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M.A. in Sustainable International Development:
Second-Year Project
During your Year-in-Residence at SID, you will work under the guidance of the Internship Coordinator as well as faculty and researchers to develop your Second-Year Project. The aim of the Second-Year Project is to develop your professional skills, experience and contacts through practical training. Many students find this Second Year among the most meaningful and exciting of their lives. Early-career students are given entrée to the field of development while midcareer students are able to diversify and deepen their experience.
Your Second-Year Project will be either:
- A professional-level internship to give you an opportunity to work in leading development organizations throughout the world;
or
- Advanced study to give you the opportunity to enhance your research skills while working under the mentorship of a senior researcher at Brandeis.
Some students work together on a team project in their second year. Others do more than one project. Academic and professional supervision of your second year work is done by your Academic Advisor here at Brandeis and by your immediate supervisor at the site of your project.
The SID degree program is closely integrated with our Center for International Development (CID) that builds applied research and training partnerships. CID projects often engage M.A. students in their implementation.
At the end of your second year, in March or April, you will return to Brandeis with all other second-year students to finalize your Master's Paper and to participate in a week-long Capstone Seminar. The Capstone Seminar in early May integrates the learning of the 2nd year with the fundamentals of development. It is a wonderful learning experience for all and culminates in May with the University-wide Commencement. In recent years, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and His Holiness the Dalai Lama have participated in graduation or end of year seminars.
Below is a select list of second-year projects, demonstrating the wide scope and variety of field research and topics explored by our students during their studies in the Master of Arts in Sustainable International Development Program:
Selected Second-Year Projects 2005-2006
Heath Arensen was an intern with the Samaritan's Purse in the Sudan. His second-year paper, "Creating an Organizational Culture of Empowerment in Post-Conflict Sudan," focused on organizational structures designed to increase employee empowerment as an essential element for NGDOs who are committed to participatory development. When employees are empowered their commitment to the organization and performance increase and provide the necessary cornerstone for any attempt to empower communities to contribute towards their own development.
Namgyal Chonzom was an intern at the Planning Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration. Her second-year paper, "Chinese Government's Population Transfer Policy and its impact on the Tibetan Population," explored the sensitive issue of population transfer of Chinese settlers to Tibet and assessed the impact the transfer has on Tibetans in terms of employment opportunities, problems, and on the overall Tibetan view of how them see themselves in a rapidly changing world.
Chad Conlin was an intern with the NGO Forum on Cambodia. His paper, "The Impacts of a Market-Based Growth Paradigm on Development Outcomes: The Cambodian Example," explored Cambodia's National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) and how aligning programming agendas in support of the most progressive elements emerging from within orthodox policy circles may aid the country's efforts to reduce poverty, protect the environment and lay the groundwork for broad-based, equitable human development.
Madjiquene Diop was an intern with The World Health Organization in Geneve/Senegal. Her paper, "Progress Toward Achieving the Millennium Development Goal for Water and Sanitation: The Case of Senegal," is a situation analysis of Senegal's Water Supply and Sanitation sector with a focus on the country's sanitation conditions following a major reform of its urban water sector in 1995 and the creation of a Ministry of Prevention, Public Hygiene, and Sanitation in 2004.
Magano Anna Ickua was an intern with the United Nations Development Program in New York. Her paper, "Gender Equality and Sustainable Development: Findings from the Water and Sanitation Sector," explored gender inequality in project planning, design and implementation and how this inequality might be addressed in the context of the water and sanitation sector.
Surabhi Jain was an intern with the Women's Union in Boston, Massachusetts. Her paper, "High-Wage, High-Demand Occupations for Low-Income Women: Barrier and Strategies," outlined the barriers that low-income women face as they try to lead economically self-sufficient lives. Her research explored jobs in seven high-growth industries that are in high demand and pay wages that lead women to economic self-sufficiency.
Bella Kovner was an intern with World Education in Cambodia. Her paper, "Education and the Fight Against Child Trafficking and Exploitation in Cambodia," examined the current trafficking situation in Cambodia and the effectiveness of preventative strategies used by the OPTIONS partnership to combat it in the program's target provinces.
Jennifer Kovolski was an intern with the World Computer Exchange in Massachusetts. Her paper, "Can Computer Technology be an Effective Source of Empowerment in the Education of Girls in Sub-Sarahan Africa?," was a desk review examining whether computer technology can be an effective tool of empowerment in the education of girls in Sub-Saharan African. Sub-Sarahan Africa's technical capacity for a large scale adoption of ICT in schools was examined, as well as case studies, project plans and evaluations of organizations currently working to bring ICT to Africa schools.
Yungju Oh was an intern with the United Nations Development Program in Rwanda. Her paper, "Partnership Practices, Capacity Development, and Local Civil Society Organizations in Rwanda," addressed the general relationship between the Sustainable Livelihoods Unit of the United Nations Development Programme, Rwanda and national civil society organizations.
Vanessa Tan was an intern with the The Women's Union in Boston, Massachusetts. Her paper, "Building Assets of Low-Income Women Towards a Pathway to Self-Sufficiency and Economic Mobility," focused on the importance of asset development in the lives of low-income women and their families, particularly looking at the impact of increasing the human capital and work supports to one's lifetime earning and economic well-being.
David White was an intern with Sarvodaya. His paper, "Disaster Relief/Development Aid Coordination Issues in Post-Tsunami Sri Lanka," focused on the issues of coordination within the field of development and disaster relief post-Tsunami Sri Lanka, specifically addressing issues of hidden barriers and policy shortcomings to syngergistic coordination among development agents in the field.
Click here to see projects from 2004-2005
Click here to see projects from 2003-2004
Click here to see projects from 2002-2003
Click here to see projects from 2001-2002
Click here to see projects from 1999-2001
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