Today, “development” refers to a highly professionalized field. There are numerous NGOs, non-profits and aid organizations, and the highest concentration of Ph.D.s can be found at the World Bank. Yet half of humanityshy;—nearly three billion people—still lives in poverty.
Many of us at Georgetown wish to help these billions of people by committing our undergraduate studies to understanding the complex dimensions of global poverty and development, evaluating the mistakes and successes of the past and exploring innovative ways to effectively and responsibly address them in the future. The International Development Certificate provides a broad framework of study for student wishing to work in this field. Unfortunately, only students in the School of Foreign Service are allowed to pursue it. Students in other schools at Georgetown University should also have access to the certificate and its benefits.
Introduced in the fall of 2006, the certificate has already been awarded to 11 undergraduate students, and 40 more are in the application process. The program allows for a range of specializations, such as politics, economics, culture, environment, health and technology. There is also an internship component of the program, which can be performed locally or internationally at an organization of the student’s choice. Our Moment, the student group that helped launch the certificate, has created an online database on which students can provide and review descriptions of international internship opportunities.
Other new, exciting resources related to the certificate continue to expand with student initiative, such as the new Development Practitioner’s lunch series at the Mortara Center, where students can hear a wide range of perspectives from professionals in different development-related disciplines.
The International Development Certificate represents an exciting opportunity for students to specialize at an undergraduate level in this critical field of study, provided they are in the School of Foreign Service. But the boundaries between Georgetown’s four schools have become increasingly blurry, and students have interest in classes from schools other than their own. A high school student with an interest in political economy could construct equally reasonable cases for applying to the College as the SFS. Many College students find themselves fascinated by the study of the developing world but have no access to the Internation Development Certificate. Others are in the process of completing the certificate’s requirements, but cannot engage with the program as substantially as the SFS students. The certificate provides an infrastructure for systematically pursuing a development-focused program of study. It serves as a clear indicator of interests to future employers and graduate programs where a transcript alone might remain somewhat ambiguous.
To address this demand, Our Moment is currently collecting signatures from College students to demonstrate their interest in having access to this exciting new program. It is our hope that College administrators will be receptive to the academic demands of its students and recognize the responsibility and potential of Georgetown’s role in the development field.
Georgetown is proud of its Jesuit identity. The Jesuits have long pushed their students to serve their fellow people and the greater world. The University is in a special position to address this ideal, as it is considered by many to be one of the most prestigious institutions for the study of international social issues. Georgetown University attracts students who very much desire to serve the global community in addition to their local communities.
As an influential academic institution, Georgetown can use its institutional agency, scholarship and teaching to serve a critical role in responding to global inequality. As students, we can use the tools Georgetown provides to equip ourselves to think critically about the theoretical foundations of development and practically apply our knowledge in order to strive for international social justice. With student, faculty and administrative support, Our Moment can successfully build a program of study to address the imperative global challenges that our generation has inherited.
