Undergraduate

As of academic year 2019-2020 the IDEV certificate program is being phased out in favor of the IDEV minor. Only  juniors and seniors as of academic year 2019-2020 will be able to take IDEV for the certificate. The certificate adds two requirements to those listed below for the minor.  The first is the capstone paper : An original, non-recycled 15-20 page paper that includes data analysis. The second is a global experience/internship: At least one 8-10 week internship/global experience related to development. Students must then submit a 3-5 page paper connecting this internship or experience to their academic study.  Georgetown undergraduate students with questions about the international development certificate/minor should speak with their deans or email Professor Joel Simmons (js4618@georgetown.edu).

The undergraduate minor in International Development (IDEV) will provide students with the training and background needed to understand the dimensions, challenges, and processes of global poverty and prosperity. The minor aims to expose students to a broad, multidisciplinary range of courses as well as to core methodologies and requisite analytical tools needed to identify, measure, and assess the determinants and effects of international development.

Students will acquire analytical tools and substantive expertise through a foundational course on international development, as well as through exposure to methods courses that focus on issues such as the determinants of economic growth, political change in lower- and middle-income countries, rural poverty, or global health or environmental policy. Students will also specialize in various development topics through additional electives.

Minor requirements draw upon various courses from the different majors within the School of Foreign Service that cover a range of topics within the field of international development, from the changing landscape of foreign aid, to problems of fragile states and state-building, to the global challenges of infectious disease and climate change. The multi-disciplinary tools, as well as the substantive knowledge gained through the certificate, will serve students who pursue graduate work or careers in international development, whether in bilateral or multilateral aid organizations, global philanthropy, international or “frontline” NGOs, or the private sector.

Please note: The International Development Minor is an undergraduate minor that can only be earned by undergraduate students enrolled at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Learning Goals

As the study of international development encompasses a number of sub-fields and disciplines, the certificate will prepare students to:

  • Assess and debate the world’s most critical developmental challenges
  • Recognize the economic, political, and social dimensions of global poverty and prosperity
  • Understand, interpret, and apply quantitative methodologies to the study of development
  • Analyze and critique development issues in clear written and oral presentations
  • Develop substantive and theoretical expertise necessary to understand, interpret, and explain the determinants and effects of developmental processes
  • Develop the substantive and analytical expertise necessary to anticipate new challenges and opportunities in international development
  • Apply key concepts and relevant methodologies in original research in international development

Curriculum

  • INAF 252: Introduction to Economic & Political Development
  •  Introductory methods course (choose 1 from the following list):
    • ECON 121: Economic Statistics
    • INAF 320: Quantitative Methods for International Affairs
    • IPOL 320: Quantitative Methods for International Politics
    • MATH 140: Intro to Mathematical Statistics
  • Advanced methods course (choose 1 from the following list)
    • INAF 383: Applied Econometrics for Development
    • ECON 452: Behavioral Economics
    • ECON 491: Development Impact Evaluation
    • STIA 441: Geographic Info Systems
  • 3 electives from the following list.

*Beginning with the class of 2021, students must have taken or be enrolled in INAF 252 prior to applying to the minor.