MicroMasters

Tackle the most pressing problems facing the world’s poor from a rigorous, evidence-driven perspective with content and faculty from MIT’s Department of Economics and J-PAL.

Learn more and enroll in the MicroMasters >>

J-PAL and MIT’s Department of Economics designed the MicroMasters® program credential in Data, Economics, and Development Policy (DEDP) to equip learners with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing developing countries and the world’s poor. Through a series of five online courses and proctored exams, learners will gain a strong foundation in microeconomics, development economics, and probability and statistics, while engaging with cutting-edge research in the field. The program is unique in its focus on designing and running randomized evaluations to assess the effectiveness of social programs and its emphasis on hands-on skills in data analysis.

How the DEDP MicroMasters program works

To earn the DEDP MicroMasters program credential, learners complete three core courses (Microeconomics, Data Analysis for Social Scientists, and Designing and Running Randomized Evaluations) and two of the available electives (The Challenges of Global Poverty, Foundations of Development Policy, Political Economy and Economic Development, and Good Economics for Hard Times) online and pass their corresponding proctored exams. At least one elective must be an ADVANCED Elective course. The five courses can be taken in any sequence, and the curriculum gives learners the flexibility to choose which electives they take.

Learners who receive the MicroMasters program credential will then be eligible to apply to MIT’s new Master’s program in Data, Economics, and Development Policy. If accepted, students will earn credit for the MicroMasters program courses and will be able to pursue an accelerated on-campus Master’s degree at MIT.

Who should enroll?

Policymakers and practitioners from governments, NGOs, international aid agencies, foundations, and other entities in the development sector
Academics and evaluators looking to re-tool and apply data-driven perspectives to social and development programs
Students interested in pursuing admission to graduate programs in development economics, public policy, political science, or related fields
Social entrepreneurs, managers, and researchers in the development sector

"I’ve worked in government and international agencies, and know how important a thorough grounding in economics and data analysis is to good policymaking. Our aim with this MicroMasters is to give people—wherever they are in the world—the skills they need to bring the best analytical tools and empirical evidence to bear to help solve the world’s most pressing problems."

Rachel Glennerster, former J-PAL Executive Director

What you will learn

To identify and analyze the root causes of underdevelopment using principles of economics
To interpret the findings of empirical research that evaluates the effectiveness of anti-poverty strategies, policies, and interventions
Practical knowledge on how to design and implement rigorous randomized evaluations and other econometric methods for evaluating policies and programs
Tools of comparative cost-effectiveness analysis for informed policy-making
Fundamentals of microeconomics, development economics, probability, and statistics
Hands-on skills in data analysis using the R programming language

"The world of development policy has become increasingly evidence-based. Development practitioners need to understand not just development issues, but how to analyze them in rigorous ways using data."

Benjamin Olken, J-PAL Director

Hear from a MicroMasters learner

“Students who earn the MicroMasters credential and master’s degree in DEDP will come out ready to be leaders in their field and to change the world. They’ll acquire the tools to be creative, analytical thinkers who will reinvent antipoverty policy. And they’ll gain the courage and skills to put all their ideas to the test, and fail, and try again until they succeed.”

Esther Duflo, J-PAL Co-Founder and Director

MicroMasters courses

Courses learners need to pass to earn a MicroMasters Program Credential

Core Courses

MITx 14.100x: Principles of Microeconomics

Use economic models to learn how prices and markets benefit society in the face of scarcity, and then apply those models to analyze policy.
Instructor
Jonathan Gruber, Ford Professor of Economics, MIT

JPAL102x: Designing and Running Randomized Evaluations
Learn how to both design randomized evaluations and implement them in the field to measure the impact of social programs.
Instructors
Rachel Glennerster, former Executive Director, J-PAL; Chief Economist at the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (formerly DFID)
Esther Duflo, Director, J-PAL; Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, MIT

MITx 14.310x: Data Analysis for Social Scientists
Learn methods for harnessing and analyzing data to answer questions of cultural, social, economic, and policy interest.
Instructors
Esther Duflo, Director, J-PAL; Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, MIT
Sara Fisher Ellison, Senior Lecturer, Economics, MIT

Elective Courses (Choose Two. At least one must be an ADVANCED Elective course)

MITx 14.73x: The Challenges of Global Poverty
A course for those who are interested in the challenge posed by massive and persistent world poverty.
Instructors
Esther Duflo, Director, J-PAL; Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, MIT
Abhijit Banerjee, Director, J-PAL; Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics, MIT

MITx 14.740x: Foundations of Development Policy: Advanced Development Economics
Using economic theory and data analysis, explore the economic lives of the poor, and the ways to design and implement effective development policy.
Instructors
Esther Duflo, Director, J-PAL; Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, MIT
Abhijit Banerjee, Director, J-PAL; Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics, MIT
Benjamin Olken, Director, J-PAL; Professor of Economics, MIT

MITx 14.750x: Political Economy and Economic Development
Explore why and how political institutions affect economic development, and apply key theories and empirical techniques to real-world examples ranging from voting and corruption to the role of the media.
Instructors
Abhijit Banerjee, Director, J-PAL; Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics, MIT
Benjamin Olken, Director, J-PAL; Professor of Economics, MIT

MITx 14.009x: Good Economics for Hard Times (Intro)
Learn how current applied economics uses data to address today’s most pressing issues in the United States and other advanced economies.
Instructors
Esther Duflo, Director, J-PAL; Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, MIT
Abhijit Banerjee, Director, J-PAL; Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics, MIT

To learn more about the program and enroll, visit the MicroMasters portal.

Questions? Contact [email protected].