Students

What impresses me the most in MDEV is the possibility of breaking disciplinary boundaries while keeping a strong thematic focus. A multi-disciplinary approach to environment or conflict equip us with different lenses and facilitates our understanding of complex real-world situations. In addition, the more skills-oriented components of the program, as workshops, capstone, and the possibility of professional experience in Geneva, contribute to a smoother transition into the policy world. It allows students to test different possibilities as communications, project management, and evaluation in different settings as international organizations, NGOs, or private sector. The curriculum is crafted for students to mix and match according to their career goals on the one hand, and disciplinary and thematic preferences on the other hand.

After finishing an LL.M. in International & European law focusing on the protection of human rights, I was eager to acquire a wider knowledge that would enable me to contextualize these legal insights. The interdisciplinary approach valued at the Graduate Institute allows me to fall back on my prior master of laws while making use of new perspectives offered from a wide range of disciplines. After a first semester in which I gained fundamental methodological skills and an overview of the field of study I chose as a Major, the second semester gives me the great flexibility to tailor my chosen track as I perceive best for my future professional plans. The international and inspiring environment in both, the Graduate Institute and the city of Geneva itself, confirmed my assumption that this master in Development studies is the perfect choice for someone who wishes to be prepared for a career in the greater humanitarian sector.

I came to the Graduate Institute seeking a more empirical approach towards examining the lines that connect social theory to real world development. Formerly having worked in the field of education in India for two years, I always believed that I needed to tether my practical experience with theoretical knowledge. The Graduate Institute granted me the necessary academic authority and nurtured my perceptions towards equality and poverty. Now, as a student of the ‘Mobilities, Spaces and Cities’ track, I seek to enhance the resolution of my understanding of contemporary migration governance, focusing on education of refugees and internally displaced children. The specialised classes on these topics at the Institute have helped me find direction in terms of what my niche is - which is working on the education of girls in South Asian countries. The MINT programme, specifically the Mobilities, Spaces and Cities track has inspired me to examine the lines that create and connect disparities in our age as well as establish a set of practices that will better address these issues in societies globally.