Master of Global Human Development

Who should apply?

Our international development graduate program is built for professionals who believe in alleviating poverty, empowering vulnerable groups and promoting growth, development and sustainability in communities, businesses and organizations around the world. 

Our students engage in practical, hands-on curricular and co-curricular experiences that prepare you to make an impact across sectors and phases of development work. You’ll graduate with concrete competitive advantages: skills in quantitative analysis, project management, program design and evaluation. You’ll also benefit from thematic, regional or skills-based topics you choose to focus on through our specializations and wide range of certificate offerings. 

A few miles from our Washington, DC, campus, you’ll find Georgetown alumni making their mark at major institutions like the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. State Department, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Peace Corps, and dozens of the world’s foremost development organizations.

Curriculum 

The Global Human Development program’s core curriculum focuses on quantitative analysis, project management and program design and evaluation, and enables our students and alumni to be successful in a variety of sectors and contexts.

With your electives and specialization courses, you can focus on the areas you’re most interested in like food, agriculture and rural livelihoods or environment and climate. You’ll also have access to our wide range of certificate offerings through which you can specialize in a region or topic in international relations.

Through your client-based capstone project, overseas summer internship within a development organization, DC internship, ethics retreat, skills workshops and language proficiency, you’ll graduate with an impressive portfolio and valuable professional contacts, uniquely prepared to succeed in your international development career.

Career paths

Career exploration and professional development are strategically integrated into our curriculum to prepare you for the ever-changing professional landscape. Through a solid grounding in development practice, you’re prepared for an impactful career. Our graduates have gone on to successful careers at multilateral organizations like the World Bank and UNICEF, the sustainability practice of global businesses like Coca-Cola and Disney, financial institutions like FINCA and the national and local agencies of governments around the world.

“I was drawn to GHD because of the very strong practical and experiential components. The DC internship, capstone project and summer internship abroad supported students to ground their classroom learning experiences. And the fact that many GHD faculty are practitioners really spoke to me.”

Foluyinka Fakoya (GHD’19), External Affairs Officer, Global Partnership for Education

“My coursework and experiences at the Institute for the Study of Migration opened my eyes. Conducting interviews and being actively involved in migration studies confirmed my passion.”

Claudia Gonzalez (GHD’24), Program Officer, MacArthur Foundation

“My experience in GHD has been the perfect blend of academic theory and practical skills that have prepared me to solve some of today’s most pressing issues in the field of international development.”

Kyle Clements (GHD’21), TEFL Teacher, Peace Corps

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2024 Foreign Policy Magazine

employed within six months of graduation

100%

Class of 2023

Upcoming events

All upcoming events

Dec 12

Pivot to Independent Consulting

Online 12:00pm – 1:00pm

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Dec 17

GHD Virtual Information Session

Online 9:00am – 10:30am

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