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Global Development at Georgia Tech

Global Development at Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech's interdisciplinary Global Development programs will prepare you to respond to the challenges of climate change, rapid urbanization, and growing inequality in developing cities. Learn from leading experts in the field and take classes across the School of Economics, the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, and the School of City and Regional Planning. 

Why Global Development?

Global development is a field that seeks to directly address the critical challenges of advancing sustainability, protecting critical environmental resources, responding to climate change, reducing poverty and inequality, and improving the socio-economic well-being of citizens across the globe. With momentum around the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development, Paris Climate Accords, and the U.N. New Urban Agenda, high-profile efforts of private foundations and international aid agencies and many innovations and new models emerging across sectors, the time is ripe for pursuing a career in Global Development. Practitioners in this vast field may work on issues ranging from urban infrastructure to global health to emerging market investment opportunities.

The demand for Global Development professionals is strong and growing. A 2020 study by the Commonwealth Associations of architects, engineers, planners, surveyors, and real estate professionals, identifies acute shortages of professionals in the most rapidly urbanizing parts of the world. 

Georgia Tech is an institution committed to advancing sustainability worldwide. Our Strategic Plan commits us to prepare our students for global leadership, and to become a central actor in the major global activities for the U.N. Sustainable Development Goads advancement. We have more than a half century of experience educating for city planning, economic development, and international affairs, and are a national leader in study abroad programs. Atlanta is home to headquarters of C.A.R.E., the Carter Center, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Habitat for Humanity International, as well as 70 foreign consulates. Few institutions offer the vitality in Global Development education and research present at Georgia Tech. 

Global Development Programs

Master of Science in Global Development

Undergraduate Minor in Global Development

Graduate Certificate in Global Development

Global Development Program Host Schools

School of Economics

Sam Nunn School of International Affairs

School of City and Regional Planning