The International Development Program is offered by the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) within the Faculty of Environment.
Seed collaborates with St. Paul's University College in delivering the Program.
The trans-disciplinary field of international development (INDEV) has evolved significantly over the past 25 years. Governments, civil society organizations, and private enterprises increasingly are looking for people with a rigorous preparation that has equipped them to be development catalysts at the community project level. International Development students will acquire the knowledge, business skills, and problem solving orientation required to improve life for all members of challenged communities in a manner that is environmentally sustainable, culturally responsible, and scientifically sound.
In addition to preparing development catalysts, due to its multi–disciplinary character, the Honours International Development plan, when supplemented by Arts electives, constitutes a contemporary general education for a 21st century global village world. From scientific method to political economy to business skills, the plan lays a foundation for a cosmopolitan hommes d’affaires.
The Honours International Development plan has been designed to: (1) integrate knowledge from several disciplines including environmental studies, social sciences, and management; (2) develop competencies for adapting to different cultural and societal perspectives on development, for problem-solving on multi-cultural teams, and for adapting technology to fit the local situation, and (3) encourage innovative, sustainable solutions to development issues. The plan emphasizes project-oriented learning that incorporates a strong problem-solving theme on issues that are inherently multi-dimensional and complicated by differing cultural perspectives on desired development outcomes. An eight month required field placement provides practical exposure to development work and issues.
In the first year, the plan provides an overview of the development field, a basic understanding of economics, and a thorough introduction to the environment, geography, and the principles of planning. These themes are continued in years two and three with environmental research methods, principles of ecology and environmental assessment. In addition, in year two students are introduced to the tools of general and social accounting, environmental impact assessment, and the theory and practice of problem-solving in development contexts. Courses in third year discuss ethical issues between and within cultures, the role of development organizations including the importance of the individual social entrepreneur. Students also begin studying marketing and communication for development.
The fourth year is the experiential learning year and will require three terms to complete. In 4A (spring term), students apply their marketing and communication skills in fund raising activities and gain specialised training toward their field placement. Fall term (4B) and winter term (4C) constitute two consecutive terms of field placement work and learning that culminates in a two week capstone exercise at St Paul's University College. Students pursuing field placements in French or Spanish-speaking developing countries are required to develop or demonstrate at least intermediate-level French or Spanish by fourth year. Students with little or no Spanish or French are advised to begin language preparation in first year. Students pursuing field placement in developing countries where English is an official language will receive training in one of the local languages as part of the in-country orientation.
Additional information may be obtained from the Director, International Development.