Master in International Development and Cooperation

Ajou University's International Development and Cooperation program is a two-year master's degree taught in English at its Yeongtong-gu campus in South Korea. The discipline focuses on the strategies governments, multilateral institutions, and civil society groups use to address poverty, inequality, and weak governance in developing countries. Students typically study development economics, international aid policy, project design and evaluation, public health and education planning, and the political dynamics between donor nations and recipient communities. The curriculum often introduces the work of organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank, along with the tools used to measure whether development interventions actually improve people's lives. This field prepares graduates for work in international organizations, government foreign ministries, bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, and non-governmental organizations addressing issues like food security, migration, and local economic growth. Some pursue careers as policy analysts or program officers, while others move into research roles at think tanks or consulting firms that support governments on development planning. The skills built in this program can also apply to corporate social responsibility roles at companies with international operations. Because the program is based in South Korea, students can examine development questions through the lens of the country's own postwar transformation from an aid recipient to a donor nation. New cohorts begin in March and September, and English-medium instruction allows the program to draw an international student body interested in comparative and cross-cultural approaches to global cooperation and development work.