Cascade Center Courses for MPA Students

The Cascade Center's two-, three-, and five-day professional development courses help on-the-job managers and leaders in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors develop their leadership and management skills.

Up to 12 Evans School MPA elective credits can be taken from the Cascade Center. While this option is more expensive, it increases scheduling flexibility. Elective credits are received in the following manner:

• Five-day courses = three credit-hours
• Three-day courses = two credit-hours
• Two-day courses = one credit-hour

For more information about substituting elective credits, contact Evans School Student Services at evansdss@u.washington.edu or 206.543.4900.

For more information about the Cascade Center's course offerings, visit their website or contact the center at 206.685.0523 or cascade@u.washington.edu.

International Development Certificate

Our one-year International Development Policy and Management Certificate Program gives you the tools and frameworks needed for addressing pressing international issues in developing countries, including:

• War
• Poverty
• Hunger
• Disease
• Human rights abuses
• Economic inequality
• Corruption
• Environmental degradation

The program explores the root causes of these problems, and the social, economic, and political contexts in which they occur through a 18-credit curriculum that includes:

• Nine credits from three core courses that examine the theories and techniques of development management, and ways of applying them in a global context.
  • PBAF 532 – Managing Policy in a Global Context
  • PBAF 533 – Economics of International Development
  • PBAF 531 – Development Management in the 21st Century (capstone course)
• Nine credits from an approved list of electives that provide an interdisciplinary perspective on development and management issues.  Please email devcert@u.washington.edu to request a copy of the elective list.

Our program also offers the chance to develop networking relationships with guest speakers who are practitioners and professionals working in the area of international development programs.

Alumni of the program have found employment with:

• PATH
• USAID
• Health Alliance International
• Facing the Future
• World Vision
• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• and many other international development organizations

The program is open to all UW graduate students after their first year of study. We have a recommended sequence of how to progress through the program for an optimal learning experience with your cohort class, but you can also complete it out of sequence and double-count home department requirements for credit.  Applications are accepted once a year, the deadline is April 15.

For more information, read our certificate program application instructions or certificate program planning forms. You can also contact the Evans School Student Services office at devcert@u.washington.edu or 206.543.4900.