The Development Engineering programs at UC Berkeley are dedicated to addressing complex global challenges in low-resources settings through research and community-centered implementation across the corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors. After over a decade of successfully running the PhD minor (designated emphasis) in Development Engineering, and building on a strong foundation of interdisciplinary research and practice in impact-driven engineering led by active faculty from the Graduate Group in Development Engineering, the Blum Center for Developing Economies launched, in 2021, the Master of Development Engineering.

Both the Designated Emphasis and the Master of Development Engineering are offered by UC Berkeley’s Graduate Group in Development Engineering, a 43-member faculty coalition who hail from over a dozen schools and departments, including the College of Engineering (ranked third nationally and seventh globally), the Rausser College of Natural Resources (ranked first nationally for environment and ecology studies), the School of Information, the School of Public Health (ranked ninth nationally), the Haas School of Business, (ranked seventh nationally), and the College of Environmental Design, among others. UC Berkeley is ranked first globally among public universities and fourth-best overall among publics and privates.

The Development Engineering programs are headquartered at the Blum Center for Developing Economies, home also to the undergraduate Global Poverty & Practice program, and the Big Ideas Contest, the University of California’s social entrepreneurship catalyst. The Blum Center is directed by Professor Dan Fletcher, alongside Professors Kara Nelson, Amy Pickering and Matthew Potts. The Blum Center is both a hub and a home for students and faculty across campus who are committed to using technology to improve society and the environment.