Sustainable Development Practice School for International Training

Overview

Rooted in School for International Training ’s distinctive place-based experiential learning approach, this Sustainable Development Practice program explores the interconnected nature of global health crises, economic inequality, natural resource degradation, and political and ethnic conflicts. It aims to cultivate a new generation of highly educated innovative and trans-disciplinary development practitioners.

Starting in Quito, Ecuador, a city high in the Andes, you will explore the challenges of one of the most biodiverse countries in the world while learning from faculty, guest lecturers, and experts in the field. Study ecological impacts, forest regeneration, sustainable land practices, and conservation on excursion to northern Ecuador’s patchwork of cloud forests. Excursions may also include trips to the Amazon.

The second semester unfolds in Africa, with time split between Cape Town, South Africa, and Lilongwe, Malawi. Over 15 weeks, you will engage in comparative analyses of design thinking, monitoring and evaluation, economics, resource management, health policy, and trade. Emphasis is placed on understanding local needs, gender disparities, diverse livelihood practices, climate change, cultural identities, and the varied histories of colonization and resistance. Site visits and fieldwork explore sustainable and regenerative development practices in urban, periurban, and rural settings.

In the final semester of this one-year program, you will spend 10 to 12 weeks in a full-time practicum in a role and location of your choice, drawing from SIT’s worldwide professional networks. You will gain the experience and hands-on skills you need to attain your career goals and will also complete a capstone paper.

Career Paths

• Foreign Service officer
• Monitoring and evaluation officer
• Program manager in sustainability
• Program manager in food and nutrition security
• Public health analyst with a government agency
• Independent consultant or researcher in the nonprofit sector
• Housing organizer
• Director, government development policy
• Senior policy associate