International Development Concentration

The International Development concentration (ID) provides understanding of world problems such as hunger, health, and economic change, thus preparing the student for work in organizations involved in the planning, management, and evaluation of development projects.

This is 36-credit hour, non-thesis program normally completed in two years. We admit students with significant anthropology background as well as students with little or none (the latter may need to take some remedial courses before entering the program or during their first year).

Some entering students have substantial professional experience, while others have yet to acquire any. Students with no professional experience are encouraged to find a relevant internship in order to gain non-academic skills, and a majority of International Development concentrators include internships at such institutions as the World Bank in their program of studies (for more on development anthropology internships, click here).

Some students in the ID concentration see the degree as a direct path to a professional career. Others complement their anthropology degree with further study in professional fields such as law, while others go on for a PhD in anthropology.

All students are required to demonstrate competence in a language other than English and meet the other requirements common to all our master's programs. (For a summary of M.A. requirements, click here).

Curriculum (* = required)

2. Development concentration [15 credits]:
     *Anth 220, Anthropology of Development (theory)
     *Anth 223, Methods in Development Anthropology (mainly qualitative methods)
     *Two additional anthropology courses related to development, as broadly defined (can include 3-credits for Anth 224, Internship in Development Anthropology)
     *Quantitative Methods (can be Development Economics, Epidemiology, Demography, Public Administration, etc., as long as the course focuses on quantitative analysis; check with advisor)

3. Electives [9-18 credits, depending on the number of Proseminars taken]. Popular options include courses in:
      International Affairs (including the series of 1-credit Skills Courses)
      Courses in the professional schools: Law School, Public Health, Education, Public Administration
      Women's Studies

4. The Integrating Essay [no credits]
All students, in order to receive the MA degree, must write a successful Integrating Essay during their last semester. This 12-page paper, addressing a topic of importance to the student, is a critical overview of the anthropological literature about the topic in three of anthropology's four fields.

Skills built into the MA/ID curriculum

• Critical thinking, reading and speaking
• Analytical writing
• Critical literature review
• Research methods (especially short-term methods) for data collection
• Professional experience through a reflective internship and internship report

Other

• The Anthropology Department has an annual Cotlow competition for BA, MA, and PhD students for research grants up to around $1800, normally used for summer research. Each year, usually one or two MA/ID students get such an award. They, therefore, are able to gain experience in doing fieldwork, analyzing their field notes, and preparing a presentation for our annual Anthropology Student Research Conference.
• The Anthropology Department is proposing a new concentration in Medical Anthropology which, we hope, will be approved for students entering the program in fall 2011.
• The Elliott School of International Affairs offers an MA degree in International Development Studies with an concentration in cultural anthropology. Compared to the MA in ID in the Department of Anthropology, this program is more multidisciplinary and professionally oriented, with more course requirements in economics and policy analysis. The Elliott School also offers the possibility of a joint degree in the Law School and a dual degree in Public Health.

For more information, contact Prof. Barbara Miller, the main advisor and point of contact for the ID concentration.