Blended Master's Program

About the Program

Today, the international fight against poverty is more data driven than ever before. Increasingly, understanding and producing rigorous evidence is critical for those seeking to affect change globally, but opportunities to acquire these skills remain limited. To meet this rising demand and equip development professionals worldwide with the necessary tools to make effective decisions on some of the world’s most difficult questions, MIT’s Department of Economics is now offering a Master’s program in Data, Economics, and Development Policy, which combines online coursework with a short residential campus stay.

The blended Master’s in Data, Economics, and Development Policy is the first Master’s program to be offered by MIT’s Department of Economics. It is also the first program at MIT to exist exclusively in a blended (online/residential) form. All students must first successfully complete the online MITx MicroMasters credential at their own pace before applying to MIT for the blended Master’s program. The MicroMasters credential requires learners to pass five rigorous online courses, along with accompanying in-person proctored exams for each course, offered at Pearson Vue testing centers around the world. The semester-long MicroMasters courses are open to learners around the world and offered three times per year.

Learners admitted to the blended Master’s program will be credited 48 academic units for the coursework they completed remotely as part of the MicroMasters credential (109 units are necessary for this degree program, with the remaining 61 units completed during the residential semester and an approved capstone project) and will be able to earn a Master of Applied Science in Data, Economics, and Development Policy degree within approximately half a year. The first cohort of 22 students will arrive on campus in spring 2020.

For questions on the program, please contact micromasters-support@mit.edu.