Economic and Political Development Curriculum
The EPD curriculum provides students with a broad understanding of the processes of economic, political and social change in the developing world, and of the global and national commitments reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. Students develop a variety of skills in policy analysis, program planning, monitoring and evaluation, and management, as well as in focused competencies in practice areas such as financial inclusion, small business and social enterprise development, corporate social responsibility, gender and development, education and health policy, sustainable development, post-conflict reconstruction and governance.
Contact Us
José Antonio Ocampo, Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs
Concentration Co-Director
jao2128@columbia.edu
IAB room 1315
Eugenia McGill, Senior Lecturer in Discipline
Concentration Co-Director; EPD Workshop Director
em419@columbia.edu
IAB room 1305b
Ilona Vinklerova
EPD Concentration Manager
iv2105@sipa.columbia.edu
IAB room 1305
José Antonio Ocampo, Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs; Co-Director of the Economic and Political Development Concentration
Eugenia McGill, Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of International and Public Affairs; Co-Director of the Economic and Political Development Concentration
Gizem Acikgoz, Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs
Lisa Anderson, Special Lecturer and Dean Emerita
Jeffrey Ashe, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Savita Bailur, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Philip Crehan, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Lief Doerring, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Arminio Fraga Neto, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Kevin Hong, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Fabrice Houdart, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Debra Jones, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Benjamin Kumpf, Lecturer of International and Public Affairs (part-time)
Barbara Magnoni, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Marcelo Medeiros, Visiting Professor of International and Public Affairs
Louise Moretto, Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs
Camilla Nestor, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Akbar Noman, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Jyotsna Puri, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Zaki Raheem, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Shravanti Reddy, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Rumela Sen, Lecturer in the Discipline of International and Public Affairs
Andrew Simons, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Sarah Revital Sterling, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs
Eric Verhoogen, Professor of International and Public Affairs
Shawna Wakefield, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Maxine Weisgrau, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs
Visit our SIPA Faculty Directory to view bios
The Concentration in Economic and Political Development (EPD) requires 18 credits, consisting of 6 three-point courses: 2 core courses (economic dimensions of sustainable development and political dimensions of sustainable development); 2 sustainable development practice courses (methods, workshop*); and 2 professional focus area courses (both courses must be from ONE of four professional focus areas). *Workshop satisfies the Capstone requirement for MIA and MPA students.
Courses taken to fulfill an EPD course requirement cannot be audited or taken pass/fail.
Language requirement: All EPD students are also required to satisfy the MIA language requirement. Students may fulfill the language requirement for the MIA degree and the MPA/EPD Concentration with any modern language offered by Columbia University language programs or the Language Resource Center: http://www.lrc.columbia.edu/languages/#languageprograms. Information on language proficiency assessment at Columbia University is provided here: http://www.lrc.columbia.edu/proficiency-testing/.
EPD double counting policy
- Except for DAQA specializers, students may double count up to 2 courses (or 6 credits) of EPD courses toward their specialization requirement (if the courses are approved for both EPD and the specialization). However, only one focus area course (or up to 3 credits) can have a regional or country focus.
- Students may double count an EPD course from our approved political dimensions of sustainable development core courses or our political dimensions of sustainable development focus area to satisfy the Interstate Relations (IR) requirement for the MIA degree (if the course is also an approved IR course).
- Students may not double count an EPD core course towards their chosen professional focus area. However, if they take both economic dimensions of sustainable development core courses (or two different political dimensions of sustainable development core courses), they can count one for their core requirement and the other one for the related focus area.
Political Dimensions of Sustainable Development Core Courses
Select one of the following:
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Points |
| Points |
| INAF U6178 | Politics of Sustainable Development | 3.00 |
| INAF U6412 | State and Society in the Developing World | 3.00 |
| INAF U6438 | Persistent Problems in the Global South: Policies and Politics for Sustainable Development | 3.00 |
| INAF U6538 | State Building in the Developing World | 3.00 |
| INAF U8258 | State Formation, Deformation, and Citizenship | 3.00 |
| INAF U8260 | Authoritarianism | 3.00 |
| |
Economic Dimensions of Sustainable Development Core Courses
Select one of the following:
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Points |
| Points |
| INAF U6602 | Economic Development for International Affairs | 3.00 |
| INAF U6641 | Economics of Sustainable Development | 3.00 |
| INAF U8145 | Advanced Economic Development for International Affairs | 3.00 |
| |
Sustainable Development Practice Courses
EPD students must take the following:
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Points |
| Points |
| INAF U6827 | Methods for Sustainable Development Practice | 3.00 |
| SIPA U9001 | Capstone Workshop in Sustainable Development Practice * | 3.00 |
*Fulfills the capstone requirement for students in the MIA and MPA programs
Professional Focus Area Courses
The Professional Focus Area requirement allows EPD students to focus their coursework in one of four substantive areas: Economic Dimensions of Sustainable Development (ECON), Political Dimensions of Sustainable Development (POLI), Social Dimensions of Sustainable Development (SOC), or Environmental Dimensions of Sustainable Development (ENV). Since development is a multidisciplinary field, many EPD courses may straddle two or more professional focus areas (e.g. Global Inequality; Gender, Politics and Development; or Corporations and Human Rights).
Students select courses totaling 6 points in ONE of four professional focus area: Economic, Political, Social, or Environmental Dimensions of Sustainable Development. However, only one focus area course (or up to 3 credits) can be a regional course. To view a complete list of courses, visit the EPD - Professional Focus Area page.
Degree Audit Report
Matriculated students in this program can view their degree audit report on Stellic.
STEM ELIGIBILITY
MIA or MPA students who successfully complete their concentration in Economic and Political Development and their specialization in Data Analytics and Quantitative Analysis, along with their MIA or MPA degree requirements, will have completed their SIPA degree program in a government-approved STEM field.
Students can opt to change their Concentration or Specialization via the Concentration Specialization Declaration Change Form. Requests are reviewed and approved by SIPA Student Affairs advisors. If there is an issue with the request your advisor will contact you. Otherwise, if approved, the new Concentration/Specialization will appear on your record in SSOL and Stellic.
DOUBLE COUNTING OF COURSES
Students in the Economic and Political Development concentration who have also declared their specialization in Data Analytics & Quantitative Analysis (DAQA) CANNOT double-count courses between their concentration and specialization.