Development Studies @ Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is a top technological research university with high-ranking engineering programs. Georgia Tech’s mission is to harness technological change to advance human conditions. The problems of social transformation are urgent, massive, complex, and often transcend the boundaries of conventional academic disciplines. An interdisciplinary development studies program is essential for Georgia Tech to succeed in its mission.

The development studies program will examine the problems, processes, and prospects for human development in a wide range; spanning from a micro, local, and community-based level to a macro, cross-country, global level. In order to study comparative development effectively, one must draw upon many disciplines and construct a balanced understanding of historical and contemporary processes. Thus, studying development as a social transformation requires a blending of knowledge and perspectives from literature, political science, economics, sociology, geography, history, and public policy.

Development research at Ivan Allen College is a unique blend of multidisciplinary research in various schools such as economics, sociology, international affairs, and public policy. A wide range of developmental topics are under research surveillance. These include (but are not limited to), conflict, democratization, education, globalization, food insecurity, health, inequality, immigration, poverty, and social justice. Developmental research at Ivan Allen College is unique for it encompasses studies conducted at all levels: global, national, state, city, and block level. Our faculty and students study various aspects of development using macro datasets from the World Bank and the Census Bureau, gather field data by countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and engage in multiple community development projects in Atlanta.