The Master's in Development Practice (MDP) at UB is a rigorous cross-disciplinary program of 125 credits. It enables mid-career development professionals to earn a degree and supplement their training while continuing their work, equipping them with analytical tools, acquired in workshops and field training as well as in the classroom, for advancing Botswana's economic and social-development agenda. To international students and regional volunteers, it offers the opportunity to take back to their home institutions the insights gained from immersion in UB's MDP program. Those who are interested only in selected modules can apply to the program as diploma (48 credits) or certificate (24) students.
UB's MDP curriculum consists of four two-week training modules on campus in year 1, followed by four three-week residential training modules in year 2. For their field training, between May and July, students work on a development project within their employing organization, with another organization, or at a field-study program to be jointly developed by University of Florida and UB at the Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Centre (HOORC).
The University of Botswana, established in 1982, has an enrollment exceeding 15,000. Among the other programs housed at its School of Graduate Studies, and complementing the MPD program, is a master's program in science and research management. The Centre of Specialisation in Public Administration and Management, which trains approximately 60 government officials in the region annually, further enriches the academic environment enjoyed by students in UB's MDP program.
Under the aegis of Okavango Research Institute (ORI), the summer field-training program of six weeks is offered jointly by UB and the University of Florida. A typical field-training cohort is about 16 students, who are divided into two teams. Sites include two villages, one near Maun and one about 60 kilometers away. The two are visited for four full days to gather information. Back in Maun, at the field-training camp, data is captured digitally and analyzed to provide the grounding for feedback sessions with villagers and to enable students to lay the groundwork for further research later in the later weeks of their session. In the final week, students have opportunity to further analyze information, write reports and policy briefs and to participate in debriefings. After a presentation and feedback session with stakeholders, students effectively conclude the field training and together agree on the project's learning outcomes.
