International Development Group (IDG)

The International Development Group (IDG) is the longest standing and largest program within a U.S. planning school devoted to graduate study and research in subjects specific to the developing world. Approximately one-quarter of the Master's students entering DUSP each year choose the IDG specialization, as do approximately one-third of the entering PhD students. This program area attracts internationally focused students with a wide range of backgrounds, work experiences, and interests. With six sub-specializations, it provides students with an integrated view of the institutional, economic,physical and socio-political factors necessary for effective planning in today's world.

Students are seriously committed to change and the belief that change is attainable. They aim to be facilitators of such change, if only by way of such commitment, previous experiences promoting change and the training they receive in DUSP. Through courses, internships, group projects, and sponsored workshops, our students show themselves to be hard working, goal-oriented, and full of initiative.

One especially unique value of our student body is its diversity. We attract students from a wide range of national, international, and ethnic/cultural origins and a variety of professional backgrounds in all our programs. The diversity within our student body is expressed in the breadth of interest and research areas of our students. The range of their Masters’ thesis subjects is just one illustration of such diversity.

The IDG program at MIT is ranked #1 in the country amongst planning programs that focus on International Development. Additionally, IDG is housed within MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP), which as a whole is ranked as the top graduate program in Urban Planning nationwide (Planetizen, 2007).

IDG students examine the roles planners and researchers play at various levels, ranging from working in international institutions to the national, regional, city or local levels. The faculty cover issues that range from allocating resources regionally and sectorally to examining urban, regional, and national socioeconomic impacts of major public and/or private investments; from solving the problems of squatter housing to analyzing issues of un- and under-employment, and municipal finance, metropolitan sprawl, and social disparities at a variety of scales.

With the largest Planning faculty in the United States, MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning has unparalled breadth and depth of expertise. In particular, IDG faculty conduct research or work on projects in virtually every area of the world, including Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, Oceania, and Central and South America. They explore issues as diverse as our geographic scope: Development, Globalization, Governance, Health and the Environment, Human Rights, Industrialization, Policy and Law, Regional Economies, Technology, Transportation, Urban Issues, and Water and Sanitation.