MA Development Policy
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Description
The study program is all about developing policies that comprise economic and other aspects of the overall development of the country, where the pertinent issues related to development that are at the center of policy debate will hold the primary focus. The program is going on in the university at the School of Policy Studies since 2015 /2016 and was started as a part of the University’s effort to enhance the public sector capacity building in the policy areas to fill the policy gaps and the implementation challenges.
The rationale for the program is quite clear. We know that the prime goal of the government in developing countries, in general, is to realize development through eradicating poverty. This requires, among other issues, the well-informed decision of policymakers by designing and implementing development agendas based on the knowledge of the policy process. Thus, development policy as a tool for realizing the goals of overall development requires qualified professionals in the field of the study. The development policy process in Ethiopia lacks qualified policy professionals and precisians for effective designing and implementation of the policies as witnessed by the existing manpower and the lack of strong policy debates in the area of the study. This has called for the designing of the master’s program in the field of development.
The program focuses on core development issues and agendas as they appear in policy debates. The issues of poverty and inequality, the role of the state and private sector in development, the challenges of the environment, climate change and gender for development, issues of the local development and regional integration, international trade and foreign aid for development, the role of institutions and institutional framework in development will be studied. Therefore, the program is expected to equip students with the required knowledge on contemporary theories, issues and debates on these core subject areas as they are applied to better formulation, implementation, and evaluation of appropriate development policies and programs.
Exit Level Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the Development Policy Program, graduates are expected to apply the policy processes and practices in broader areas of development. Specifically, they are expected to:-
- Describe the fundamentals of development theories, practices and policy processes as applied to the context of Ethiopia;
- Associate the existing and emerging development policies and paradigms to the current local situations;
- Apply the knowledge, skills, and practices to formulate, analyze and evaluate development policies, strategies, and programs;
- Assess different options/modalities of development strategies and programs as they can be applied to the Ethiopian situation;
- Conduct policy researches, evaluate the impacts of different policies and programs on the development of the society;
- Design development policies at different levels of government (local, regional and national);
- Advise policy makers on development issues, policies, and practices for better development and inter-governmental relations.
- Indicate the role and importance of institutions and the institutional framework for policy prescription and implementation
- Adhere to the ethical standards and principles of professionalism and practice.