International Development - Doctorate

About Us The Payson Center for International Development of Tulane University's Law School combines academic degree programs with internships and project-related employment in Africa, Asia and Latin America. International Development Degrees The Payson Center offers several International Development degrees including an M.S., Ph.D., Joint J.D./M.S., LLM in Development, as well as a coordinate undergraduate major. Recently, an innovative Panama Field Work Experience alternative for our M.S. degree has been added which divides the two-year course work into one year of study in New Orleans and one year of study in Panama City, Panama where an internship with a United Nations’ agency is included as elective credit. Interdisciplinary curriculum with a focus on sustainable human development Since its inception in 1997, the Payson Center delivers to students a solid foundation of interdisciplinary theories and practices to improve the quality of life for populations in the developing world. The program’s focus is deeply rooted in sustainable human development, which leads to societies that are environmentally sustainable, economically viable, and socially just. Understanding and ensuring sustainable human development requires that Payson Center faculty come from a variety of disciplines. The current faculty comes from disciplines such as: international development, law, business, economics, public health, anthropology, geography, linguistics, sociology, engineering, computer science, political science; and psychology. Project and research based learning Furthermore, the Payson Center offers an applied program where students and faculty alike learn not only in the classroom but also in the world. Many students gain additional international development experience by working closely with faculty on a variety of development projects. Since its inception, the Center has administered 59 projects in 25 countries, with a combined budget of over $83 million. The Payson Center has been engaging in a wide-range of empirical research in areas such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, ethnic conflicts, transitional justice, child labor, and human rights. Student body, distance learning and tuition Our student body is as diverse (if not more so) as our interdisciplinary approach to development and students hail from all parts of the world. In order to meet their needs, several of our classes are offered online. It is not uncommon for our students to be distance-based during a portion of their coursework engaged in the practice of sustainable development while simultaneously working toward their degree. The Payson Center provides a substantial tuition reduction (less than 50% of the Tulane’s School of Liberal Art's tuition) to all students. The current tuition for M.S. and Ph.D. in International Development programs is $750 per credit hour. Global Development Summer Institute Every Summer, the Payson Center for International Development offers intensive, two (2) to three (3) week-long, study-abroad programs with one (1) to two (2) courses per location. Courses are open to graduate students and non-Tulane graduate level-students. All courses earn three (3) credits. Past institutes were held in Brazil, China, Italy, Kenya, Nepal, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda and Viet Nam. Alumni Our graduates are working for international organizations, managing non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and are professors and practitioners around the world.