MA/MS in Administration of Rural Development

This programme prepares specialists in public administration to work specifically within regional and rural-development institutions, building the strategic and holistic thinking needed to manage the interconnected changes affecting rural areas, or to pursue doctoral research in the field. Students learn to interpret and critically evaluate agricultural, rural and regional development policy and its interaction with sustainable-development and crisis-management strategies, to assess the effectiveness of development programmes and projects, and to formulate rural-development strategies and priorities while mobilising resources together with citizens, communities and other stakeholders. The curriculum builds skills in identifying a practical or scientific problem in rural development, designing a research methodology and applying quantitative and qualitative methods from the social sciences to it, alongside leadership, ethical decision-making and the ability to work in multicultural, multi-generational teams. Teaching combines interactive lectures and seminars with independent study, using narrative, discussion, case studies and brainstorming among its active-learning methods, with a ten-point cumulative assessment culminating in a final thesis and its defence.