World Bank Development Data Partnership and MITx MicroMasters

World Bank Development Data Partnership

Opportunity for GW Applied Economics students to work with the World Bank's Development Data Partnership through the University Data Fellows Program

Through our connection with the World Bank’s Development Data Partnership, GW’s applied economics students have a unique opportunity to hone their research and analytical skills on a real-world project working with World Bank economists.

The World Bank’s University Data Fellows program creates opportunities for the next generation of applied economists to work on international development challenges. Projects cover a wide range of public service and infrastructure challenges, among others, in emerging economies. Through these projects, student teams earn academic credit by helping Bank teams solve their data challenges in developing economies. World Bank staff supply data and meet regularly with the students to guide and advise on the projects.

STUDENT BENEFITS

In addition to the opportunity to work on a real international development challenge, students are invited to World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. to present their projects and connect with World Bank teams. Applied economics and data science graduate students from GW and their World Bank colleagues collaborate on projects prioritizing climate governance reforms with predictive modeling, analyzing electricity tariff reforms using econometric models and machine learning, identifying illicit financial flows and cross-border remittances, analyzing the impact of power outages on firm productivity, and building a database to link infrastructure and agriculture output.

Students may work independently or as a team. They may also collaborate with data science students who are participating in the Development Data
Partnership as part of their capstone requirement.

GW’s applied economics students conduct their work as an Independent Study project under the supervision of the Director of the Applied Economics program. The Bank may hire students as Short-Term Consultants (“STCs”) (receiving academic credit). GW students earn from 1 to 3 credits for this course.

MITX MicroMasters Pathway to GW

As a pathway program, GW offers credential holders of MIT’s Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP) MicroMasters the ability to obtain credit for selected DEDP courses towards their MS in Applied Economics at GW. By obtaining credit, DEDP credential holders can save up to 20 percent of their total tuition cost and earn their MS degree at an accelerated timetable. Potential applicants to our applied economics program who are interested in reducing the cost of their GW degree are encouraged to consider earning the MITx credential before applying to GW. 

GW will offer elective credit in our MS program for up to two (a maximum of six credits) courses for the DEDP tracks below that a credential holder has earned toward the MicroMasters credential.

International Development Track Electives (choose two)

• The Challenges of Global Poverty (Intro)
• Foundations of Development Policy: Advanced Development Economics (Advanced)
• Political Economy and Economic Development (Advanced)

Public Policy Track Electives (apply two)

• Good Economics for Hard Times (Intro)
• Microeconomic Theory and Public Policy (Advanced)

To be eligible to receive GW credit for their MIT courses, DEDP credential holders must have passed MIT’s proctored exam with at least a B grade in each of the creditable courses and taken those courses no more than five years before applying to GW. Note that credential holders may credit only two courses toward the GW applied economics degree.

This list reflects the current MIT courses. The DEDP courses that are eligible for credit in GW’s applied economics program may change. Please contact GW at appliedecongwu [dot] edu (appliedecon[at]gwu[dot]edu) for additional information about the Applied Economics master’s degree and how to obtain transfer credit for your MITx MicroMasters DEDP credential. For information about the DEDP MicroMasters, contact the MIT program directly at this link.