.
Insurance Management Student Community Center helps facilitate remote pre-residency requirements and preparatory activities to preserve the limited in-person time we have during the residency for other activities. Given that we are a remote program, this is the most effective way to introduce, assign, inform and track new student activity prior to starting the core courses. The use of a dedicated site helps the students practice using the LMS, in addition to acclimating to Columbia, the faculty and the resources. The activities in which the students participate for the residency are critical to their success in the 16-months of remote learning in which they engage. Recordings and other materials are provided to students in continuity with completed activities and the site is also used as a general communications tool with the students outside of the dedicated Canvas courses.
The Wealth Management Student Community Center helps facilitate remote pre-residency requirements and preparatory activities to preserve the limited in-person time we have during the residency for other activities. Given that we are a remote program, this is the most effective way to introduce, assign, inform and track new student activity prior to starting the core courses. The use of a dedicated site helps them practice using the LMS, in addition to acclimating to Columbia, the faculty and the resources. The activities in which the students participate for the residency are critical to their success in the 16-months of remote learning in which they engage. Recordings and other materials are provided to students in continuity with completed activities and the site is also used as a general communications tool with the students outside of the dedicated Canvas courses.
.
This required NECR course will introduce the concepts and skills of mediation, a type of third-party conflict intervention. This course will provide students with theory, research, and practice to effectively use mediation skills in a wide variety of contexts. Mediation practices are frequently applied to a variety of conflicts and are employed in conflict resolution strategies. Thus it is imperative for a conflict resolution practitioner to develop knowledge and skills of this practice. In this course students will be introduced to mediation philosophies, approaches, applications, and skills through readings, scholarly reflections, role-plays, a collaborative group project, and a term paper. This course will provide a deeper understanding of problem-solving and relational styles of mediation and the goals aligned with each. Students will learn to identify when mediation is appropriate, prepare for a mediation, employ communication skills, deal with negative emotions, address ethical dilemmas, and consider the cultural influences surrounding the parties and conflict.
Prerequisite: NECR 5105 Introduction to Negotiation
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In this course, we will explore negotiation from several points of view and approaches. We will also look at characteristics that impact the quality of our negotiations and the outcomes, such as the role of emotions, cultural considerations, effectiveness of our communication, and opportunities to seek out negotiation to transform relationships. The course will be a blend of concepts and skills, theory and practice. On some occasions, you will be introduced to a concept and then asked to apply those concepts in an experiential activity. At other times, you will be asked to engage the activity or simulation and then the concepts will be elicited based on your experience. You will have several opportunities to practice developing your skills throughout the course, in terms of enhancing your practice and honing your analytical and conceptual understanding.
This course provides an opportunity for students in the Economics Master of Arts Program to engage in off-campus internships for academic credit that will count towards their requirements for the degree. The internships will facilitate the application of economic skills that students have developed in the program and prepare them for future work in the field.
In this introductory workshop, students write several short screenplays over the course of the semester and learn the basics of the craft. Character, action, conflict, story construction, the importance of showing instead of telling, and other essential components are explored.
Billions of dollars are raised and spent during U.S. presidential and congressional races each election cycle. Campaign expenditures play a critical role in election outcomes and political donations are used by corporations, unions, advocacy groups, and individuals to influence elected officials and public policy. Whether they are working for campaigns, advocacy groups, or consultants, political analysts need to have a sound understanding of campaign finance law and regulations, the chief strategies that contributors and recipients use to pursue their interests, and the incredibly rich data that is available to analyze and study campaign giving in the United States.
In this course, students will learn about the history and current state of campaign finance regulation, what motivates donors to give and what they may (or may not) receive in return, and how campaigns themselves fundraise and spend their billions. Students will become familiar with the ways data analytics have influenced how modern campaigns approach fundraising and the strategies used by candidates to finance a run for office. Finally, students will engage with the potential benefits and pitfalls of campaign finance reforms which, along with technological change, promise to keep political fundraising in a state of flux.
Design is at the core of every innovation. It’s the visual, experiential, and strategic medium through which ideas transform into tangible and digital products, service platforms, experiences, and consequences. This course is a comprehensive exploration of the methods, vocabulary, challenges, and opportunities of design-led innovation. It demystifies how business and design intersect through the lens of innovation, and is foundational for anyone seeking to generate positive social and economic outcomes.
Students experience the course through interconnected paths—interrogating contemporary issues in design and business while simultaneously moving a chosen project through a sequence of hands-on design sprints. These sprints cover everything from ideation and visualization to journey mapping, prototyping, user testing, and branding of their own unique ideas. Participants will emerge with a critical and reusable toolkit for both understanding the innovation process and effectively leading creative teams.
Topics include: Design Thinking; User-Centered Design; Business Value of Design; Problem Framing; Systems Mapping; User Journey Mapping; Ambiguity and Complexity; Liberatory Design Practices; The Impact of AI; Design Ethics; Sustainability, Wicked Problems; Design Futuring and speculative design.
In a number of academic disciplines the concern with relationships between humans and non-humans has recently resulted in a radical revision of the ways in which we think people and animals construct their social worlds. This course addresses how humans and animals enter into, and interact within, each other's worlds. It draws upon perspectives from anthropology, geography, (political) philosophy, ethics, literary theory, and the sciences, placing current debates within the context of the deep history of human-animal relations. Topics to be discussed include "wildness", domestication, classification, animal rights, biotechnology, "nature/culture", food/cooking, fabulous/mythical animals, the portrayal of animals in popular culture, and human-animal sexualities.
An exploration of the central concepts of corporate finance for those who already have some basic knowledge of finance and accounting. This case-based course considers project valuation; cost of capital; capital structure; firm valuation; the interplay between financial decisions, strategic consideration, and economic analyses; and the provision and acquisition of funds. These concepts are analyzed in relation to agency problems: market domination, risk profile, and risk resolution; and market efficiency or the lack thereof. The validity of analytic tools is tested on issues such as highly leveraged transactions, hybrid securities, volatility in initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, acquisition and control premiums, corporate restructurings, and sustainable and unsustainable market inefficiencies.
This course provides a comprehensive examination of modern software product development, focusing on creating solutions that address clear user needs and challenges. A “product” in this context refers to a software program that instructs computer hardware to operate, solve problems, and manage tasks effectively.
Modern product development benefits from systematic practices that enhance efficiency, sustainability, and continuity. These practices, including flexibility, iterative development, customer feedback, and efficient project management, are essential for adapting quickly to rapidly evolving market and technology landscapes.
A comprehensive introduction to the principles, methods and tools required for the development and implementation of scheduling in the construction industry. Topics covered include: the crucial role of the scheduling development plans, budgeting and its impact on project timelines, identification and analysis of critical paths (CPM), resource and cost loading, schedule updating, and schedule management. Coursework is integrated with hands‐on utilization of Oracle Primavera P3 and P6 scheduling and Microsoft Project 2007 software. Students may need to bring their own laptops/notebooks for some class sessions. Guest lecturers may be featured for certain topics.
OBJECTIVE:
This course should prepare the student to prepare a CPM schedule, calculate the schedule manually or by use of computer software, evaluate the output of such software, and present such analysis both to field personnel for implementation and to upper management for overview.
This is a required course that facilitates the capstone research paper writing process for second-year students enrolled in the M.A. Program in Economics. The research paper provides an opportunity to write a substantial piece of academic work in which the student is expected to demonstrate mastery of a field, along with the ability to think originally and to convey results clearly in writing.
TBA
Students are expected to have completed a year of high school physics and chemistry. It would be best to have also taken college level physics and chemistry.
Renewable energy is generated from natural processes that are continuously replenished. Aside from geothermal and tidal power, solar radiation is the ultimate source of renewable energy. In order to have a sustainable environment and economy, CO2 emissions must be reduced (and eventually stopped). This requires that the fossil fuel based technologies underlying our present electricity generation and transportation systems be replaced by renewable energy. In addition, the transition to renewable technologies will move nations closer to energy independence and thereby reduce geopolitical tensions associated with energy trading. This course begins with a review of the basics of electricity generation and the heat engines that are the foundation of our current energy systems. This course will emphasize the inherent inefficiency associated with the conversion of thermal energy to electrical and mechanical energy. The course then covers the most important technologies employed to generate renewable energy. These are hydroelectric, wind, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, geothermal, biomass/biofuel, tidal and wave power. The course ends with a description of energy storage technologies, energy markets and possible pathways to a renewable energy future.
This course equips the next generation of technologists with the skills, strategies, and savvy needed to secure systemic and lasting change for social good. These topics are examined in three units: 1. Intrapreneurship: how to guide responsible technology within and by multinationals and other large-scale, risk-averse institutions; 2. Entrepreneurship & Nonprofits: how to balance market pressures with values-based missions within startups, nonprofits, and other social-good tech enterprises; and 3. Civic Tech: how to navigate policy, politics, and bureaucracies in delivering citizen-facing technologies within local, regional, and national government bodies.
This course equips the next generation of technologists with the skills, strategies, and savvy needed to secure systemic and lasting change for social good. These topics are examined in three units: 1. Intrapreneurship: how to guide responsible technology within and by multinationals and other large-scale, risk-averse institutions; 2. Entrepreneurship & Nonprofits: how to balance market pressures with values-based missions within startups, nonprofits, and other social-good tech enterprises; and 3. Civic Tech: how to navigate policy, politics, and bureaucracies in delivering citizen-facing technologies within local, regional, and national government bodies.
Popular and Historical Gestures explores the fundamental properties of figure drawing and portraiture through the lens of pop culture and historical gestures and poses. Students examine the figure in painting, documentary photography, art history, and literature, and then use these examples as sources for live model sessions, studio practice, and discussions. Students will work on self-directed projects and from live models. There are one-on-one and group discussions, as well as individual critiques with the instructor. Class time will include image presentations, discussions, museum trips, individual and group critiques, and in-class independent work time. Each class will begin with a homework critique and a discussion, lecture, or demonstration structured around a specific goal. Students will then work individually. Each class will end with brief individual and group critiques to allow students to see and discuss each other's work.
Strategic advocacy is defined as establishing personal and functional influence by means of cultivating alliances and defining opportunities adding value to the revenues and profits of any organization. This course focuses on the processes and competencies necessary for initiating strategically focused technology-related business conversations. Particular attention is given to the transitions in focus and mindsets necessary for moving from a technical/functional to a business model orientation. Conceptual frameworks, research, and practical applications are part of the design. Topics include: the political economy of exercising executive influence; expert and strategic mindsets; strategic learning and planning; and mapping the political territory. Students will apply theory to their own career related challenges.
Strategic advocacy is defined as establishing personal and functional influence by means of cultivating alliances and defining opportunities adding value to the revenues and profits of any organization. This course focuses on the processes and competencies necessary for initiating strategically focused technology-related business conversations. Particular attention is given to the transitions in focus and mindsets necessary for moving from a technical/functional to a business model orientation. Conceptual frameworks, research, and practical applications are part of the design. Topics include: the political economy of exercising executive influence; expert and strategic mindsets; strategic learning and planning; and mapping the political territory. Students will apply theory to their own career related challenges.
An in-depth understanding of how to market a business plan and raise capital to launch new ventures. Topics include capital alternatives, confidentiality, meeting analysis, finalizing agreements, and shareholder alternatives. The course requires the design of a venture that contains multiple approaches for investment. Workshop exercises cover methods of negotiating initial investment, management control, and forecasted return-on-investment.
This 3-credit core course in the M.S. in Technology Management program provides an overview of the strategic role of the technology function to improve business processes, drive transformations, and fuel innovation. Through lectures and applied case study work, students will learn how to develop and keep technology strategies aligned with business goals, navigate governance, regulatory, and budgetary frameworks, and evaluate risks to protect the organization’s IT investments.
This course will lead participants through a series of case studies of environmental contamination of water and soil, both natural and man-made, from a perspective of their contribution to the global burden of disease. Participants will critically examine datasets documenting toxic exposure in developing countries and around New York City. Participants will have the opportunity to deploy some field kits and compare their results to laboratory measurements. An emphasis on empowerment through measurement, mapping, and sharing of information will lead to a discussion of regulation, policies, and mitigation.
This class provides students with a deep dive into marketing and communication strategies and channels for tech company, product, and services launches. Students will work on customer personas for B2B and B2C technologies and reflect upon sustainability guidelines to shape their marketing strategy. They will analyze the different elements that make a soft and hard launch successful, such customer testimonials and industry analyst relations. The course will also discuss how AI is changing the marketing of companies, products and services.
Once associated with images of fishnet-costumed fans of
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
, the concept of the “cult film” has gone increasingly mainstream in recent years. This course seeks to assess the popularization of the phenomenon, asking: what exactly
is
a cult film? And what does the mainstreaming of the concept suggest about our changing relation to today’s media environment?
Whereas most types of film can be defined through widely recognized elements of story and setting (tumbleweed, deserts, gunfights: it’s a western), this is far from being the case with cult. Some have defined the cult film as “created” by audiences (again,
Rocky Horror
); others in terms of nonclassical or aberrant modes of textuality (e.g., various forms of “bad taste” cinema). This course, however, seeks to go beyond audience- and text-based definitions, instead placing cult within a series of historical contexts:
as an outgrowth of film industry practices that sustained the
low cultural status
of certain movie types during the classical Hollywood cinema (e.g., B movies, exploitation, etc.);
as the product of
audience reception
practices, shaped by the politics of cultural taste and “camp” viewing practices that first coalesced during the “midnight movie” phenomenon of the late 1960s/1970s;
as sustained by the
transnational flow
of media content, offering new frameworks for understanding “national” cinemas.
In offering such an approach, this course seeks to isolate the different uses to which “cult” has been put, in order to indicate how pervasive and adaptable the idea has recently become. As we will see, the cult phenomenon implies both a perspective on the past, hence inseparable from the experience of nostalgia, as well as an engagement with our media-driven present.
Energy Management is the cornerstone of any sustainability initiative. The generation, distribution, and use of energy has a profound, continuous, and global impact on natural resources, societal structure, and geopolitics. How energy is used has significant repercussions on an organizations cash flow and profitability. For these reasons, energy issues tend to be the fulcrum upon which sustainability programs hinge.
The ability to identify and articulate organizational benefits from energy savings tied to efficiency improvements and renewable energy projects is a requisite skill set for all sustainability managers.
This course will provide real-world information on energy management issues from a practitioner's perspective. Through lectures, problem sets, and readings students will learn how to manage energy audits, analyze building energy performance, and evaluate the energy use and financial impacts of potential capital and operations improvements to building systems. The class will focus on understanding energy issues from a building owner’s perspective, with discussions also examining energy issues from the perspective of utility companies, energy generators, and policy makers.
Best practice in energy management will always involve some level of complex engineering to survey existing conditions and predict energy savings from various improvement options. Sustainability managers need to understand how to manage and quality control these analyses and to translate to decision makers the opportunity they reveal. This course seeks to empower students to do that by providing an understanding of building systems and methods for quantitatively analyzing the potential benefit of various energy improvements.
Energy Management is the cornerstone of any sustainability initiative. The generation, distribution, and use of energy has a profound, continuous, and global impact on natural resources, societal structure, and geopolitics. How energy is used has significant repercussions on an organizations cash flow and profitability. For these reasons, energy issues tend to be the fulcrum upon which sustainability programs hinge.
The ability to identify and articulate organizational benefits from energy savings tied to efficiency improvements and renewable energy projects is a requisite skill set for all sustainability managers.
This course will provide real-world information on energy management issues from a practitioner's perspective. Through lectures, problem sets, and readings students will learn how to manage energy audits, analyze building energy performance, and evaluate the energy use and financial impacts of potential capital and operations improvements to building systems. The class will focus on understanding energy issues from a building owner’s perspective, with discussions also examining energy issues from the perspective of utility companies, energy generators, and policy makers.
Best practice in energy management will always involve some level of complex engineering to survey existing conditions and predict energy savings from various improvement options. Sustainability managers need to understand how to manage and quality control these analyses and to translate to decision makers the opportunity they reveal. This course seeks to empower students to do that by providing an understanding of building systems and methods for quantitatively analyzing the potential benefit of various energy improvements.
In this course, students will first be provided with a global perspective on the current status of environmental problems and the leading environmental contributors to the burden of diseases. Students will then introduce how air pollutants are produced, transported, and what are their environmental fates. This course will cover how air pollutants are measured and monitored, including government monitoring networks, NASA remote sensing techniques, and research tools for fixed site monitoring (indoor and outdoor) and personal level monitoring. Students will be able to learn basic concepts about the toxicity and target organs of different pollutants, both of which are important to understand dose-response and health outcomes. Building on knowledge of exposure and toxicity, Students will then introduce risk assessment and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) associated with air pollution. Their usage in evaluating sustainability as well as their limitations will be introduced.
The course will provide students with the methods and tools to understand, monitor, and analyze current environmental health threats in air, and explore strategies for policy interventions for solving these at times complex challenges. Students will leave the course with a stronger sense of the power, and limitations, of environmental data and better equipped to evaluate and communicate the effectiveness of new interventions. After completing the course, students will more confidently be able to apply core scientific concepts to evaluating and addressing public health challenges posed by, for instance, fine particulate (PM2.5) contamination.
In this course, students will first be provided with a global perspective on the current status of environmental problems and the leading environmental contributors to the burden of diseases. Students will then introduce how air pollutants are produced, transported, and what are their environmental fates. This course will cover how air pollutants are measured and monitored, including government monitoring networks, NASA remote sensing techniques, and research tools for fixed site monitoring (indoor and outdoor) and personal level monitoring. Students will be able to learn basic concepts about the toxicity and target organs of different pollutants, both of which are important to understand dose-response and health outcomes. Building on knowledge of exposure and toxicity, Students will then introduce risk assessment and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) associated with air pollution. Their usage in evaluating sustainability as well as their limitations will be introduced.
The course will provide students with the methods and tools to understand, monitor, and analyze current environmental health threats in air, and explore strategies for policy interventions for solving these at times complex challenges. Students will leave the course with a stronger sense of the power, and limitations, of environmental data and better equipped to evaluate and communicate the effectiveness of new interventions. After completing the course, students will more confidently be able to apply core scientific concepts to evaluating and addressing public health challenges posed by, for instance, fine particulate (PM2.5) contamination.
Medieval to Contemporary Painting Techniques explores the fundamental properties of paint materials by studying the paint-making techniques used by old masters of the late Medieval and Renaissance periods up through the contemporary era. Through hands-on work and experimentation, including preparing paint materials themselves, students will gain experience making and working with egg tempera, oil paint, and synthetic materials such as acrylics. They will develop a stronger understanding of how these materials function and how their uses fit into historical traditions and cultural contexts.
Students will participate in weekly material and technique-building workshops. They will be given select open-ended assignments for which they can choose a particular approach to explore. Students will learn how to handle traditional and contemporary materials in compliance with high material safety standards.
This course provides students with a solid hands-on foundation in BIM (Building Information Modeling) and other technologies that are revolutionizing the way 21st century construction projects are delivered. Starting from the Owner’s perspective, the class sessions will explore the benefits of BIM tools/methods as used by design teams, construction managers and sub-contractors. Students work with actual industry tools to create BIM Models that extract quantities for estimation purposes, link models to construction schedules (4D simulations), generate clash reports, and effectively communicate 3D site logistics plans. Once a BIM backbone is established, discussions will lead into and highlight: advanced applications, integration opportunities, responsibilities/contractual theories and the introduction of other 3rd Party Software. This course is a recommended companion course to CNAD PS5500, the Capstone Project. Students enrolling in the course are required to have their own notebook PC meeting the noted specifications.
This course surveys the American film genre known as
film noir
, focusing primarily on the genre’s heyday in the 1940s and early 1950s, taking into account some of its antecedents in the hard-boiled detective novel, German Expressionism, and the gangster film, among other sources. We will consider a wide variety of critical and theoretical approaches to the genre, and will also study a number of film noir adaptations and their literary sources.
With the advent of generative AI and the impending arrival of quantum computing, risks to organizations and individuals have grown exponentially. Innovation in offensive and defensive tools and technologies continues to increase. How does a leader keep up? Leaders must know how to work with internal experts and to manage these issues internally, with Boards, and for the public. Proficiency in strategies and principles, some of which date back to the ancient Greeks and Chinese, prevail over tools.
With the advent of generative AI and the impending arrival of quantum computing, risks to organizations and individuals have grown exponentially. Innovation in offensive and defensive tools and technologies continues to increase. How does a leader keep up? Leaders must know how to work with internal experts and to manage these issues internally, with Boards, and for the public. Proficiency in strategies and principles, some of which date back to the ancient Greeks and Chinese, prevail over tools.
.
Prerequisites: at least four terms of Greek, or the equivalent. An intensive review of Greek syntax with translation of English sentences and paragraphs into Attic Greek.
To address the growing need for trained builders and strategic thinkers, the Innovative Infrastructure and Megaprojects Delivery course will introduce students to the principles, management techniques, tools and resources necessary to successfully drive and deliver complex public works infrastructure and megaprojects.
We will identify criteria that define Infrastructure and Megaprojects and assess the varied and often conflicting challenges associated with planning and delivering complex, large-scale public works. Projects of this scale have far-reaching economic, social and environmental impacts. We will address managing such public works in an ethical and equitable manner that engages the communities that they serve.
Leadership & Management of Nonprofits is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of how nonprofit organizations function, including ways in which the various functional areas of a nonprofit interconnect to achieve its mission and vision. We will address the skills and knowledge needed to lead and manage the operations and programs of an organization as well as work effectively with organizational stakeholders including governing boards, staff, partners and program recipients.
Leadership & Management of Nonprofits is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of how nonprofit organizations function, including ways in which the various functional areas of a nonprofit interconnect to achieve its mission and vision. We will address the skills and knowledge needed to lead and manage the operations and programs of an organization as well as work effectively with organizational stakeholders including governing boards, staff, partners and program recipients.
Carbon markets have become a central tool in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This course explores the economics, institutions, and pricing mechanisms that shape these markets, providing students with a fundamental description and analysis of emissions trading systems (ETS), carbon taxes, voluntary carbon markets, internal carbon transfer pricing and emerging financial instruments. Beginning with microeconomic foundations such as externalities and market-based climate policies, students will analyze the role of international organizations and regulatory frameworks, including the Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, and regional policies like the EU Green Deal, the California carbon market and RGGI. Through real-world case studies, students will evaluate carbon pricing mechanisms across jurisdictions and industries, gaining the analytical skills necessary to assess policy effectiveness and market integrity. Designed for graduate students in environmental economics, public policy, sustainability, and finance, this course is particularly relevant for those pursuing careers in climate policy, carbon finance, and international development.
This course serves as a critical component of the environmental policy and sustainability curriculum, bridging economic theory with practical policy implementation. By integrating key concepts from environmental economics, climate governance, and financial markets, it reinforces students’ understanding of how carbon pricing aligns with broader sustainability goals. Additionally, the course supports programmatic objectives by equipping students with the technical expertise and policy fluency needed to navigate and shape carbon markets. Whether students aim to work in governmental agencies, international organizations, or private-sector sustainability roles, this course provides the necessary foundation to engage with one of the most dynamic areas of climate policy.
Carbon markets have become a central tool in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This course explores the economics, institutions, and pricing mechanisms that shape these markets, providing students with a fundamental description and analysis of emissions trading systems (ETS), carbon taxes, voluntary carbon markets, internal carbon transfer pricing and emerging financial instruments. Beginning with microeconomic foundations such as externalities and market-based climate policies, students will analyze the role of international organizations and regulatory frameworks, including the Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, and regional policies like the EU Green Deal, the California carbon market and RGGI. Through real-world case studies, students will evaluate carbon pricing mechanisms across jurisdictions and industries, gaining the analytical skills necessary to assess policy effectiveness and market integrity. Designed for graduate students in environmental economics, public policy, sustainability, and finance, this course is particularly relevant for those pursuing careers in climate policy, carbon finance, and international development.
This course serves as a critical component of the environmental policy and sustainability curriculum, bridging economic theory with practical policy implementation. By integrating key concepts from environmental economics, climate governance, and financial markets, it reinforces students’ understanding of how carbon pricing aligns with broader sustainability goals. Additionally, the course supports programmatic objectives by equipping students with the technical expertise and policy fluency needed to navigate and shape carbon markets. Whether students aim to work in governmental agencies, international organizations, or private-sector sustainability roles, this course provides the necessary foundation to engage with one of the most dynamic areas of climate policy.
This course is designed either for students who wish to embark on or further careers in politics and for those interested in exploring the dynamic field of political communication. Three themes anchor the course material: 1.) strategic communication, or deliberate and goal-oriented communication, which enables professionals to analyze and execute political strategy; 2.) message, which enables the crafting and critique of more or less effective political communication; and 3,) research, which political professionals use to formulate, shift and optimize their strategies.
This introductory core course examines the central role of marketing and communications in fulfilling the mission of nonprofit institutions of all types and at all stages of development. The programmatic objective of this course is to build a shared set of competencies and understandings around the power, practices, ethical applications, and desired outcomes of nonprofit marketing and communications.
Dramatic changes across civil society in recent years, including the evolving role of nonprofits in democratic discourse and the rise of new forms of communications technologies, means that nonprofit leaders today must have a fundamental understanding of the principles of marketing and communications in order to ensure organizational success both internally and externally. While outreach technologies and trends change rapidly in our era, true excellence in the field is based upon a core group of basic skills that are hardly novel: strong writing and analysis, strategic planning, and the ability to connect disparate individuals across a wide range of disciplines and diverse backgrounds to build an inclusive community around shared goals.
This course is designed to help students gain these skills through engaging with the strategic frameworks and tactical applications needed to create and leverage a range of communications and marketing activities. The course will introduce students to multiple communications and marketing practices designed to engage key stakeholders, including donors, the media, volunteers and advocates, and additional internal and external influencers and sector leaders. Throughout the semester, the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all forms of outreach (written and oral; digital and print) will be foregrounded.
No prior marketing or communications experience is necessary.
This introductory core course examines the central role of marketing and communications in fulfilling the mission of nonprofit institutions of all types and at all stages of development. The programmatic objective of this course is to build a shared set of competencies and understandings around the power, practices, ethical applications, and desired outcomes of nonprofit marketing and communications.
Dramatic changes across civil society in recent years, including the evolving role of nonprofits in democratic discourse and the rise of new forms of communications technologies, means that nonprofit leaders today must have a fundamental understanding of the principles of marketing and communications in order to ensure organizational success both internally and externally. While outreach technologies and trends change rapidly in our era, true excellence in the field is based upon a core group of basic skills that are hardly novel: strong writing and analysis, strategic planning, and the ability to connect disparate individuals across a wide range of disciplines and diverse backgrounds to build an inclusive community around shared goals.
This course is designed to help students gain these skills through engaging with the strategic frameworks and tactical applications needed to create and leverage a range of communications and marketing activities. The course will introduce students to multiple communications and marketing practices designed to engage key stakeholders, including donors, the media, volunteers and advocates, and additional internal and external influencers and sector leaders. Throughout the semester, the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all forms of outreach (written and oral; digital and print) will be foregrounded.
No prior marketing or communications experience is necessary.
The course provides an overview of the opportunities and challenges of transnational financing from public and private sources that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation investments intended to address climate change. Although there is increased and widespread commitment to taking climate action on the part of corporations, financial institutions, countries and sub-national actors, there remains a paucity of examples where a just transition has been furthered. The conditions engendered by the advent of widespread pandemics have exacerbated global differences in capacity and access to solutions. Nevertheless, the emergence of new financial mechanisms and global cooperative responses to the pandemic have revealed potential methods to finance enhancements in mitigation and adaptation in the regions where these are most lacking. We examine current capital and trade flows and their relationship to flows of embedded carbon, methods of carbon pricing and the implementation of low-carbon pathways, with an evaluation of decentralized co-benefits that can advance sustainable development. We combine analysis of carbon accounting and financial structuring to design potential investments in example decarbonization projects which integrate additionality in mitigation and adaptation, co-benefits and poverty alleviation.
This course places students at the intersection of two converging fields – behavioral science and communication – to teach them how our predictable irrationality can become a competitive advantage in persuading people, groups, and organizations to take favorable actions. Through lectures, case analysis, and group projects, students learn and apply a variety of psychology principles to communication thinking, planning, and leadership. Students are challenged to think broadly about communication – advertising, PR, social media, content, and internal communication – in their application of cognitive bias and heuristics principles including anchoring, framing, loss aversion, and choice architecture. Students obtain a strong grounding that influence involves four core elements: decision-making, nudges, cognitive biases, and noise reduction.
Over the past two decades, public and private institutions have set clear targets for environmental, economic, and social performance and they are increasingly using analytical tools to assess problems and measure progress. The advent of “Big Data” has accelerated this work – and opened up new possibilities and challenges. This course will examine the use of data and metrics to shape and implement sustainability policies and programs and to assess and communicate their outcomes.
The course will survey a range of real-world sustainability challenges and evaluate the choices confronting public officials, private companies, NGO’s, advocates, and citizens – and the data that can be used to diagnose problems, develop solutions, and measure success. Particular focus will be given to urban sustainability efforts and corporate sustainability. We will explore how data can be used and misused in each of these domains. Throughout we will emphasize the importance of context, comparability, and completeness of information.
Students will be required to critically evaluate what they read and hear. In addition, the course will give students an opportunity to learn how to express their ideas verbally and in written form and conduct a critical analysis of how environmental data is used to develop and implement public policy. Assignments will give students the opportunity to use their technical and analytical skills while understanding the real-world applications that will be important to their future work as planners, policymakers, advocates, architects, environmentalists, or other professions. The course will feature guest lectures from speakers who are leaders in their fields. Lecture topics may be moved to accommodate speaker travel and availability. Notice will be provided to students in advance of any schedule changes.