Financing and Investing in Sustainable D
Finance for Sustainable D
This course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the global financial system through the lens of sustainable development. Rather than focusing on ESG or impact investing, the course examines the structures, incentives, and decision-making processes of key financial actors, including public finance institutions, development banks, asset owners, central banks, and private capital markets, and how they can be mobilized to support the goals of sustainable development.
Through lectures, guest speakers, and case studies, students will explore topics such as carbon markets, infrastructure finance, industrial policy, China's international finance strategy, and degrowth economics. The course also addresses the skills and frameworks needed to engage professionally in sustainable finance across sectors.
- M 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
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Instructor:
Aniket A Shah
Info - 3 points
Emerging Digital Tech for Impact
Emerging Digital Tech-Imp
This course examines the promises and complexities of emerging digital technologies—Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, Blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT)—in advancing sustainable development. Designed for development practitioners and policymakers, it provides a practical framework to assess how these tools can be responsibly scaled to generate positive social and environmental impact.
Through critical readings, expert guest speakers, and applied case studies, students will analyze both historical lessons and current implementation challenges. The course emphasizes the importance of infrastructure, ecosystem readiness, ethical design, and inclusive access, especially in under-resourced settings. Topics include digital equity, environmental sustainability, and the enabling conditions for scaling innovation.
- T 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
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Instructor:
Mariela J Machado
Info - 3 points
Universal Food Security
This course addresses the challenges and opportunities for achieving a productive, profitable, inclusive, healthy, sustainable, resilient, and ethical global food system. Our first class will provide a brief historical perspective of the global food system, highlighting relevant developments over the past 10,000 years and will explain key concepts, critical challenges, and opportunities ahead. For the ensuing few weeks, we will cover the core biophysical requirements for food production: soil and land, water and climate, and genetic resources. We include an introduction to human nutrition –
Nutrition Week
– that focuses on dietary change and food-based solutions to malnutrition. Building on this, the course will survey a selection of important food systems and trends across Asia, Africa, and Latin America that provide food security and livelihoods for more than half of the world’s population. Case studies and classroom debates throughout the course will explore the roles of science, technology, policies, politics, institutions, business, finance, aid, trade, and human behavior in advancing sustainable agriculture, and achieving food and nutritional security. We will probe the interactions of food systems with global issues including poverty and inequality, the persistence of chronic hunger and malnutrition, climate change, environmental degradation, international food business and value chains, biotechnology (GMOs), post-harvest losses, and food waste. With a sharp eye for credible evidence, we will confront controversies, reflect on historical trends, identify common myths, and surface little-known but important truths about agriculture and food systems. In our final sessions, we address the ultimate question: can we feed and nourish the world without wrecking it for future generations?
- TR 8 a.m.-9:50 a.m.
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Instructor:
Glenn Denning
h-index: 14 Info - 3 points
Development Practitioner's Lab (DP-Lab)
DP-Lab I
Development Practitioner's Lab I (DP-Lab I)
is a required course for MPA-DP students in their second semester, focused on tools and methods for effective program design in sustainable development. Drawing on insights from over 90 MPA-DP alumni working in diverse global contexts, this course emphasizes applied learning, systems thinking, and adaptive leadership.
Students will learn and apply tools to diagnose development challenges, design interventions for social impact, and address cross-cutting themes such as communication, ethics, equity, and inclusion. The course supports students in developing a comprehensive project proposal, structured around contextual analysis, implementation planning, and critical reflection on development practice.
- R 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
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Instructor:
Lisa Tarantino
Info - 3 points
MPA-DP: Field Study
Field Study (1.5 credits)
This course supports the required field placement for MPA-DP students, providing academic credit for the application of classroom learning to professional practice in a development setting. Students must register for a total of 3 credits across one or two semesters, selecting from six registration options that accommodate varying academic schedules and visa requirements.
Registration Options:
3 credits in the Spring semester*
1.5 credits in the Spring and 1.5 credits in the Fall*
3 credits in the Fall semester
3 credits in the Spring semester
1.5 credits in the Fall and 1.5 credits in the Spring
1.5 credits in the Spring and 1.5 credits in the Spring
*International students on F-1 visas conducting their summer field placement in the U.S. and securing Curricular Practical Training (CPT) must select one of the two asterisked options to remain in compliance with immigration regulations. All six options are available to J-1 students using Academic Training (AT).
The course requires submission of a placement proposal, faculty oversight, and post-placement deliverables.
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Instructor:
Glenn Denning
h-index: 14 Info - 1.5 points
MPA-DP: Field Study
Field Study (3 credits)
This course supports the required field placement for MPA-DP students, providing academic credit for the application of classroom learning to professional practice in a development setting. Students must register for a total of 3 credits across one or two semesters, selecting from six registration options that accommodate varying academic schedules and visa requirements.
Registration Options:
3 credits in the Spring semester*
1.5 credits in the Spring and 1.5 credits in the Fall*
3 credits in the Fall semester
3 credits in the Spring semester
1.5 credits in the Fall and 1.5 credits in the Spring
1.5 credits in the Spring and 1.5 credits in the Spring
*International students on F-1 visas conducting their summer field placement in the U.S. and securing Curricular Practical Training (CPT) must select one of the two asterisked options to remain in compliance with immigration regulations. All six options are available to J-1 students using Academic Training (AT).
The course requires submission of a placement proposal, faculty oversight, and post-placement deliverables.
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Instructor:
Glenn Denning
h-index: 14 Info - 3 points