About the Program

Goals
This unique Master of Arts in Global Development and Social Justice, offered in collaboration with The Rielo Institute for Integral Development, was created to educate the generation of the Third Millennium to become informed, creative and compassionate leaders and professionals. Students will draw upon their broad multidisciplinary training to address pertinent issues of global development and social justice from many international perspectives including Catholic Social Thought.  These future leaders will recognize and be able to work with diverse sets of individuals from international organizations, national governance bodies and across the private sector to arrive at effective and collaborative solutions to the many problems facing the global community today and beyond.

Description
This MA program’s innovative multidisciplinary program combines classroom instruction with on-line Distance Learning to offer students the flexibility to pursue in-depth research in a broad variety of critical areas related to global development and social justice. It also encompasses a broad range of topics, including: 

  • Development and the Role of Organizations
  • Information Resources for Development Professionals
  • Catholic Social Thought
  • Economics of Development
  • Political Issues of Development
  • GIS Applications for Integrated and Sustainable Development
  • Gender and Social Justice in Development
  • Media and Education in Global Development
  • Health Care Issues in Global Development

Additionally, there is a required capstone project to be presented in the Integrated Seminar that summarizes the student’s learning in the courses and his/her ability to undertake in-depth research and apply the knowledge and skills acquired.

Timeframe
The degree program can be completed in two years of full-time study. This includes 11 three-credit courses for a total of 33 credits. The dates of the stay in Rome will be from May 20, 2011 to June 21, 2011. 

Distance Learning and On-Site Rome Classes
This program is unique in that the curriculum is primarily delivered via on-line distance learning that can be accessed worldwide. Four courses in total are taught in a classroom setting.  Three courses, Introductory Seminar, International Organizations and Development, and Information Resources for Development Professionals are taken at the RIID headquarters in Rome in the beginning of the program.  Integrating Seminar, the final course, is also completed in a face to face setting at the end of the program.  Students admitted to the program are required to stay at the RIID headquarters while in Rome.

Career Opportunities
Students earning this MA in Global Development and Social Justice will be trained in areas that are critical for established and emerging professions devoted to a myriad of global development issues. These areas include academic fields, national and international organizations,  governmental and non-governmental organizations, agencies of the United Nations such as the UNDP, UNFEM, UNICEF, FAO, IMF, the World Bank Group, multinational corporations, international media, law firms, foundations, emergency relief, diplomatic missions and many other possible fields.  

The high value and market advantage students will receive with this Master in Global Development and Social Justice are not only derived from its mission, inspired by Catholic Social Teaching, its multidisciplinary approach, the use of state of the art technology for on-line distance learning courses and communication, and the presence of an international sponsorship, yet also from the need for professionals with an education in the varying fields of global development being higher than ever. 

For more information, contact:

Alyssa Monturi
E-mail: monturia@stjohns.edu
Tel: (718) 990-8052

St. John’s University Center for Global Development
St. John's Hall Rm. 434A
8000 Utopia Pkwy
Queens, NY 11439

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