Development Practice - Master of Development Practice (MDP) at University of Waterloo

Programme overview

Become a global development professional and inspire change with the Master of Development Practice program. This on-campus coursework-based program can be completed in one year of full-time study and offers courses from four intersecting areas including health, natural, social, and management sciences with a focus on sustainable development. Learn to better identify and address the challenges of extreme poverty and sustainable development and prepare for a career in an NGO, not-for-profit, or government organization through courses and a field placement where you’ll gain valuable practical experience in the development sector in countries like India, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

Faculty: Faculty of Environment | Department: School of Environment, Enterprise and Development | Duration: 12 months | Study mode: full-time | Intake: Fall (September - December); application deadlines: February 1 (for admission in September) | Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

What you will study

Study option(s): Coursework*.

Career pathways

Learn to better identify and address the challenges of extreme poverty and sustainable development and prepare for a career in an NGO, not-for-profit, or government organization through courses and a field placement where you’ll gain valuable practical experience in the development sector in countries like India, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

A four-year honours bachelor's degree (or its equivalent) from a recognized university in a humanities, social science, health, engineering, environmental science, or business discipline, and have a minimum of 75% overall standing in the last two years of study.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the courses you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Terms run fall (September to December), winter (January to April) and spring (May to August). Programmes are currently accepting applications for fall 2027; intake terms vary by programme.

Graduate applications are made online through the Graduate Studies Application and the non-refundable application fee is $150 CAD per program, paid in the applicant portal. Deadlines are set by each programme (for example MDSAI part-time: fall January 15, winter July 1). Apply two to four weeks ahead of the programme deadline.

Apply through the official page: https://grad.apply.uwaterloo.ca/apply/

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