Deadline: 1 June 2021
This blended program combines online learning and one semester of residential instruction at MIT, and is open to students of all educational backgrounds. To help meet growing demand in sub-Saharan Africa for training and capacity building, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation will sponsor seven students from sub-Saharan Africa over the first three years of the blended master’s program. Sponsorship includes full coverage of tuition, housing, and healthcare costs, as well as a small living stipend.
HOW IT WORKS
To earn the DEDP MicroMasters program credential, learners complete three core courses (Microeconomics, Data Analysis for Social Scientists, and Designing and Running Randomized Evaluations) and two of three electives (The Challenges of Global Poverty, Foundations of Development Policy, and Political Economy and Economic Development) online and pass their corresponding proctored exams. The five courses can be taken in any sequence, and the curriculum gives learners the flexibility to choose which electives they take.
Learners who receive the MicroMasters program credential will then be eligible to apply to MIT’s new Master’s program in Data, Economics, and Development Policy. If accepted, students will earn credit for the MicroMasters program courses and will be able to pursue an accelerated on-campus Master’s degree at MIT.
WHO SHOULD ENROL
Policymakers and practitioners from governments, NGOs, international aid agencies, foundations, and other entities in the development sector
Academics and evaluators looking to re-tool and apply data-driven perspectives to social and development programs
Students interested in pursuing admission to graduate programs in development economics, public policy, political science, or related fields
Social entrepreneurs, managers, and researchers in the development sector
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
To identify and analyze the root causes of underdevelopment using principles of economics
To interpret the findings of empirical research that evaluates the effectiveness of anti-poverty strategies, policies, and interventions
Practical knowledge on how to design and implement rigorous randomized evaluations and other econometric methods for evaluating policies and programs
Tools of comparative cost-effectiveness analysis for informed policy-making
Fundamentals of microeconomics, development economics, probability, and statistics
Hands-on skills in data analysis using the R programming language
COURSES
Core Courses
MITx 14.100x: Principles of Microeconomics Use economic models to learn how prices and markets benefit society in the face of scarcity, and then apply those models to analyze policy. Instructor: Jonathan Gruber, Ford Professor of Economics, MIT
JPAL102x: Designing and Running Randomized Evaluations Learn how to both design randomized evaluations and implement them in the field to measure the impact of social programs. Instructors: Rachel Glennerster, former Executive Director, J-PAL; Chief Economist at the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (formerly DFID) Esther Duflo, Director, J-PAL; Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, MIT
MITx 14.310x: Data Analysis for Social Scientists Learn methods for harnessing and analyzing data to answer questions of cultural, social, economic, and policy interest. Instructors: Esther Duflo, Director, J-PAL; Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, MIT Sara Fisher Ellison, Senior Lecturer, Economics, MIT
Elective Courses (Choose two of three)
MITx 14.73x: The Challenges of Global Poverty A course for those who are interested in the challenge posed by massive and persistent world poverty. Instructors: Esther Duflo, Director, J-PAL; Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, MIT Abhijit Banerjee, Director, J-PAL; Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics, MIT
MITx 14.740x: Foundations of Development Policy: Advanced Development Economics Using economic theory and data analysis, explore the economic lives of the poor, and the ways to design and implement effective development policy. Instructors: Esther Duflo, Director, J-PAL; Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, MIT Abhijit Banerjee, Director, J-PAL; Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics, MIT Benjamin Olken, Director, J-PAL; Professor of Economics, MIT
MITx 14.750x: Political Economy and Economic Development Explore why and how political institutions affect economic development, and apply key theories and empirical techniques to real-world examples ranging from voting and corruption to the role of the media. Instructors: Abhijit Banerjee, Director, J-PAL; Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics, MIT Benjamin Olken, Director, J-PAL; Professor of Economics, MIT
CONTACT
To learn more about the program and enroll, visit the MicroMasters portal.
Questions? Contact micromasters-support@mit.edu.