Development

Classes

DEV 501: Social Innovation and Global Development

Department
Credits 1.0
Social Innovation and Global Development provides a broad overview of the program. We will touch on many of the themes that will be explored in depth in the core courses. These themes include but are not limited to: design thinking, cross-cultural design, ethics in design, and visual expression. We will also employ team building exercises bring the cohort together as a cohesive group. The mornings will be spent in interactive classroom experiences where students will engage in seminar discussions, small group activities, and feedback sessions. This course will take place in the two weeks leading up to the students first semester in the program. The course will run two weeks, for approximately six hours per day, Monday through Friday.

DEV 502: Design for Social Change

Department
Credits 3.0
Everyone is entitled to good design, without distinction of any kind. Race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origins, property, birth or other status should have effective visual communication. Social Impact Design Course is a place where student designers learn to create “good design” for the “good of others.” Community engagement through community-based design projects is just one aspect of the course. Students will learn additional practice skills in design thinking and cause branding. This course explores various community and professional practices when designing for social change. Through community-based projects with non-profit organizations, students explore the many roles creative professionals can play when executing socially-minded work. Students will be challenged to expand their comprehension of design problem solving for new audiences. Design teams will develop skills in design methodology for visual communication: identifying problems, design research, ideation, and implementation.

DEV 510: Design Studio 1

Department
Credits 3.0
This studio course introduces students to a variety of design case studies from developing world infrastructure projects, to human computer interaction, autonomous vehicles, and others to give students an opportunity to explore and critique design processes and to develop a sense of their own approach with some depth.

DEV 520: Design Studio 2

Department
Credits 3.0
This studio course is taken in E(l) term. Here students will begin to develop their own GQP or thesis projects. They will share their work with their peers in weekly feedback sessions. Faculty will act as mentors who push the students toward project and process clarity. For students traveling abroad the studio will provide an opportunity to raise and explore important cultural considerations.

DEV 530: Ethics and Social Justice in Science, Engineering, and Development

Department
Credits 3.0

How do contemporary engineers, technologists and other design professionals think about the relationship between ethics and design? Design is not simply about making objects or improving the customer’s experience, but also about restructuring the conditions of human and nonhuman life. Seen from this broader perspective, design lies at the heart of most of our current debates on social equality, cultural diversity, and environmental justice. In this course, our goal is to move beyond a view of design ethics as a reflection of the individual designer's intentions and responsibility. We will thus consider the extent to which professional codes of ethics, while perhaps being indispensable to modern professional associations, are useful for understanding the complex issues emerging in design practices. Moving the focus from the individual designer to historical and social contexts, we will think about the kinds of politics and communities that design practices can make possible.  

DEV 540: Research Methods

Department
Credits 3.0

This course takes a critical approach towards evidence generation and use, data and knowledge production in the context of this program’s global aspirations. In particular, this course encourages students to grapple with complex issues surrounding different research practice models including evidence-based practice, research and data justice frameworks, and community-based participatory research. Students learn the research process from theoretical grounding and question formulation, searching for relevant and applicable literature, critically evaluating interventions, and translating research findings into implementation. To this end, students will consider the following questions: What counts as evidence? Who decides its relevance, and by what processes? How might researchers/implementers/partners embody principles of self-determination and other research justice principles such as equitable community involvement and accountability?

DEV 550: Policy Evaluation

Department
Credits 3.0

Policy evaluation involves the development of evaluation questions, the research designs, and the data analysis to answer the questions. Students will learn the assessment of the needs and concerns of stakeholders, the knowledge of analytical tools, including randomized-controlled trials (RCTs), and the ability to formulate evidence-based recommendations. We begin by examining the advantages and disadvantages of using observational studies to identify the determinants of outcomes in which policy makers are often interested. We then consider quasi-experiments and learn about their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, we focus on how to use RCTs in the field to obtain accurate measures of policy effectiveness. We will cover a significant amount of literature on education, health, agricultural, and finance-related interventions. You will also complete a research project that will give you the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to successfully design, conduct, and analyze the results of RCTs aimed at answering important policy questions.

DEV 596: Independent Study

Department
Credits 3.0
This course will allow a student(s) to study a certain topic under the guidance of an affiliated faculty member. The student must produce an appropriate paper (e.g., conceptual or empirical) from this experience.

DEV 597: Directed Research

Department
Credits 3.0
Directed research allows students the opportunity to engage in a research project that is related to a member of faculty’s portfolio. The student must produce an appropriate paper (e.g., conceptual or empirical) from this experience.

DEV 598: Graduate Qualifying Project

Department
Credits 3.0
This three-credit graduate qualifying project, typically done in teams, is to be carried out in cooperation with a sponsor or external partner. It must be overseen by a faculty member affiliated with the Science, Technology, Innovation, and Global Development. This offering integrates theory and practice of design for science, engineering, and innovation, and should include the utilization of tools and techniques acquired in the program. In addition to a written report, this project must be presented in a formal presentation to the WPI community. Professional development skills, such as communication, teamwork, leadership, and collaboration, along with storytelling, will be practiced.
Prerequisites

DEV 501, completion of at least 24 credits of the degree, or consent of the instructor

DEV 599: Masters Thesis

Department
Credits 3.0
A thesis consists of a research and development project worth (a minimum of) nine graduate credit hours advised by a faculty member affiliated with the Program. A thesis proposal must be approved by the Science, Technology, Innovation, and Global Development Review Board and the student’s advisors, before the student can register for more than three thesis credits. The student must satisfactorily complete a written thesis document, and present the results to the WPI community.