy questions. (Note: macroeconomic topics and forecasting methods are not covered.)
The central objective is to train students to be effective analysts and policy researchers. Key questions include: Given the available data, what analysis best informs the policy question? How should we design research, prepare data, and implement statistical methods using R? How can we assess causal effects of policies rather than mere correlations? What ethical considerations arise when working with data on marginalized populations?
Students will learn through hands-on analysis of datasets tied to a range of policy issues, including: caste-based expenditure gaps in India, racial disparities in NYPD fare evasion enforcement, water shutoffs in Detroit, Village Fund grants in Indonesia, public health insurance and child mortality, and Stand Your Ground laws and gun violence. The course culminates in a student-led project on a policy topic of their choosing.
Emerging and developing economies are expected to account for the bulk of the energy demand and carbon emissions growth in the coming decades. Drastic changes are necessary to their current energy systems and future energy infrastructure so that it is in line with global climate goals—an effort that will require significant amounts of capital. This course will look at the formidable task of financing the energy transition in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). We will start by studying what the energy transition is, how it relates to climate goals, and what needs to be financed. The course will look at the different estimates of how much will the energy transition cost, particularly for emerging markets. The class will also survey the current financial energy landscape to assess what is working, what is missing, and the potential governance structures that are needed to mobilize the necessary financing. The existing sources of financing from the private sector, development agencies, and international financial institutions will be discussed to understand the specific challenges and opportunities of each source of financing for emerging markets. The course will look at the broad financing toolkit available, from blended finance vehicles, de-risking instruments, and the new ones that are being deployed like ESG investing and thematic bonds. Students will also be introduced to carbon markets and the role they can play in financing the energy transition in emerging markets. Lastly, the course will cover the financing of transition assets to understand how and when capital should be deployed for these assets, including the capital needed to retire or retrofit existing fossil fuel assets.
Whilst the global number of people living in poverty has significantly decreased over the last decades, there is an increasing number of severe and protracted humanitarian emergencies, caused by conflict, governance failures, climate change, and man-made disasters. These challenges are compounded by recent changes in geopolitical strategies and policies, which already have profound immediate and will have long-term impact on reducing extreme poverty, resolving conflicts, and making the Sustainable Development Goals increasingly elusive..
There has been growing acceptance among the international aid community that these problems can only be addressed through a combination of tools – humanitarian, development, and peace initiatives – that require new governance, financing, and coordination mechanisms. This approach emphasizes that for sustainable improvements, temporary solutions must be part of a broader vision that not only saves lives in the short term but also addresses the systemic issues affecting stability and development in the long run.
The benefits of the Nexus approach include greater coherence among the three sectors and reduced fragmentation among the various actors working in conflict-affected areas. Additionally, it improves effectiveness through coordination across sectors, ensuring that immediate relief efforts transition smoothly into longer-term recovery and peace initiatives. This approach also helps mitigate the risk of renewed crisis and fosters comprehensive disaster risk reduction by addressing not only the symptoms but also to address the root causes of protracted conflicts.
This “search for coherence” is not new and raises important questions about ethics and fundamental principles in humanitarian action, the nature of conflicts and protracted emergencies, and how different spheres of action interact to balance the immediate urgency of humanitarian needs with longer-term development and peace objectives, as well as to navigate complex political environments where external interventions may be met with suspicion and politicized.
This course provides students with a critical perspective on these issues, looking at core concepts and definitions, historical trends, theoretical debates, and the current policy and practice landscape. The course will also provide a practitioner’s perspective on many of the issues, through case study examples, the participation of guest speakers, and an opportunity for students
A surge in violent conflict since 2010 has led to historically high levels of forced displacement. More recently, the war in Ukraine has caused the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since the end of World War II. Globally, there are
more than 100 million forcibly displaced people
including refugees, internally displaced persons and asylum seekers who have fled their homes to escape violence, conflict and persecution.
The majority of the world's refugees come from just a handful of countries, with Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Ukraine and Myanmar being among the top countries of origin. These refugees often seek safety in neighboring countries, but many also attempt to make the dangerous journey to Europe or other parts of the world. In recent years, an upsurge of mixed migration has posed enormous practical, but also ethical and legal questions to host governments and aid organizations: in today’s world, what distinguishes a refugee from a migrant? And how does their ensuing treatment differ? Climate displacement, which is growing exponentially outside any normative framework, adds to the complexity of how to address the needs and rights of the displaced globally.
Internal displacement is also a major issue, with people being forced to flee their homes due to conflict, violence, natural disasters, and other factors. IDPs often face similar challenges to refugees, such as lack of access to basic needs like food, water, and healthcare, as well as limited opportunities for education and employment.
The course will allow students to examine the history, norms, principles, actors and governance related to forced displacement to assess with a critical lens whether the system is set up to respond to what forced displacement is today, with all its complexities. Through a combination of thematic sessions and case studies, it will provide an overview of the typologies of displacement, the different initiatives and durable solutions pursued, as well as the remaining questions the international normative and assistance system has to answer.
This course examines Latin American law through a socio-legal lens, analyzing how formal legal texts are actually practiced, adapted, or resisted by various social actors. Drawing on Law and Society scholarship, legal realism, and critical legal traditions, the course investigates different factors shaping law's effectiveness and its potential for social transformation.
The first section explores foundational questions about legal obedience, judicial power, legal pluralism, and the gap between law in the books and law in action. The second section applies these frameworks to specific Latin American problems, including access to justice and legal mobilization around social rights.
Students will engage with theoretical and empirical texts, films, and podcasts while developing their own socio-legal research projects on topics such as health rights, antidiscrimination movements, anti-corruption initiatives, or accountability for atrocity crimes.
By combining interdisciplinary perspectives from law and the social sciences with practical illustrations, the course explores the challenges and possibilities of using law as an instrument for social change in Latin America.
What does it take to spark real environmental change? This course invites students to explore how advocacy influences environmental outcomes at the local, national, and global levels. From climate protests and community campaigns to policy negotiations and court rulings, students will examine how activists, scientists, and grassroots groups shape public discourse and government action.
Using case studies and comparative examples, including from the United States and China, the course looks at how environmental advocacy works across different political systems. Topics include environmental justice, the politics of science, institutional dynamics, and how visions for the future of nature are contested and advanced.
Ideal for students interested in sustainability, public policy, or civic engagement, the course emphasizes practical skills and critical thinking. Students will complete short writing assignments and a final project focused on a real-world advocacy effort of their choice. No prior experience with environmental policy is required--just a curiosity about how ideas become action.
DP-Lab II builds on the foundations of the Development Practitioner’s Lab I and equips students with practical skills for effective and inclusive organizational leadership and management. Drawing on students’ summer field experiences, the course introduces core competencies in three interconnected units: strategy development, systems management, and leadership. The course emphasizes systems thinking, real-world application, and iterative learning.
Through applied assignments, students will act as strategy advisors for real or simulated organizations, developing mission-driven recommendations grounded in organizational analysis, management design, and leadership frameworks.
This course explores how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) objectives and data are integrated into investment decision-making. Through a combination of academic theory, real-world case studies, and hands-on exercises, students examine how ESG considerations affect risk, return, and portfolio design. Key topics include ESG portfolio theory, impact investing, fixed income and labeled bonds, engagement and proxy voting, and climate-aware investing. The course also addresses the limits and potential of ESG data, governance structures, and the role of investors in influencing corporate behavior and public outcomes. Designed for students preparing for careers in sustainable finance, the course emphasizes practical applications and critical thinking.
Impact Investing I: Foundations introduces students to the core principles, tools, and actors shaping the field of impact investing. The course provides a foundational understanding of how capital markets can be leveraged to address global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, inequality, and poverty, while also generating financial returns.
Students learn how to evaluate impact-driven transactions, assess risk and return across impact portfolios, and measure both financial and non-financial outcomes. The course includes modules on the history and evolution of the field, stakeholder roles, project evaluation using NPV and other techniques, portfolio construction, and impact measurement. The course culminates in a final team project and expert panel presentation, with a focus on real-world applications and career exploration.
As impact investing further embeds into the mainstream, Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) is its key differentiator, helping impact investors understand a company’s intention to create positive outcomes and impacts and the evidence it uses to demonstrate whether (“if”) the impact, value, or benefit is indeed being created, and importantly, in what ways (“how”) it is improving the lives of concerned stakeholders and the environment. This course reflects decades of progress by hundreds of organizations, agencies, institutions, thought leaders, and companies in every sector across the globe leading to the convergence and harmonization of key IMM tools and frameworks. Levering SIPA’s vast network, students will hear from many of these pioneers throughout the course. Understanding how to identify what to measure and how to measure and manage impact across space and time is critical to ensuring businesses and investors achieve their goals and make decisions that address the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges. We will approach IMM through the entrepreneur/business perspective while understanding that understanding the investor perspective is key to harness impact finance. The goal of this course is to equip students with knowledge of the most valuable and widely accepted methods, tools, and best practices in the field and through applied practice, develop these skills as IMM practitioners with a critical lens and a systems-level understanding of impact measurement for ventures seeking investment and investors seeking opportunities.
The social, environmental, and governance challenges of the 21st century represent both companies’ greatest risks and opportunities. While many investors, from retirement plans to mutual funds, have embraced the importance of ESG in the investment process, it is critical to understand the legal obligations of fiduciary duty, the role of the fiduciary, and the changing regulatory backdrop to assess the relevance and materiality of ESG. For example, the politicization of ESG in the US has created divergent support and threats. Understanding this unique and changing landscape alongside pivotal legal challenges is critical for business and investment decisions. In this course, students will learn about the legal obligations of fiduciary duty, its core principles, and whether and how ESG investing intersects with fiduciary duty. Furthermore, we will discuss the financial risks and rewards of ESG as important data points in the duty of care, as well as the role of disclosure and regulators within the US and beyond. While the course will largely be taught from the perspective of the US investment experience, we will compare trends in the global market.
This course is not a traditional business law survey class. This course is an application oriented class that provides the business professional with an understanding of certain critical legal concepts that are an integral part of the decision-making process for a business enterprise to operate effectively in the United States. The purpose of this course is to provide the student with a framework that will enable the student to identify legal issues that arise in a variety circumstances during the life cycle" of the business enterprise beginning with the formation of the business enterprise through the dissolution of the business enterprise through sale or bankruptcy. This course will focus primarily on the legal regime in the United States, although the laws of other jurisdictions will be noted where appropriate. The course is highly interactive - legal principles will be imparted as students seek to identify legal issues arising in actual business situations. Daily student class participation is a significant element of the course and will account for 30% of the student grade. "
The Sustainability Reporting course explores the ever-evolving global Sustainability and ESG reporting environment and the standards and frameworks that are being used by companies to report on their sustainability related performance. Environmental, Social, and Governance Reporting (“ESG”) also referred to in parts as Corporate Responsibility /Accountability Reporting. The course explores the market drivers that generate the demand for sustainability reporting by companies, key areas of focus for investors and other capital providers, regulatory activities and the intersection of sustainability reporting with traditional corporate financial reporting.
Branding has become a hot topic. Many companies realize that they need to understand the financial value of their corporate brand and its products; manage brands strategically; and deliver implementations to customers that are relevant, differentiated and powerful to build an emotional bond and loyalty.This course shows you how this can be done. It familiarizes you with best practices in branding, from iPod and the launch of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty to successful branding initiatives in financial, pharmaceutical, consumer goods, entertainment and a wide range of other companies.We will focus on three topics: brand strategy and valuation; visual identity and experiential branding; and organizational branding issues. You will be asked to complete a couple of individual exercises and homeworks during the course and be part of a final group project. No midterm. No final.The course is unique in many ways. First, it will be fun. Second, just like the topic itself, you will learn how to combine analytical and strategic thinking with creative development of ideas and implementations. You will be exposed to lots of cases of successful and some unsuccessful branding campaigns so that you learn what to do and what not to do in your own job. You will learn about frameworks and concepts and be equipped with methodologies and tools to manage a branding project. You will meet people from the branding industry, both from within companies and from external service suppliers, such as corporate identity firms, packaging designers, advertising firms and brand agencies. Finally, you will be participating in a group project that will bring it all together, focusing on a specific company of your choice.Hope to see you in the fall. If you would like additional information on my own brand, check out www.MeetSchmitt.com."
The objectives of this course are to learn some key lessons about starting and running an entrepreneurial company, and to learn about the state of entrepreneurship in South Africa. The essence of the course will be our guest speakers, through whom we will learn not only about their personal experiences and lessons, but about entrepreneurship in general. Our guest speakers will be South African entrepreneurs from a wide variety of business sizes and backgrounds. In addition, we will have guest speakers from the local government and the leading business school. There will be a hands on project to be done with local South African entrepreneurs that will require preparation before leaving for Cape Town and a report to follow afterward.
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The course explores the relationship between policymakers and key actors in capital markets. Specifically, it examines the ways in which corporates and investors influence policymaking around climate and natural capital and identifies untapped opportunities for positive intervention by investors and corporates.
Instructor permission required. Students must 1) submit an application via
https://forms.gle/TRbJrFMZKE8NbpJu7
and 2) join the waitlist in Vergil to be considered for enrollment. Without both of these steps complete, student applications cannot be considered. Please do not email any materials to the Professor or the TA.
The Sustainable Investing Research Consulting Project provides an action-oriented, client-based learning experience for students interested in sustainable investing, covering both sustainable investing in the financial sector (impact investing, climate finance, and sustainable finance) and the real economy (for-profit companies and some nonprofit organizations). The course is open to SIPA and non-SIPA students. Students will learn about the opportunities, challenges, and limitations faced by companies, institutions and investors to finance a more sustainable world. Moreover, they will learn how organizations of all types develop innovative products and services to mitigate climate change, biodiversity loss, and all forms of poverty.
Throughout the semester, students will work on a challenging sustainable investing research consulting project for a client. Clients include start-ups and established firms, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, primarily from the corporate, finance, and investing world. They will (e-)meet with the client on a regular basis, discuss their progress, obtain feedback, and present their research and recommendations to the client. Furthermore, students will conduct research and interviews to learn about the broader business environment and institutional context (including cultural, political, economic, and social factors) to better understand the opportunities and challenges the clients face. For more information on client projects and the student experiences, please see the SIRI website:
https://siri.sipa.columbia.edu/news
This course is ideal for students interested in pursuing careers in impact and sustainable finance, impact investing,impact and ESG accounting and assurance, corporate sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and sustainable development policy and practice.
Registration in this course is instructor-managed. Student
This highly participatory course equips students with the tools and frameworks to negotiate effectively, resolve conflict, and build consensus in public and international affairs contexts. Through simulations, students learn to navigate a range of scenarios, including environmental disputes, diplomatic negotiations, and organizational conflicts, using both distributive and interest-based strategies. Core topics include preparation and strategy, cross-cultural communication, power dynamics, consensus building, and coalition management. Students will also explore measures of negotiation success and practice applying concepts to real-world challenges. The course emphasizes experiential learning, reflective writing, and practical skill-building to prepare students for high-stakes negotiations in diverse professional settings.
The seminar explores how political and legal philosophers, as well as leaders of political movements and established states, envision international order. It asks and critically assesses how they imagine international politics
is
governed and how it
should be
governed.
It begins with a reexamination of major Northern/Western traditions in international jurisprudence and political theory as seen through the eyes of classical and modern political leaders and philosophers. It covers Realism, Liberalism, Socialism, and Fascism. It then broadens the lens to include thinkers from the global South, including Nehru, Senghor, and Biko, and explores how they have addressed the challenges of post-colonialism. In considering their international orders, we will discuss their insights into the connections among issues of order and justice, identity and legitimacy, peace and war, cooperation and conflict, intervention and independence and international equality and inequality. We conclude with a discussion of Cosmopolitanism and Rawls’
Law of Peoples
.
Required course for first-year PhD Students in the Art History Department.
This is the first of a two-course sequence for second-year students concentrating in Development and Governance (D&G), formerly Economic and Political Development (EPD). The second course is the Workshop in Sustainable Development Practice. These courses are integrated into a year-long encounter with the applied practice of sustainable development, guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In this course, students will learn how to design, plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate development interventions by mastering the fundamental aspects of program management for development. The course is designed to help students develop a critical understanding of some of the key frameworks, tools, and approaches used by organizations in the field of development practice, and to encourage students to use these methods in an ethical and discerning manner, by recognizing their limitations and implicit assumptions while identifying areas for innovation. Students will also come to appreciate the influence that methodology can have on the prioritization of sustainable development goals and the application of development strategies. Development practice, after all, is inherently political. Over the last few decades, the field of sustainable development has changed dramatically as development practitioners increasingly perceive themselves less as knowledge experts – delivering top-down transfers of technical expertise and resources to beneficiaries – and more as knowledge facilitators, recognizing the importance of evidence-based decision-making, local ownership and accountability, and participation of poor and marginalized groups as citizens and partners. However, this transition has been uneven, and externally-driven, top-down approaches and policies persist. Development practitioners, therefore, need to be continually aware of the values, assumptions, and biases that they bring to their work and that are implicit in the resources, approaches, and tools they use.
This course also seeks to illustrate the application of theories and concepts introduced in other D&G core courses, and to highlight some of the political, practical, and ethical issues and challenges facing development practitioners working in low- and middle-income countries, especially in the context of recent drastic cuts in official development assistance (ODA). While the course considers both quantitative and qualitative methods, the emphasis is on widely-used pro
This is the first of a two-course sequence for second-year students concentrating in Development and Governance (D&G), formerly Economic and Political Development (EPD). The second course is the Workshop in Sustainable Development Practice. These courses are integrated into a year-long encounter with the applied practice of sustainable development, guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In this course, students will learn how to design, plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate development interventions by mastering the fundamental aspects of program management for development. The course is designed to help students develop a critical understanding of some of the key frameworks, tools, and approaches used by organizations in the field of development practice, and to encourage students to use these methods in an ethical and discerning manner, by recognizing their limitations and implicit assumptions while identifying areas for innovation. Students will also come to appreciate the influence that methodology can have on the prioritization of sustainable development goals and the application of development strategies. Development practice, after all, is inherently political. Over the last few decades, the field of sustainable development has changed dramatically as development practitioners increasingly perceive themselves less as knowledge experts – delivering top-down transfers of technical expertise and resources to beneficiaries – and more as knowledge facilitators, recognizing the importance of evidence-based decision-making, local ownership and accountability, and participation of poor and marginalized groups as citizens and partners. However, this transition has been uneven, and externally-driven, top-down approaches and policies persist. Development practitioners, therefore, need to be continually aware of the values, assumptions, and biases that they bring to their work and that are implicit in the resources, approaches, and tools they use.
This course also seeks to illustrate the application of theories and concepts introduced in other D&G core courses, and to highlight some of the political, practical, and ethical issues and challenges facing development practitioners working in low- and middle-income countries, especially in the context of recent drastic cuts in official development assistance (ODA). While the course considers both quantitative and qualitative methods, the emphasis is on widely-used pro
Independent Study with Faculty Advisor must be registered for every semester after first academic year
Independent Study with Faculty Advisor must be registered for every semester after first academic year
This is a course is oriented to graduate students who are thinking about issues in teaching in the near and distant future and want to explore forms of pedagogy. The course will ask what it means to teach “as a feminist” and will explore how to create a classroom receptive to feminist and queer methodologies and theories regardless of course theme/content. Topics include: participatory pedagogy, the role of political engagement, the gender dynamics of the classroom, modes of critical thought and disagreement. Discussions will be oriented around student interest. The course will meet 4-5 times per SEMESTER (dates TBD) and the final assignment is to develop and workshop a syllabus for a new gender/sexuality course in your field. Because this course is required for graduate students choosing to fulfill Option 2 for the Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies at IRWGS, priority will be given to graduate students completing the certificate.
The dissertation colloquium is a non-credit course open to MESAAS doctoral students who have completed the M.Phil. degree. It provides a forum in which the entire community of dissertation writers meets, bridging the departments different fields and regions of research. It complements workshops outside the department focused on one area or theme. Through an encounter with the diversity of research underway in MESAAS, participants learn to engage with work anchored in different regions and disciplines and discover or develop what is common in the departments post-disciplinary methods of inquiry. Since the community is relatively small, it is expected that all post-M.Phil. students in residence will join the colloquium. Post M.Phil. students from other departments may request permission to join the colloquium, but places for non-MESAAS students will be limited. The colloquium convenes every semester, meeting once every two weeks. Each meeting is devoted to the discussion of one or two pre-circulated pieces of work (a draft prospectus or dissertation chapter). Every participant contributes at least one piece of work each year.
This course will provide students with hands-on experience analyzing financial statements. Students will learn about the general tools, theoretical concepts, and practical valuation issues of financial analysis. By the end of the course, students should be comfortable using firms' financial statements (along with other information) to assess firm performance and make reasonable valuation estimates.
Course content and organization In the first half of the course, we will develop a valuation framework that integrates a firm’s strategy, its financial performance, and the credibility of its accounting. The framework consists of the following steps:
1. Understand the firm’s strategy. We will assess the firm’s value proposition and identify its key value drivers and risks.
2. Accounting Analysis. We will assess earnings quality and evaluate whether the firm's accounting policies capture the underlying business reality. If not, we will adjust the accounting to eliminate GAAP issues and management biases.
3. Financial Analysis. We will evaluate current performance with accounting data and financial ratios.
4. Prospective Analysis: Forecasting. We will assess whether current firm performance is sustainable, and we will forecast future performance. In our forecasts, we will consider growth, profitability, and future competitive advantage.
5. Prospective Analysis: Valuation. We will convert our forecasts of future earnings and book values into an estimate of the firm’s current value.
In the second half of the course, we will apply the above framework to a variety of business valuation contexts, including IPOs, mergers, and equity-investment analyses.
This course will provide students with hands-on experience analyzing financial statements. Students will learn about the general tools, theoretical concepts, and practical valuation issues of financial analysis. By the end of the course, students should be comfortable using firms' financial statements (along with other information) to assess firm performance and make reasonable valuation estimates.
Course content and organization In the first half of the course, we will develop a valuation framework that integrates a firm’s strategy, its financial performance, and the credibility of its accounting. The framework consists of the following steps:
1. Understand the firm’s strategy. We will assess the firm’s value proposition and identify its key value drivers and risks.
2. Accounting Analysis. We will assess earnings quality and evaluate whether the firm's accounting policies capture the underlying business reality. If not, we will adjust the accounting to eliminate GAAP issues and management biases.
3. Financial Analysis. We will evaluate current performance with accounting data and financial ratios.
4. Prospective Analysis: Forecasting. We will assess whether current firm performance is sustainable, and we will forecast future performance. In our forecasts, we will consider growth, profitability, and future competitive advantage.
5. Prospective Analysis: Valuation. We will convert our forecasts of future earnings and book values into an estimate of the firm’s current value.
In the second half of the course, we will apply the above framework to a variety of business valuation contexts, including IPOs, mergers, and equity-investment analyses.
Most of the decisions of analysts, consultants, entrepreneurs, investors and managers require us to look ahead and assess an uncertain future. In this class, you will learn a unique approach to decision making that will help you consider the fundamentals of enterprises and how to link these fundamentals to underlying measures, which in turn will help you make better investment or management decisions. Students who have taken this course often comment on how it has transformed their thinking and understanding of companies. It also serves as a useful “capstone” to the MBA program as we draw on what was taught in most core courses.
In developing this line of reasoning and performing the analysis, we consider how to think about a new business as well as a publicly traded company. Having considered the basic building blocks, we next examine how the business resources and activities are translated into financial statements (whether for an early stage or public company) and consider what we learn from financial statements. We consider the extensive information increasingly available from outside sources, including various websites as well as Bloomberg and CapIQ. We also consider how certain accounting measures and practices impact the measures of the key elements of the business.
Focusing on the future, we take a different approach to many topics/concepts that are covered in various ways in other financial statement analysis, earnings quality, and security analysis and valuation classes. Many students take this course as well as other seemingly similar courses, and we have never received any feedback that the coverage in this course is redundant, irrespective of the other courses taken by students.
We will focus on understanding how entities create or destroy value for various stakeholders and what it would take to change this, how to consider uncertainty more explicitly in plans, and whether this fundamental value is reflected in the price or not (for entities that it applies to).
We will also take some time each week to address any topics that are in the financial press that bear on the subjects and the approach.