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The Master's in Development Practice (MDP) program brings together talented students and faculty who have dedicated themselves to reducing the impacts of global poverty and defining the pathways to enhance well-being for the under-resourced and socially excluded. The UA MDP provides a comprehensive foundation and practical experience to produce professional and well-trained graduates who understand the complexities of poverty.
Consistent with the philosophy of the MDP network, the Arizona curriculum consists of four cornerstone competency areas:
For further questions about admissions, please contact MDPAdmissions@email.arizona.edu.
History - In the Beginning
(Excerpted, condensed, and adapted from Raymond H. Thompson, "Anthropology at the University of Arizona, 1893-2005," Journal of the Southwest, Autumn 2005, 47(3): 327-347)
Anthropology at the University of Arizona began in 1915 with the appointment of Byron Cummings as Professor of Archaeology and Director of the Arizona State Museum. He came to Arizona from his position as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Utah. He had received his B.A. from Rutgers University in 1889 and his M.A. there in 1892. Cummings served Utah as Professor of Greek and Latin, Head of the Department of Archaeology, and for many years as Dean of Men and briefly as Dean of the College of Medicine. He played an important role in the life of the University of Utah, even organizing its first football team the first year he was there. The football stadium at Utah is named Cummings Field in his honor.
The 54-year-old Cummings left Utah after 22 years of distinguished service at the oldest university in the Far West to throw in with one of the newest in the West. In 1915, the University of Arizona community consisted of 70 faculty members and 463 students, and there were 24,045 books in the University Library. Arizona had become a state only three years before and the population of Tucson, still the largest city in Arizona, was about 15,000. When Cummings arrived on campus, University President von KleinSmid took him to an overflowing storage area, opened the door, and said something like, "Here's the museum, go to it!"
Cummings was vigorous in responding and quickly made the University of Arizona a center for archaeology. In 1928, three of his students, Clara Lee Fraps (Tanner), Florence M. Hawley (Ellis), and Emil W. Haury, received the first M.A. degrees in archaeology awarded by the University. They all stayed at Arizona as Instructors in Archaeology with academic-year salaries of $1500. Florence eventually entered graduate study at the University of Chicago where she earned her doctorate in 1934, using her excavations at Chetro Ketl in Chaco Canyon for her dissertation. She obtained a position at the University of New Mexico, where she spent 37 years as an inspiring and beloved teacher and continued an active professional life until her death in 1991 at age 84.
Emil stayed at the University for one year to study dendrochronology with A. E. Douglass and then went to Globe to work with Harold S. Gladwin at the Gila Pueblo Archaeological Foundation. He earned a doctorate under Roland B. Dixon at Harvard University in 1934 and returned to the University of Arizona in 1937 to replace Cummings who retired in 1938. Clara Lee remained at the University of Arizona where she inspired and nurtured several generations of students during a full half-century of dedicated service on the faculty of the Department of Anthropology.
School of Geography and Development
Graduate students in the School of Geography, Development, and Environment (SGDE) benefit from the broad range of faculty expertise and strong links to interdisciplinary research centers across campus. Our work spans the discipline, from physical geography (climate science, dendrochronology, remote sensing, spatial science), to human-environment (political ecology, water policy, climate change) to human geography (development, state theory). Our shared commitment to collaboration and community makes for a lively and engaged department.
SGDE offers M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, two professional master’s degrees, and participates in several graduate certificate programs
College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
University of Arizona - Main - Tucson
Personal statement
Resume/CV
2 Letters of Recommendation required, 3 preferred
Academic transcript(s)
GRE scores are not required
For further questions about admissions, please contact MDPAdmissions@email.arizona.edu.
Domestic Applicants:
International Applicants:
For further questions about admissions, please contact MDPAdmissions@email.arizona.edu.
International applicants may be considered for conditional admission to this program at the department's discretion.
4832
47
Over the course of 22 months students complete 47 credits of development-focused coursework, including a combination of core, elective, and integrative work.
Students begin by taking required core courses and other introductory activities with their cohort the first year.
During the summer between their two years of study, MDP students complete an intensive hands-on Practicum in their field of concentration and at a destination chosen in consultation with MDP faculty.
The Practicum acts as the pivot within the MDP program. Students apply knowledge and skills gained during the first year of study to their Practicum. Then they return with new insights for the second year to distil the findings from their summer projects, to complete more specialized coursework, and to apply their experiences to the pursuit of new careers in development practice.
Adopting an interdisciplinary approach to development practice, students must take a combination of required core courses, including the following:
Social Sciences:
DVP 601: Principles of Social Science for Development
DVP 602: The Role of Culture in Sustainable Development
Other electives of your choice (which for many students will be in economics)
Natural Sciences
DVP 620: Introduction to Natural Systems
DVP 621: Natural Resources Management: Applications
Other electives of your choice
Health Sciences
An elective of your choice
A recommended course is HPS 533: Global Health
Development Management
DVP 630: Essential Management Principles for Development
Other electives of your choice
A recommended course is PA 582: Managing to Collaborate on Environmental and Natural Resource Conflicts
Additionally, students are required to take integrative coursework, which includes the following:
DVP 600: Foundations of Development/ Boot Camp
DVP 640: Methods in Development Practice
DVP 641: The Global Classroom
DVP 642A: Cross-cohort professional development seminar
DVP 694A: Summer Field Practicum
DVP 909: MDP Culmination Project
Before enrollment: It is highly recommended that all MDP students have completed at least some coursework in statistics before starting their first semester, and also take an additional statistical analysis course related to their particular area of focus.
For further questions about admissions, please contact MDPAdmissions@email.arizona.edu.
Along with integrative course work and courses in the Core curriculum, students may take further elective courses in their chosen areas of study. Students may consult this suggested list of electives or discuss other course options with their advisors. Note that not all courses are offered every semester, and some may have pre-requisities.
All coursework counted towards the MDP must be 500-level or above. Students may elect to take certain courses below the 500-level for their own interest or to build basic skills.
Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.
| Program-level Information | |
|---|---|
| Application Acceptance Rate | 88.89% |
| Med. Time-to-degree (years) | 2.00 |
| Department-level Information | |
| Enrollment Percent Male | 36.84% |
| Enrollment Percent Female | 63.16% |
| Enrollment Percent International | 0% |
| Enrollment Percent URM | 36.84% |