February 4, 2013

Engineering for Global Development: Academic Programs Worldwide

(Updated March, 2018) – A small-but-growing contingent of academic programs courses offer instruction in engineering and design for global development. We’ve compiled a list here to help students in their search. We have posted those, together with other programs we have recently come across to speed up your search or to plant the seed for future study.

This list complements the publications and interactive world map of academic programs in Engineering for Global Development found on our Professional Development page.

If you know of a program that is not on this list and share it with us in the comments below we’ll be glad to add it.

Academic Programs

Austria

University of Art Linz – BaseHabitat Earthworks Summer Program on Sustainable Architecture

Canada

University of Toronto – Centre for Global Engineering

India

Allahbad Agricultural Institute – Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology & Sciences

IIT Bombay – Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA)

IIT-Guwahati – Center for Energy

IIT-Delhi – Center for Research and Development Technology

IIT-Kanpur-CESE – Environmental Science and Engineering

Jadavpur University – School of Energy Studies

Tamilnadu Agricultural University – Agricultuaral indigenous equipment and solutions

The Energy and Resource Institute – TERI

Mexico

International Center for Appropriate Technologies and Indigenous Sustainability (iCATIS) – Building System Workshops For The Developing World (also listed USA)

Netherlands

Wageningen University.Netherlands – MSc Development and Rural Innovation

UK

Cambridge: Centre for Sustainable Development

The Water Engineering and Development Centre of Loughborough University

USA

Arizona State University – Global Resolve

Colorado School of Mines – Humanitarian Engineering

Columbia University – MPA in Development Practice

Columbia: Earth Institute, including UN Millennium Villages

Duke University – Global Duke

George Fox University – Servant Engineering Program

International Center for Appropriate Technologies and Indigenous Sustainability (iCATIS) – Building System Workshops For The Developing World (also listed in Mexico)

Johns Hopkins University – Minor in Engineering for Sustainable Development

Michigan Technological University’s Peace Corps Masters’ International (PCMI) program (10 programs)

MIT – D-Lab

Penn State University: – Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE)

Portland State – Institute for Sustainable Solutions (ISS)

Princeton – Sustainability and Engineering Development Scholars (SEADS) Program

Purdue University – EPICS: Engineering Projects In Community Service

Santa Clara University – Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship

SMU Lyle School of Engineering – Hunter and Stephanie Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity

Stanford Institute of Design – d.school

UC Berkley – Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS)

UC Davis – Certificate in Development Practice from the International Agricultural Development Graduate Group

UC San Diego – Teams in Engineering Service

University of Colorado at Boulder – Mortenson Center in Engineering for Developing Communities (MC-EDC)

University of Minnesota – Master’s International Program in Environmental Engineering or Water Resources Engineering in conjunction with Acara and the US Peace Corps

University of Oklahoma – Water Technologies for Emerging Regions

Villanova University – Service Learning Program

Online Training and Resources

Autodesk – Sustainability Workshop

Careers in Engineering

Careers to Help the Poor

The College Gap Year: Resources for Travel, Volunteering, and Learning

IEEE Real World Engineering Projects – Free Lesson Plans For Engineering Educators

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s OPENCOURSEWARE (OCW) – Global Health

MIT Open Courseware – Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT.

Practical Action Schools in STEM, Design and Engineering and other fields

Student Activism Guide for Making a Difference

UN Millenium Development Goals – Materials and Informatino on the MDGs

University of Wisconsin, Madison – Master of Engineering in Sustainable Systems

Ultimate MOOC Handbook

Village Earth – Training Programs in Community-Based Development

Volunteer and Nonprofit Career Guide

Publications

Appropriate Technology Journal – Appropriate Technology Journal

Appropriate Technology Sourcebook – Ken Darrow and Mike Saxenian Published by Village Earth

Appropriate Technology: Tools, Choices and Implications – Barrett Hazeltine, Christopher Bull

BRA=C: Research and Evaluation Division (RED) – Formal publications of RED’s research work published as books, book chapters, and journal articles.

Convergence: Philosophies and Pedagogies for Developing the Next Generation of Humanitarian Engineers and Social Entrepreneurs – Thomas H. Colledge, PhD, PE.

Design for the Other 90% – Cynthia E. Smith

Design for the Real World: Human Ecology And Social Change – Victor Papanek

Design Revolution – Emily Pilloton

Engineering and Sustainable Community Development – Juan Lucena, Jen Schneider, Jon A. Leydens

Engineering in Emergencies: A Practical Guide for Relief Workers – Jan Davis

Field Guide to Appropriate Technology – Barrett Hazeltine, Christopher Bull

Field Guide to Environmental Engineering for Development Workers: Water, Sanitation, and Indoor Air – James Mihelcic et al.

Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development

International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering

Making Do: Innovation in Kenya’s informal economy. – Steve Daniels

Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail (BK Currents (Paperback)) – Paul Polak

Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered – Ernst FriedrichSchumacher

The Big Beacon Manifesto

The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World – Jacqueline Novogratz
Special thanks to Alex Moseson at Drexel University for contributing to this list.

Comments from the Community

2 Comments

  1. Kendra Sharp says:

    We have a Program at Oregon State University — including opportunities for both undergraduates and graduates.

  2. sarahasteve says:

    THERE IS also AN UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO IN LONDON, ONTARIO.

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