What academic programs exist for getting into [creative, helpful] international developmental work? Alternately, can someone with a B.A. in Poli Sci do something more than volunteer or intern in such a feild?

October 7, 2006 10:34 AM

What academic programs exist for getting into [creative, helpful] international developmental work? Alternately, can someone with a B.A. in Poli Sci do something more than volunteer or intern in such a field?

I've been interested in micro-lending, getting land deeds to squatters in slums, and other ideas that avoid the traditional failed models of IMF/WB massive debt. Are their academic programs that study this kind of stuff? If so, which?

I'm living in China now and seeing the povery around me is really energizing me to do something useful with my academic background. Watching my roommate work on her grad application for rural development has inspired me to start thinking productively instead of just grimacing when I see the criple beggers.

Is there a way I could get into this line of work without getting a masters degree? Maintaining at least my current standard of living - where I can afford to fly home at least once a year - is essential.



Strengths: communication, motivation and enthusiasm, academic-style research, idea generation, flexibility

Weaknesses: languages, non-common sense math, beautiful women

I've seen the other questions [1, 2], but I think this is a bit different. My Google-Fu has also been surprisingly unhelpful because I don't know exactly what I'm looking for.

posted by trinarian to Law & Government (10 answers total)

Something at MIIS might work for you. I do know the school has a good reputation.
posted by LeisureGuy at 10:47 AM on October 7, 2006

My sister does this kind of work. She began with a degree in Environmental Sciences, and started volunteering for UNESCO's Asian HQ in Bangkok. After 6 months of volunteering, they put her on the payroll, and she continued for 2 years. After that, it was pretty clear she couldn't rise any further without a master's degree, and so is now in her 2nd (and final) year of doing an Masters of Public Administration at Columbia. That programme places people in all kinds of programmes like you are interested in.

So, to summarize from my unscientific sample, you may be able to get started in the field without an MA or equivalent, but you will probably need one in the long run anyway.
posted by modernnomad at 10:56 AM on October 7, 2006

You can get a Master of Arts, International Studies from UDub. But the description of the program sounds more like you're heading for State or a think tank, not an NPO/NGO.

I'm flipping through the World Vision International job openings, and most of them call for a Master's degree -- but they don't specify which kind. Well, some of them want an MBA.

And I think if you're into microcredit an MPA or MBA is going to be the way to go.

If you were interested in (global|international) health I'd have an answer for you -- a Master of Public Health. (Says the guy who spent part of his summer beating up the UW Department of Global Health website designers for poor color/design/accessibility choices.)
posted by dw at 11:36 AM on October 7, 2006

As there are plenty of volunteers and interns in the field, you may well have to serve some time unpaid/insufficiently-paid before you can get a paid job. You might be able to get away with it if you were really, really well qualified in something unusual, but you will probably get far more from your masters if you have done some time working with people whose lives are the sort you are hoping to improve. So grit your teeth...
posted by Idcoytco at 12:14 PM on October 7, 2006

I'm in the MA program in Political Campaigning at the University of Florida and one of the other subsets of poli sci here is International Development and Policy Administration. From what I understand it's a pretty small program - maybe 10 people - but I don't know much about the professors because I'm still in my first semester. UF as a whole is a decent school (I went here for undergrad also) and the department in general is well-respected. I sort of want to switch to IDPA after learning about PA this semester.

I've also heard really good things about the Wagner School at NYU.
posted by tatiana wishbone at 5:47 PM on October 7, 2006

Go to SOAS! The MA in International Development is fantastic. Plus it only takes 9 months, as opposed to 2 years in the US.
posted by k8t at 6:36 PM on October 7, 2006

Also, I worked in international development for years without an MA. Find an NGO that does something that you're interested in and send them a CV.
posted by k8t at 6:37 PM on October 7, 2006

I second K8t on the SOAS recommendation. She was one of my classmates last year and it's pretty keen.

The one thing I would warn you about is that assuming the course is a good one, one of the things you learn is that international development is really problematic. There are serious questions about dependency, exploitation, structural constraints, imperialism and neo-colonialism going back at least to the start of serious international development in the 1950s. What this means is that studying the field, rather than simply being involved in it, can be a little depressing or offputting at times. Studying international development also means acknowledging its weaknesses and flaws, and you should be prepared for this when you go to school.

If you have good connections or good skills, you may be able to get a job in international development. If you know a language that isn't widely known, or a language associated with a country that is the focus of serious development (for example, Farsi or a Central Asian language) then you might be able to get a job without a masters. However, you say your weakness is languages. This is a serious problem. I can't tell you how many jobs I would have been able to apply for if I'd only had even a "working knowledge" of French. If you're serious about development, you have to learn at least one other language. If you want to do development in Africa, learn French. If you want to do development in Latin America, learn Spanish. If you're willing to risk being focused on a more narrow geographical region, choose one language and learn it well. Since you're living in China, Mandarin sounds like a good option. And it isn't a bad choice, since China is growing so fast.

What Idcoytco said, plus: there are Masters students competing against you for internships, or even just volunteering (often the same thing, really) for prestigious positions or well-known international NGOs. If you can get an internship or volunteer position, you're lucky, not settling.

While k8t makes out that she was able to get work in development easily without a masters, her knowledge of languages (particularly relatively obscure ones) is considerable. She's also a workaholic like you wouldn't believe. I bet her CV makes HR offices feel all funny inside. If you're more like me (which is what I'm guessing) you're going to need some solid experience that looks good on paper first.

You're in luck because you're already situated in a country which has development work available. But you might have to swallow your pride and work as a volunteer for a while. Save up money for your ticket home and find volunteer-ish work in China; I'm pretty sure there are arrangements where you can have essentials like food and shelter covered for.
posted by Deathalicious at 12:00 AM on October 8, 2006

Deathalicious, who are you? I can't figure it out! :)
posted by k8t at 3:24 PM on October 13, 2006

Nevermind... I just figured it out. HI! :)
posted by k8t at 3:32 PM on October 13, 2006