FIELDWORK

May be repeated for credit, but no more than 3 total points may be used for degree credit. Only for electrical engineering and computer engineering graduate students who include relevant off-campus work experience as part of their approved program of study. Final report required. May not be taken for pass/fail credit or audited.

• Department: Electrical Engineering
• Instructor: James Anderson
  h-index: 18 Info
• Instructor: Zoran Kostic
  CULPA: 1 h-index: 24 Info
• Instructor: Homayoon Beigi
  Info
• Instructor: Aurel A Lazar
  h-index: 53 Info
• Instructor: Asaf Cidon
  h-index: 20 Info
• Instructor: Predrag R Jelenkovic
  CULPA: 1 h-index: 35 Info
• 1-1.5 points

GRADUATE SEMINAR

The Carceral United States

HIST 6999 GR is a twin listings of an undergraduate History seminar provided to graduate students for graduate credit. If a graduate student enrolls, she/he/they attends the same class as the undergraduate students (unless otherwise directed by the instructor). Each instructor determines additional work for graduate students to complete in order to receive graduate credit for the course. Please refer to the notes section in SSOL for the corresponding (twin) undergraduate 3000 level course and follow that course's meeting day & time and assigned classroom. Instructor permission is required to join.

• Department: History
• Instructor: Sarah Haley
  Info
• 4 points

MA THESIS II

Second part of two-term MA Thesis sequence for MRST MA Students.

• Department: Medieval and Renaissance Studies
• Instructor: Susan Boynton
  CULPA: 18 Info
• 4 points

M.A. Thesis II

M.A. Thesis Course for MARS-REERS program.

• Department: Russian Eurasian E. European
• Instructor: Elise Giuliano
  CULPA: 6 Info
• 0-3 points

Politics of Sustainable Development

Political Development

D&G Concentration Registration Priority.
This course is designed to provide an introduction to the process of political development. It introduces a set of analytic tools based on the strategic perspective of political science and political economy to evaluate the current debates in political development and to draw policy-relevant conclusions. Throughout the course, we will discuss the political dimensions and the challenges of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development along with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and their transformations - (1) education, gender and inequality; (2) health, well-being and demography; (3) energy decarbonization and sustainable industry; (4) sustainable food, land, water and oceans; (5) sustainable cities and communities; and (6) the digital revolution for sustainable development - as modular building blocks.

First, we will explore the politics of economic development: the role of leadership, political systems, and institutions in promoting growth. We study the mechanisms that underlie the persistence of poverty. Utilizing numerous country case studies, we will answer: What is political development? What explains why some countries have prospered while others remain poor, violent, or unequal? Why do we observe growth, stability, and freedoms in some and not in others?

Second, we will explore the causes and consequences of the state, political institutions, and democracy. What is at the root of state capacity, political participation, and other aspects of political development? What is the role of property rights and the rule of law in development? How do we promote gender equality and empowerment? How do we detect and mitigate the effects of corruption? How do we foster political stability?

In the third part of the course, we will focus on policies that foster stability and development. We will critically examine the effects of Western intervention in the developing world, historical legacies of slavery and colonialism, and the various tools of foreign policy: aid, democracy promotion, and military interventions. We will further explore the extent to which outside interventions alleviated poverty and whether they improved public goods provision or promoted political stability. Finally, the course will consider the role of emerging powers in the context of global governance and their influence on the future course of development in the Global South.

• Department: Development and Governance
• R 10 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
• Instructor: Gizem Acikgoz
  Info
• 3 points

Sustainable Development Policy and Pract

Open to MPA-DP Students Only.
This required overview course for MPA-DP students examines the evolving concept of sustainable development and its implications for policy and practice. Drawing from social, economic, political, and environmental frameworks, the course explores the tensions and synergies inherent in achieving economic prosperity, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability.

Students will engage with current global milestones such as the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the forthcoming Pact for the Future, while also reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on inequality and development trajectories. The course provides both foundational theory and applied perspectives, with particular attention to transformational ideas and real-world challenges facing sustainable development today.

In the latter part of the semester, development practitioners introduce case studies from specific countries and regions to highlight practical applications. Through lectures, discussions, guest speakers, and debates, students will build analytical and communication skills essential for professional work in sustainable development.

• Department: MPA-DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE
• TR 8 a.m.-9:50 a.m.
• Instructor: Shiv Someshwar
  Info
• 3 points

ACADEMIC COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH

ACADEMIC COMM IN ENGLISH

English communication proficiency is important for academic achievement and career success. Columbia Engineering provides English communication instruction for students who would like to improve their communication skills in English. In a small group setting (15-20 students), enrollees will obtain opportunities to interact with the instructor and fellow classmates to improve communication skills.

• Department: Engineering
• F 1:10 p.m.-2:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Hyoseon Lee
  Info
• 0 points

NYU CONSORTIUM I

Elem Haitian Krey l I

• Department: Latin-American & Carib RS
• Instructor: Eliza K Kwon
  Info
• 4 points

NYU CONSORTIUM I

Elementary Quechua I

• Department: Latin-American & Carib RS
• Instructor: Eliza K Kwon
  Info
• 4 points

NYU CONSORTIUM I

Comparative Racisms

• Department: Latin-American & Carib RS
• Instructor: Eliza K Kwon
  Info
• 4 points

NYU CONSORTIUM I

Int'l Human Rights: Lat A

• Department: Latin-American & Carib RS
• Instructor: Eliza K Kwon
  Info
• 4 points

NYU CONSORTIUM I

Politics of Fire!

• Department: Latin-American & Carib RS
• Instructor: Eliza K Kwon
  Info
• 4 points

Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice

INTRO TO EVIDENCE-BASED P

This course is designed for graduate nurses to provide them with the skills to understand and utilize research evidence in decisions about clinical practice. The course is designed to help graduate nurses articulate relevant practice-based questions, search the literature to identify relevant evidence, evaluate the quality of research on which the evidence is based, and discuss the application of the evidence in clinical practice to improve quality of care.

• Department: Nursing
• Instructor: Lisa Iannacci-Manasia
  Info
• 3 points

Green Industrial Policy - Field Course i

Until recently, due to their laissez faire underpinnings, market economies eschewed significant and overt government planning of sector-specific incentives and investment guidance. Nevertheless, in recent years many countries with quite different economic systems have embraced programs of targeted investment in specific industries as an integral part of a long term strategy of economic development. While the rationale for fostering innovation in strategic industries has a long and venerable tradition, there are also many current and historical examples of the potential for misallocation, malinvestment and rent-seeking protectionism in the actual record of centrally planned economies.

Recent Chinese advances in fostering the world’s largest investments in renewable energy, battery technology, electrified mobility, ultra-high voltage transmission and a supply chain ecosystem for automation and artificial intelligence both in deployments and manufacturing capacity may represent an extensive and illuminating example of the sustainable development potential of industrial policy. The field course will combine 5 weeks of preparatory in-person on-campus instruction followed by a 9-day field tour of instruction and visits to government agencies and companies in the renewable energy, battery technology, and electric vehicle manufacturing companies in China.

This elective course will provide training for those wishing to investigate the rationale, methods, limitations and examples of targeted government intervention to encourage investment in sustainability-related industries. The syllabus will include the logic of green industrial policy, the strengths and limitations of the policy toolkit, China’s experience with 5-year plans and the details of its directed growth in key green industrial sectors, as well as lessons for other countries. The content is designed to be of interest to Sustainability Management students whose career goals will lead them to strategy & planning positions in either private corporations, government agencies or international organizations. The course will be open to a maximum of 20 students, with priority given to SUMA and MoSSS students. An intermediate course in economics at the undergraduate level is a highly recommended prerequisite.

• Department: Sustainability Management
• 3 points

Global Media: Innovation & Policy Lab

Global Media-Innovation &

This course looks at media around the world, the difficulties that journalists face, Big Tech’s corruption of the global public information ecosystem, and the effect this has had on people, society, and democracies. We will look at history and theory to understand the role the media plays, how it can be supported through regulatory efforts, and what has happened to society since the gatekeeping role of the media was upended by the rise of Big Tech. The usurping of advertising revenue  and the micro-targeting of audiences will be understood through discussion of business models/media innovation/media sustainability and policy solutions. We will discuss the need for new business models, look at the experiences of Rappler, and familiarize ourselves with the world of government policies that can support non-profit, philanthropic journalism. We will  consider the role of investigative reporting, the problems of information operations and narrative warfare, and how generative AI is upending journalism and society. 

Quality journalism and information are under threat from all sides. Press freedom is at a 25-year low globally. 2025 was the deadliest year on record for journalists, and the United States, long the exporter of press freedom norms, has become a press freedom case study of its own. This means the search for solutions has become more intense, and the field is experimenting with big ideas and creative thinking. Accountability is possible: the International Criminal Court will try a former Philippines president whose drug war was documented by journalists, including many at Rappler. It’s an exciting time to think about why journalism matters and what policies will help preserve it.

• Department: Tech Policy and Innovation
• W 10 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
• 3 points

Union Theological Cross-Reg

Bonhoeffer & Baldwin

• Department: Union Theological Seminary (UTSD)
• 1-4 points

Union Theological Cross-Reg

Womanist Theology

• Department: Union Theological Seminary (UTSD)
• 1-4 points

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATION

• Department: Engineering
• F 3 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Hyoseon Lee
  Info
• 0 points

Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology

ADV PHYS & PATHO I X LIFE

This course is the first of two sequential courses that provide an in-depth exploration of human physiology and pathophysiology, with an emphasis on the relationship between health and the alterations leading to disease. Students will focus on the etiology, pathogenic mechanisms, clinical features, and therapeutic interventions of commonly occurring diseases manifesting in specific physiologic processes or organ systems.

• Department: Nursing
• T 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Sally W Aboelela
  CULPA: 5 Info
• 3 points

SELECTIVES

• Department: Dental and Oral Surgery
• 0 points

FNDN EXCELLENCE DENTAL PRACTICE III

• Department: Dental and Oral Surgery
• Instructor: Dana L Wolf
  h-index: 7 Info
• 0 points

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

HLTH PROMOTION/DISEASE PR

This course is designed to provide the student with a systematic approach to the delivery of health promotion and disease prevention in primary health care to individuals, families, communities, and aggregate populations.

• Department: Nursing
• Instructor: Linda Cimino
  Info
• 3 points

FNDN EXCELLENCE DENTAL PRACTICE III

• Department: Dental and Oral Surgery
• 0 points

Care Coordination

CARE COORDINATION

The care coordination course is designed to provide nursing students the skills to provide patient-centered care, deliberately organize patient care activities and share information among all of the participants concerned with a patient's care to achieve safer and more effective care. Reducing high rates of errors, reducing high rates of readmission, improving satisfaction with care, addressing unmet needs in health care and reducing cost burden will also be explored.

• Department: Nursing
• 3 points

Health and Social Policy in the Context

HLTH & SOC POL:CONTEXT PR

This core course examines contextual contributors to health status and the current social, legal, and political determinants of healthcare systems, emphasizing the U.S. system. Issues are explored to understand their impact on current and future delivery of health care, in particular on advanced practice nursing. The class focuses on how to bring the professional values of nursing to bear in policy debate and how nurses partner in the policy process to improve health outcomes of populations and quality of the healthcare delivery system.

• Department: Nursing
• Instructor: Lisa Iannacci-Manasia
  Info
• 3 points

Understanding Emerging Technologies

• Department: Tech Policy and Innovation
• W 5:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• Instructor: Laura S Scherling
  Info
• 3 points

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Department: Accounting (ACCT)
• S 3:45 p.m.-6:45 p.m.
• Instructor: Tim Baldenius
  Info
• 1.5 points

INDEPENDENT STUDY

• Department: Engineering
• R 4:50 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Hyoseon Lee
  Info
• 0 points

Financial Management and Informatics in

FIN MGT & INFORMATICS In

Financial Management and Informatics in Healthcare provides students with advanced knowledge and competencies essential to make data-driven decisions that improve patient care and optimize organizational performance. Critical topics in informatics governance, data analytics, financial planning, budgeting, revenue cycle management, and emerging healthcare technologies will enable students to lead quality improvements, enhance patient safety, and contribute to the financial sustainability of their organizations

• Department: Nursing
• Instructor: Anita Volpe
  Info
• 4 points

Debates in Youth Online Safety and Wellb

• Department: Tech Policy and Innovation
• R 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Emma Leiken
  Info
• 1.5 points

Fellowship Writing Fundamentals

This intensive nanocourse will guide students in writing a fellowship application using the NIH NRSA Fellowship as a guide. This course is best suited for third- and fourth-year students who are actively preparing an application for submission within the next year (submission dates are December 8, April 8, and August 8). For students applying to other funding opportunities, the content in this course can be adapted for other fellowships. Emphasis is on support and positive, constructive feedback!  This is an elective, 1 credit course.

• Department: Biomedical Life Sciences
• R 3 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Michele Shirasu-Hiza
  Info
• 1 points

Politics in the Global South

D&G Concentration Registration Priority.
This course approaches political development from the perspective of the Global South. Rather than treating development as a linear or universal process, it asks how colonial legacies, unequal insertion into the international economy, commodity dependence, late industrialization, and geopolitical competition have shaped different trajectories of political and economic change. We will examine how these forces affect state formation, institutional capacity, democratization, authoritarianism, populism, resource-dependent democracies, organized violence, corruption, clientelism, and political order.

A central theme of the course is the tension between commodity dependence and industrialization. We will compare regions and cases in which primary commodity exports, extractive economies, and external vulnerability have constrained development with cases in which states built industrial capacity, governed markets, and reshaped their position in the international economy. The course closes by returning to this question in the context of climate change and green neo-extractivism, asking whether the green transition creates new development opportunities or reproduces older patterns of dependence, extraction, and unequal environmental costs. 

Throughout the semester, students will engage with comparative cases and empirical evidence to evaluate competing explanations for political development and underdevelopment. The course is designed for students with interests in comparative politics, international development, political economy, public policy, and global governance. While theoretically grounded, it emphasizes analytical application to contemporary policy challenges facing emerging and developing countries.

• Department: Development and Governance
• M 5:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• Instructor: Daniela Campello
  Info
• 3 points

PRIMARY CARE CLERKSHIP

• Department: Medicine
• 0 points

PRIMARY CARE CLERKSHIP

• Department: Medicine
• 0 points

WRITING SKILLS FOR NEUROSCIENTISTS

I:CRAFTING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

• Department: Neurobiology and Behavior
• R 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
• 0.5 points

Speech, Democracy, and the Internet

Speech, Democracy, & Inte

This seminar examines the legal and policy issues that shape public discourse in the digital age. It provides a foundation in First Amendment principles, U.S. jurisprudence on free expression, and major debates over content moderation, platform accountability, data privacy, surveillance, and transparency. Students will explore how private technology platforms shape democratic engagement and how governments—particularly in the United States and the European Union—are responding through regulation and reform.

The course integrates case law, policy analysis, and applied research. Students will learn to assess regulatory frameworks, evaluate competing policy proposals, and develop original work at the intersection of law, technology, and public policy. This course may be taken on its own or as the gateway to a practicum in which students contribute to policy projects developed in collaboration with SIPA faculty and the Knight Institute.

• Department: Tech Policy and Innovation
• M 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Nadine Johnson
  Info
• 3 points

BASIC DIAGNOSIS/TREATMENT PLAN

• Department: Dental and Oral Surgery
• 0 points

CPR/MEDICAL EMERGENCIES

• Department: Dental and Oral Surgery
• 0 points

INFECTION CONTROL

• Department: Dental and Oral Surgery
• Instructor: Sidney Eisig
  h-index: 24 Info
• 0 points

Viral Videos, Generative AI and Geopolit

AI, Viral Videos,& Geopol

This course examines how viral media, especially user-generated video, can expose human rights abuses, shape policy, and influence global narratives. Students will study real-world case studies, from chemical attacks in Syria to police brutality in the United States, learning the verification methods used by journalists, digital investigators, and human rights advocates. The course also addresses the risks posed by generative AI, deepfakes, and disinformation in a rapidly evolving media ecosystem.

Through readings, guest speakers, and a semester-long reporting project, students will sharpen research, verification, and writing skills while gaining insight into how visual evidence shapes geopolitical understanding. The course is ideal for students interested in journalism, human rights, international affairs, and emerging technologies.

• Department: Tech Policy and Innovation
• T 7:10 p.m.-9 p.m.
• Instructor: Erica E Berenstein
  Info
• 3 points

Algorithmic Republic: AI Policy Challen

Instructor: Karen Kornbluh.
Artificial intelligence is present in our individual lives, in education, industry, and government. Investment in AI is so large that it is driving GDP growth—and, some say, creating a bubble. Camps of AI “boomers,” who believe AI will usher in a new era of prosperity and enlightenment, are at loggerheads with AI “doomers,” who argue the technology must be stopped or it may kill us all. Yet in the U.S., there is remarkably little regulation of this new, influential technology. Attempts have been made to address potential bias and its documented shortcomings in important decision-making—such as credit, employment, and housing—or to increase transparency about its use. Meanwhile, developers of the technology, deployers who use it in applications, and enterprise customers are employing—to varying degrees—governance mechanisms to manage risks.

This course provides an overview of policy and regulatory discussions in the U.S. and other parts of the world and outlines some of the key questions that regulators and others are grappling with.

We will focus on three broad areas:
– The technology at the heart of AI: What is it exactly?
– How to read the signals—how the digital revolution has already changed so much about 21st-century life, as well as the early changes we see from AI deployment—to make projections about the real dangers and opportunities ahead.
– The big policy challenges—risky decision-making, safety, privacy, IP, liability, competition, geopolitics, employment—and why they matter, as well as what can actually be done to mitigate them. This requires an understanding of what can be regulated and what has already been tried.

The instructor served as the White House Director of the National AI Office as well as Acting CTO and will draw on this experience, which included co-chairing the federal government’s Council of Chief AI Officers. The course will also feature several guest speakers who directly engage with significant AI or AI policy projects in various fields.

• Department: Tech Policy and Innovation
• R 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Karen Kornbluh
  Info
• 1.5 points

Writing for Innovation Leaders

• Department: Tech Policy and Innovation
• M 5:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• Instructor: James P Holtje
  Info
• 1.5 points

NSF Graduate Writing Fundamentals

This intensive nanocourse will walk students through the process of writing an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program proposal. As only first year graduate students are eligible for the NSF GRFP, this course is intended for first year graduate students.

This is a highly interactive course – students will work with the instructors and each other to develop a project for the proposal, engage in multiple rounds of peer review, and finally go through two rounds of individual one-one-one review with two VIBRE Faculty members. See syllabus for submission date.

• Department: Biomedical Life Sciences
• 1 points

PRESENTATION SKILLS FOR NEUROSCIENTISTS

• Department: Neurobiology and Behavior
• R 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
• 1 points

Financial Economics

This course applies the economic approach to understanding financial markets, institutions, and business behavior. Students will learn core economic theories relevant to finance and apply them to practical problems. Topics include consumption and exchange, decision-making under uncertainty, asset pricing, market efficiency, and the limits of rationality. The course emphasizes conceptual understanding and economic intuition over technical rigor. Designed for students interested in the foundational principles underlying finance, it differs from
International Capital Markets
by focusing on theory over market structure and from
Corporate Finance
by approaching similar topics from an economic rather than a corporate perspective. While mathematical fluency helps, the course prioritizes clarity of thought over computation. Students should have prior exposure to microeconomics and basic algebra.

• Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
• W 8 a.m.-9:50 a.m.
• F 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Drausio Giacomelli
  Info
• 3 points

Political Psychology and Behavioral Publ

Pol Psych & Behavioral Po

In a world of growing complexity, where politics often appears increasingly fragmented, affective, and detached from purely material interests, political psychology offers essential tools for understanding some of the most urgent political and policy challenges of our time.

Contemporary politics is increasingly shaped by polarized in-group and out-group identities, the politicization and criminalization of immigration, anxiety and denial surrounding climate change, the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation, and growing support for strongman leaders amid distrust of institutions. At the same time, public policy often succeeds or fails not only because of institutional design or material incentives, but because of how people perceive problems, process information, respond to uncertainty, trust authorities, and make decisions in contexts of scarcity, fear, identity, and social pressure.

These developments make psychological mechanisms central to explaining how different political actors, including voters, politicians, policymakers, party elites, social movements, interest groups, media actors, and bureaucrats, perceive political reality, form judgments, design policies, and make decisions. Political psychology examines how human psychology shapes political life, and how political contexts, institutions, identities, and conflicts shape individual behavior.

This course introduces students to the main theoretical foundations of political psychology and connects them to behavioral public policy. We begin by examining major approaches to political behavior, including rational choice and its behavioral critiques, personality and evolutionary perspectives, emotion, nonverbal behavior, heuristics, and motivated reasoning.

The course then turns to policy applications, exploring how psychological mechanisms shape the design, communication, implementation, and uptake of public policy in areas such as poverty, prejudice and discrimination, climate change, and policymaking bias. Throughout the semester, students will engage classic and recent research, with particular attention to experimental evidence and its relevance for real-world political and policy problems.

The course is designed to help students critically assess empirical studies, compare different explanations of political behavior, and apply behavioral insights to concrete policy challenges.

• Department: Development and Governance
• W 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Daniela Campello
  Info
• 3 points

TOBACCO CESSATION/SUB ABU

• Department: Dental and Oral Surgery
• 0 points

Legacies of Political Violence

Violent political conflict leaves durable legacies. In this course, we will explore the effects of various forms of political violence, including intrastate conflict, mass atrocities, communal violence, and forced displacements. We will begin with the processes of peace and reconciliation that often mark transitions from active conflict to post-conflict environments. We will then turn attention to cycles of violence before shifting to the influence of conflict and violence on state institutions and regimes. Turning to comparative political behavior, we will explore victimization from violent political conflict as a force in shaping the social and political lives of those directly affected as well as their descendants and communities. We will investigate why some iterations of violent political conflict generate politicizing effects – with victims voting more, protesting more, taking on more leadership roles, etc. – while others facilitate withdrawal from the political sphere. We will consider the role violence plays in shaping and reshaping the boundaries between groups (ethnic, national, religious, etc.). Tangentially, we will analyze how violence alters relationships within one’s in-groups. The final segment of the course will focus on the memorialization of past conflict as an arena in which identities and political goals are forged, contested, and remade.  Through the course, students will generate informed critiques of policy regimes in post-conflict contexts, and will apply course concepts and methods to evaluate policy outcomes in these contexts.

• Department: Development and Governance
• R 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Joseph M Lasky
  Info
• 3 points

International Capital Markets

• Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
• T 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• T 5:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• R 5:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• R 7:10 p.m.-9 p.m.
• Instructor: Richard Robb
  Info
• 3 points

Intro to Python for Neuroscientists

Learn how to use the most common Python packages for data science. Become
confident in managing your own data and building data pipelines.

• Department: Neurobiology and Behavior
• T 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Aniruddha Das
  Info
• 1 points

Academic-Practice Research Fellowship

PRACTICE RESEARCH FELLOWS

This graduate course is designed to provide the student with the knowledge and skills to facilitate changes in practice delivery using quality improvement strategies. Historical development for total quality management and strategies for implementing process improvement are emphasized. Students will learn how to develop a culture of appreciative inquiry to foster inquisition and innovation. Upon completion of this course, students will design a plan for implementation of a quality improvement project.

• Department: Nursing
• Instructor: Kasey B Jackman
  Info
• 0 points

Sparking Innovation in International Org

Innovation in Intl Orgs

This course is the first in a two-course sequence on innovation in international cooperation and in low and middle-income countries. This fall course will focus on institutional reforms and how to leverage innovation to help drive organisational change within international organisations. The second course in the spring semester will focus on innovation in low and middle-income countries, including the role of innovation in fostering inclusive growth, in efforts to advance locally led development principles and in fostering inclusive innovation ecosystems, among other themes. 

In this course, students will learn how to frame innovation in the context of international cooperation and practical ways to advance change management within international organizations and government entities.  

The course is designed to help students gain a critical conceptual understanding of the practice of innovation in international organizations, obtain skills in change management, and learn the practical application of advancing innovation portfolio management within international organisations as well as a framework to support organisations build critical capabilities related to innovation and emerging technologies. Students will be exposed to a variety of frameworks, along with case studies and practical exercises. Students will gain an understanding of advancing innovation in international organisations in practice.

Students will explore the relationship between innovation practices and management practices that emerged over the last decade to infuse more flexible and adaptive practices. These include ‘working and thinking politically’, ‘adaptive management’, ‘doing development differently’ and others. These approaches intersect at times with innovation efforts in international organizations.

Case studies drawn from a variety of organizations and countries will anchor frameworks and theoretical content and help provide a greater understanding of the complexities and challenges of advancing impact and changing business as usual within international organizations.

• Department: Development and Governance
• SU 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Benjamin Kumpf
  Info
• 1.5 points

Data and Conflict

This course equips students for humanitarian, human rights, foreign policy and political risk jobs that require real-time interpretation and analysis of conflict data. The course will introduce students to contemporary open-source data about conflict events, fatalities, forced displacement, human rights violations, settlement patterns in war zones, and much more. Students will learn about how this data is generated, what data reveals, what data obscures, and the choices analysts can make to use conflict data transparently in the face of biases. Then, students will learn introductory skills to visualize a range of conflict data in 
R
 and ArcGIS Pro. The objective is to give students the foundations to go further independently after the course using open-source training material and trouble-shooting portals. Each student will choose a conflict-related policy problem which they will investigate as the course progresses, culminating in a four-page policy brief or an ArcGIS Story Map, along with an explanatory memo.

• Department: International Security & Diplomacy
• T 10 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
• Instructor: Sophia Dawkins
  Info
• 3 points

Migration and Human Development

Migration & Human Develop

International migration’s substantial economic and social effects are at the forefront of today’s academic discussion, international debate, as well as national policy strategies. This course introduces students to the key notions, norms, and narratives of international migration from economic, sociological, legal, policy, international relations, and normative perspectives. Students learn about transnational livelihood strategies and channels through which migration and migrants can enhance human development, especially in their countries of origin, while creating better opportunities for themselves and contributing to their communities of destination. This includes in-depth discussions of the determinants, flows, and effects of emigration, immigration, return, financial and social remittances, and diaspora investments. While the course emphasizes economic migration, it also elaborates on the human development impact in specific forced migration and refugee scenarios. Highlighting migration phenomena in different scenarios in the global North, as well as in the global South, the course emphasizes the agency of migrants and gender differences in the experiences and effects, as well as the role their legal status plays. It addresses the root causes of migration and the protection of migrants’ human, social and labor rights. The course also furthers participants’ understanding of the role of technology for human mobility and the policy responses in both, the international and the domestic spheres. To this end, it introduces students to key policies and governance schemes and diaspora engagement institutions, including the role of United Nations agencies and processes. The learning experience culminates in a role-play simulation, in which students discuss and negotiate a revision of the UN Joint Program in Kigoma, Tanzania.

• Department: Development and Governance
• T 10 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
• Instructor: Daniel Naujoks
  Info
• 3 points

Evaluation in International Organization

Evaluation-Intl Organizat

International organizations play a critical role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the implementation of their strategic work plans, in centering human rights, gender equality, and environmental sustainability as non-negotiable cross-cutting dimensions, and by supporting collective accountability and learning.
How then do international organizations determine not only whether they have achieved the results set out in their work plans, but whether those results are meaningfully contributing to sustainable development as envisioned? Are their results sustainable? Were there better ways to achieve the same or better results? Did their achievement also support advancement and respect for the cross-cutting dimensions?

Were any unintended or unplanned results identified and assessed to determine whether they undermine or reinforce progress?

Evaluation – considered a function, a practice and a profession – provides one avenue for answering such questions about how to best influence the complex change required to achieve sustainable development, while balancing different interests and needs. Students will be exposed to the theoretical and practical aspects of evaluation through the lens of international organizations. They will learn to apply evaluative and systems thinking, and build practical skills that will prepare them to commission, manage and/or conduct evaluations that consider cross-cutting dimensions. They will understand recent trends in the field such as Artificial Intelligence, decolonization and how impact is determined.  Weekly case studies spanning humanitarian, development and peace contexts and a mix of individual and group assignments will provide students with a hands-on learning experience in how to plan, conduct and use an evaluation, as well as the important role of stakeholders. This includes developing an Evaluation Inception Report using a real-world evaluation case to ground learning of theoretical concepts, evaluation types, methods and tools.

• Department: Development and Governance
• T 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Shravanti M Reddy
  Info
• 3 points

Emerging Capital Markets: Theory & Pract

• Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
• T 7:10 p.m.-9 p.m.
• 3 points

FOUNDATIONS OF SW PRACTICE

• Department: Social Work
• W 9 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Zelaika Clarke
  Info
• Instructor: Tonika Boston
  Info
• Instructor: Alissa C Silverstein
  Info
• Instructor: Helodia Dastine
  Info
• Instructor: Michelle Sanderson
  Info
• Instructor: Richard T Hara
  Info
• Instructor: Krystal Miller
  Info
• Instructor: Eishelle Tillery
  Info
• Instructor: Susan S Witte
  h-index: 28 Info
• Instructor: Krystal Miller
  Info
• Instructor: Jonathan Edwards
  Info
• Instructor: Onleilove Alston
  Info
• Instructor: Zelaika Clarke
  Info
• Instructor: Michelle Sanderson
  Info
• Instructor: Moradeyo Adeyi
  Info
• Instructor: Giorgio Handman
  Info
• Instructor: Jairo Hoyos
  Info
• Instructor: Christine D Holmes
  Info
• Instructor: Foluso O Otuyelu
  Info
• Instructor: Ife Lenard
  Info
• Instructor: Typhani D Carter
  Info
• Instructor: Maria del Mar Farina
  Info
• Instructor: Foluso O Otuyelu
  Info
• Instructor: Noel Ramirez
  Info
• Instructor: Marcella J Tillett
  Info
• 3 points

Science for Policymaking

In all societies, public policies are developed to solve social problems such as extreme poverty, inequality, basic sanitation, health and basic care, family planning, food security, mental health, abuse of illegal substances, education, and protection of vulnerable groups. How can we ensure that these public policies are based on solid evidence, which would guarantee the greatest probability of effectiveness? And how do we plan and adapt the implementation of these policies to different realities, respecting cultural and historical differences?

In order to achieve this, it is useful, if not necessary, to be acquainted with scientific thinking and the accumulation and use of evidence. It is also necessary to understand our own limitations and cognitive biases that interfere in the decision-making process. This course aims to provide students with the tools necessary to assess public policies critically and rationally, as well as to evaluate different types of scientific evidence and understand how and where it is appropriate to include scientific evidence in building effective public policy.

• Department: Tech Policy and Innovation
• T 5:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• Instructor: Natalia Pasternak Taschner
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Urban Policy, Politics, and Public Servi

Urban Pol & Public Servic

Policy plus politics equals governance. Good governance requires knowledgeable, ethical, and committed public servants—whether elected, appointed, or serving through nonprofits and NGOs—who can lead with vision, provide services, and uphold public trust. This course explores the motivations, responsibilities, and career pathways in public service, with a focus on real-world challenges at the local, state, and federal levels.

Taught by the Honorable Michael A. Nutter, former Mayor of Philadelphia and past President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the course draws on his experience in office and across national public leadership roles. Students will examine how individuals and institutions shape policy decisions around education, housing, transportation, healthcare, and more, especially in moments of crisis.

The course is structured in three phases: Municipal Administration; Stakeholders, Political Parties, and Ethics; and Implementing Innovation and Transformative Policy. It encourages students to reflect on their own paths into public service.

• Department: Urban and Social Policy
• W 10 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
• Instructor: Michael A Nutter
  Info
• 3 points

Artificial Intelligence and Conflict Pre

AI & Conflict Prevention

This course explores how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of conflict prevention. With case studies and insights drawn from real-world applications, students will examine how AI tools are being developed and used to anticipate political, economic, and military trends. Through critical literature reviews and debate-based discussions, the course engages students in the practical, policy, and ethical questions surrounding the integration of AI into peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations. Emphasis will be placed on the role of multilateral organizations, including the United Nations, in guiding responsible and inclusive AI deployment. No technical background is required.

• Department: International Security & Diplomacy
• W 5:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• Instructor: Eduardo Albrecht
  Info
• 3 points

Business Analytics II: Foundations of AI

Business Analytics 2

• Department: Decision, Risk and Operations
• S 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
• Instructor: Ashwin V Kamath
  Info
• 1.5 points

ORAL HEALTH CARE DELIVERY

• Department: Dental and Oral Surgery
• Instructor: C Kunzel
  h-index: 23 Info
• 0 points

Economic Espionage

Intelligence activities are traditionally thought to comprise the activities of a nation state’s intelligence organizations attempting to steal secrets, usually those pertaining to national security, from the organizations of another nation state.  However, intelligence activities have seldom, if ever, been confined to the government sphere.  Most nation states have employed their national intelligence systems to steal privately held economic information from other countries to benefit their economies: many continue to do so. Private enterprises have long employed methodologies associated with “traditional” intelligence to obtain trade secrets from domestic and foreign competitors.  The establishment of a legal and ethical framework to govern this activity –- the discipline of “competitive intelligence’, is a relatively recent phenomenon. 

This course will examine in depth the interaction of intelligence and private sector on these three levels.  Part one of the course will cover economic espionage:  the deliberate targeting of private sector entities by foreign intelligence services.  Soviet/Russian and Chinese conduct of Economic Espionage will be discussed in detail.  A separate class will examine the prevalence of economic espionage among democratic nations, usually considered allies of the United States in both theory and practice.  The U.S. attitude towards economic espionage, and the U.S reaction to the threat, will be the subject other class meetings. The course will then move on to industrial espionage, companies spying on other companies, and its’ more socially acceptable counterpart, competitive intelligence, attempting to distinguish between legal and illegal uses of intelligence by the private sector.

• Department: International Security & Diplomacy
• M 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: David Gutschmit
  Info
• 3 points

Adaptation to Climate Change

This course focuses on climate change adaptation, examining how communities, governments, and institutions manage climate risks and build resilience. Students will engage with key concepts such as vulnerability, resilience, adaptation effectiveness, and climate justice, using a risk reduction framework to analyze real-world challenges and responses.

Through case studies, collaborative labs, and applied assignments, students will assess adaptation strategies across sectors including food, water, health, cities, and biodiversity. The course emphasizes both global frameworks and local action, highlighting enabling conditions such as finance, governance, and information access. Students will also examine institutional dynamics and the political contexts that shape adaptation planning and implementation.

This course is designed for students from diverse academic and professional backgrounds. No technical prerequisites are required. It provides a foundation for evaluating adaptation programs, identifying feasible solutions, and developing effective climate policy.

• Department: Climate, Energy, & Environment
• M 10 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
• Instructor: Ben S Orlove
  Info
• 3 points

Service Operations Management

• Department: Decision, Risk and Operations
• F 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Medini Singh
  Info
• 3 points

International Intelligence Systems

Int'l Intelligence System

The collection and use of intelligence have been functions of the state for thousands of years, and an essential element of the national security and foreign policy systems of the modern nation state.  However, it has long been apparent that different states conduct intelligence activities differently.  What accounts for these differences?  Until recently, the secrecy surrounding the activities, structure and impact of the specialized organizations involved in the intelligence process have made them difficult to study on a comparative basis.  Recent advances in the unclassified literature have now made such study possible.   The comparative study of foreign intelligence systems provides important insights into the foreign policy priorities and goals of the states in question, relevant to the work of both the national security and wider foreign policy communities in the U.S. and elsewhere.
 
Moreover, the extent to which intelligence systems reflect the political culture of their host societies is also a subject of interest.   This course will begin with an introduction to intelligence systems as an academic subject.   It will continue with a comparative treatment of several Western and non-Western intelligence systems, to include those of major actors in the international system as well those of small powers.  For each intelligence system, we will examine the historical, institutional and cultural factors that make it unique.  Finally, the course will examine several functional intelligence challenges and compare how these are addressed by different states.  Particular attention will be paid to the identification of pathologies that can have a negative impact on the role of intelligence organizations within a given state, and the reform of intelligence systems to facilitate an appropriate role within a democratic or democratizing society.

• Department: International Security & Diplomacy
• R 10 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
• Instructor: David Gutschmit
  Info
• 3 points

Infrastructure Investment and Developmen

Infrastructure Invest & D

This intensive short course explores the financing, development, and policy landscape of energy and infrastructure projects. Students will examine how partnerships are structured to allocate risk, how capital is raised and deployed across project stages, and how political and regulatory environments shape investment decisions. Through real-world case studies, from carbon pipelines and LNG terminals to rail and airport concessions—students will analyze evolving infrastructure models and evaluate the roles of private, public, and multilateral actors. The course emphasizes practical skills in investment strategy, policy analysis, and project structuring.

• Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
• M 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Joel Moser
  Info
• 1.5 points