WELCOME TO THE Department of Development and Sustainability

"EDUCATION FOR FUTURE LEADERS"

BACKGROUND

Department of Development and Sustainability aims to respond to emerging challenges to sustainable development in Asia. Asia is changing rapidly economically, socially, politically as well as culturally.

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In order to effectively address emerging issues in the region, we need to have a critical and deep analysis of contexts under a multiplicity of identities – be it by gender, religion, ethnicity, class, age, geographical location, livelihood, nation, etc. The region urgently needs people who are able to organize a multi-disciplinary approach to problem-solving, with in-depth understanding and responsiveness to the various needs of local women and men. We strive to generate research and knowledge to meet these needs.

MISSION

The mission of the Department of Development and Sustainability are:

To develop next-generation-leaders able to address emerging and rapidly changing development needs involving various resources – be it natural, human, social, economical, and political, who are equipped with knowledge and attitudes that can contribute to problem-solving in practice.
To serve the society by producing analysis and grounded knowledge that would contribute to improved practices for sustainable development.

OUR ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Multidisciplinarity is at very core of the Department’s teaching, research and outreach activities. Our academic activities focus on problem-solving and creating work-ready graduates who are able to take real-life challenges once graduated. The students come from multiple disciplines- economics, geography, anthropology, sociology, architecture, agriculture, forestry, science, political sciences, management, and humanities. Those with professional development experience are preferred candidates, and hence the programs have experienced students and peer learning is also an important part of our learning. The academic programs are:

Development and Sustainability program (DS)

The main aim of the program is to target development managers and practitioners who need a broader understanding of development issues and a more interdisciplinary learning experience than the current program offerings allow. More specifically, a broader program in Development and Sustainability would be appealing to government employees and managers, international organizations, NGOs, and private research institutions, as well as academics working in development studies.

Natural Resources Management (NRM)

Natural Resources Management (NRM) academic program is designed to train students in the fields of sustainable use and management of natural resources, community-based natural resources management, forest carbon accounting, biodiversity conservation, valuation of ecosystem services, economics of NRM, NRM and climate policy, technologies and sustainability, assessment of natural resources using conventional and modern temporal and geospatial technologies.

Urban Sustainability Planning and Design (USPD)

The Master’s program in Urban Sustainability Planning and Design aims to develop the expertise and leadership of professionals in urban planning and design with a strong emphasis on evaluation and application of sustainability. Through place-based and holistic approaches, the program covers urban systems planning and design for multi-scale (incl. metropolitan and building), cross-sector (e.g., ecology, energy, material and waste, water, climate, health, food, and mobility), and multi-agent decision making, in support of integrated, evolutionary and transformational change towards sustainability.

All students are enrolled in the Department but need to join any of the above academic programs.

DEGREES OFFERED IN EACH PROGRAM

CREDIT REQUIREMENT FOR DEGREE COMPLETION

For master program

(48 credits) with minimum 2.75 CGPA and successful completion of Thesis or Research Study. The strengths of the course structure is that it encourages cross-fertilization across academic programs as well as offer focused specialized courses in each academic program. Four-credits department-wide required course enables the students to acquire a wider overview of sustainable development issues and research methodology. At least 22 credits need to be taken from required and elective courses designed by the program.

WHERE OUR GRADUATE FIND JOB?

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

The Department has a very active research program that is done through student research as well as sponsored projects and individually by faculty members. The academic programs of the Department have a long history of grounded research contributing to development practices in the region. The current research program of the Department has several streams.

DEPARTMENT JOURNAL

Gender, Technology, and Development (GTD) is an international, multi-disciplinary, refereed journal serving as a forum for exploring the linkages among changing gender relations, technological change, and developing societies. The journal’s main focus is on the shifting boundaries and meanings of gender, technology, and development, addressing transnational phenomena and engaging in dialogues that cut across geographical boundaries. It is published by Sage Publication three times a year. GTD is indexed in the SCOPUS (83/115 in gender studies), the SCImago Journal Rank (0.155), and indexed in Emerging Sources Citation Index. The journal can be accessed here.