1065 Main St., Williamstown,
MA 01267, U.S.A.
Peter J.
Montiel
Chair of the Center
Thomas C. Pinckney
Dean of the Center
Pamela D. Turton
Assistant to the Chair
Sheridan W. Wobus
Program Assistant
The Center for Development Economics (CDE) at Williams College offers an intensive, one-year, master's degree program designed for economists from low and middle income countries. The aim of the program is to provide a thorough understanding of the development process, emphasizing analytical techniques helpful in policy analysis.
When established in 1960, the Center was among the first academic programs in development economics in the United States. Since then, more than 800 students from 60 countries have received degrees from the CDE. Many of the Center's alumni have had distinguished careers.
The Center's success is due in large part to an outstanding faculty. The international reputation of the Williams economics department is based on the faculty's active involvement in economic research, both in economic development and in other fields of analytical and applied economics. Members of the faculty also regularly serve as consultants to international organizations and developing countries. One of the leading undergraduate institutions in the U.S., Williams is known for its commitment to teaching. With approximately 25 Fellows, classes are small, allowing for close interaction with faculty.
Outside the classroom, the many opportunities for informal discussion with other Fellows, faculty, guest speakers, and visiting alumni complement and enrich the Center's formal program of study. As part of a community of exceptional students from 10-15 different countries, CDE Fellows benefit from exposure to a wide range of viewpoints and approaches to common concerns. The close friendships that result from these exchanges often continue long after graduation.
The Center helps maintain connections among alumni and between alumni and professors by holding alumni gatherings in countries where there are large numbers of graduates. Current plans call for providing alumni with the opportunity to return to the Center for refresher courses as well.
Alumni confirm that the CDE program has played a significant role in their careers. Ishrat Husain '72, a native of Pakistan and Chief Economist for the Africa Region of the World Bank, wrote: "Both in my home country as a government official and at the World Bank, the learning and exposure I obtained at Williams held me in very good stead. I subsequently did my Ph.D. in economics, but I found that the skills, techniques, and knowledge that I acquired at Williams were most pertinent for my work as a policy economist."
One of the reasons for the continued excellence of each succeeding class of CDE students is the enthusiasm of former Center Fellows, who single out the most promising candidates in their home governments or agencies to recommend as future Center Fellows.
Established in 1793, Williams College is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the United States. A national survey has consistently ranked Williams first or second among all liberal arts colleges in the country.
Williams has about 2,000 undergraduate students and a faculty of about 260. The CDE program is one of two master's degree programs Williams offers. Center Fellows have full use of all the College's superb facilities including a 800,000 volume library.
The Center for Development Economics occupies a large, architecturally distinguished building on the campus, convenient to all College facilities. The house provides single rooms for residents, classrooms, a library, study rooms, lounges, a dining room, game and TV rooms, and access to computers which are hardwired to the campus network and the Internet.
With the exception of those who are able to bring their families to Williamstown for the academic year, all Fellows live in the Center House. The interaction among Fellows made possible by this arrangement is an important component of the Center program. Area host families help Fellows adjust to life in Williamstown and provide a social link to the local community.
Williams College is located in Williamstown, a community of about 8,000 in the beautiful Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. The area surrounding the College offers many cultural and recreational attractions. The Albany, New York airport (one hour's drive) is the destination point for travel by air. Both Boston, MA and New York City can be reached in three to four hours.
The curriculum for the master's degree program at the Center for Development Economics is based on two assumptions. The first is that a thorough understanding of fundamental concepts and techniques of economic analysis is essential to the formulation of good economic policy. The second is that one gains a working knowledge of these concepts and techniques only by applying them to real-life situations. The curriculum, therefore, emphasizes the application of the analytical techniques of economics to concrete problems that frequently arise today in low and middle income countries.
The core curriculum consists of five one-semester courses that all Fellows take: Development Economics I, Development Economics II, International Trade and Development, Macroeconomics, and Statistics and Econometrics.
Between semesters, during the month of January, Fellows all take one course, the topic of which changes yearly. (Recent topics include Agricultural Development and Environmental Economics/Sustainable Development.) They also participate in a ten-day policymaking exercise that simulates both the economic and the political dimensions of developing effective adjustment policy.
In addition to these required courses, each Fellow selects two electives from several offered. Building on the knowledge gained in these courses, each Fellow then conducts a research study and writes a major paper (Economics 520). The electives and research paper, which together constitute three quarters of a Fellow's academic work during the second semester, enable each Fellow to specialize in a curricular area of particular interest.
Each Fellow selects two of several electives which are offered each year. The electives for 1997-98 are:
Several times during each semester, outstanding scholars and experts with experience in economic development are brought to Williamstown to give lectures and lead discussions with CDE Fellows.
In addition, as an integral part of the curriculum, Fellows take field trips to New York City and Washington, D.C. to visit financial institutions, research centers, and international agencies concerned with development.
After completing the M.A. program, Fellows either return directly to the positions from which they are on leave, or, if they qualify, elect to stay for another six months as interns in the Sanwa Bank Internship Program.
Japan's Sanwa Bank, on of the world's fifteen largest banks, offers six-month paid internships to six to nine selected graduates of the CDE program every year. The Sanwa Bank Internship Program, which is offered exclusively to graduates of the CDE, is an excellent complement to the Center's academic program, providing Center Fellows with the opportunity to gain practical experience in international finance.
Immediately after graduation from the CDE, those selected for the Sanwa internships begin a month-long training program in New York in which they learn the basic operations of the Bank and financial statement analysis. At the end of the training period, each participant is assigned on the basis of the intern's interest and field of specialization to a particular department within the Bank. For example, John Atenu '96, who is with the auditing department of the Central Bank of Uganda, was assigned to Project Finance and Evaluation. Those who have participated in the program recommend it enthusiastically.
Prior to coming to Williamstown in September, most students first attend the Economics Institute in Boulder, Colorado from June through August. Founded in 1958, the Economics Institute is an educational organization of the American Economics Association which prepares foreign students for economics graduate study in the United States.
The Institute's program includes instruction in macroeconomics, microeconomics, statistics, mathematics, economics, and spoken and written English.
Each faculty member has a homepage available through the Economics department detailing their interests, backgrounds and publications.
Members of the Williams Economics Department are actively involved in economic research and frequently provide advice to governments and international organizations. Department members present results of their ongoing research at weekly economics faculty seminars throughout the academic year. In addition, the department and CDE regularly bring in economists from other institutions to present work in progress. The department has three working paper series -- Research Memoranda on economic development topics, Discussion Papers from the Williams Project in Higher Education, and Research Papers on all other topics. These papers are distributed to a large number of individuals and institutions in the U.S. and other countries.
Many members of the department have spent time working in low and middle income countries under the auspices of the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Harvard Institute for International Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the United States Agency for International Development. Williams faculty members have served in an advisory capacity to academic programs and government ministries in many countries including: Pakistan, Korea, Malaysia, Egypt, Botswana, Colombia, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Nicaragua, and Bolivia.
Candidates for admission to the CDE should have the following qualifications:
Financing must be arranged individually by each Fellow. Costs for 1997/98 are listed here. Many governments have fellowship programs for graduate training for public officials. In other countries, candidates may be eligible for support from the Ford Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization of American States, the Fulbright Commission, or a number of other organizations. Sponsoring agencies or candidates themselves should investigate sources of financial support as early as possible.
The Center has an endowment fund. The income fromthat fund allows the Center to award a limited number of Bruton-Clark- Sheahan Scholarships each year to exceptional graduate students who would otherwise not have the financial means to study at Williams. These scholarships provide partial funding. Aside from these scholarships, the Center cannot provide financial assistance. However, the Center will actively support the applications of strong candidates to financing organizations.
Most fellowships do not provide funds for the support or transportation of dependents. Students must assure the Center that their financial resources are adequate before bringing any members of their family with them to the United States.
Candidates are normally nominated by the public agencies from which they will be on leave. The Center regularly sends application and recommendation forms to agencies in developing countries that may wish to nominate candidates. Printable application and recommendation forms are also available on-line
Candidates must be interviewed by a representative of the Center. Interviews (which are conducted in English) are scheduled each year in many developing countries; phone interview are arranged for candidates from other countries.
Interested candidates should complete the application form and mail it to the CDE, retaining a copy for the interview. Candidates should obtain a transcript of university subjects and grades to submit either with the application or at the interview. The candidate's supervisor must complete the confidential recommendation form and mail it directly to the CDE Admissions Officer.
Admission decisions are based on (a) the results of the interviews, (b) past academic performance, and (c) recommendations of supervisors and others familiar with the candidate's work. Acceptances are usually announced in February and March.
Applicants are encouraged to apeak with alumni of the Center, especially those from their own countries. An Alumni Directory can be provided on request; a list of recent alumni is available on-line.
Application forms and additional information may be obtained by writing to:
Pamela D. Turton, Assistant to the Chair
Center for Development Economics
Williams College
Williamstown, MA 01267
e-mail: cde@williams.edu
phone: 413-597-2148
FAX 413-597-4076
Economics