Tsinghua University along with other nine universities from eight countries will receive $ 7.6 million USD from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to launch a new global masters program. The program, named Master's in Development Practice (MDP), is initiated by the MacArthur Foundation in response to the challenges of global sustainable development.

The MDP program is designed to provide graduate students with training beyond the typical focus on classroom study of economics and management. The program’s core curriculum bridges the natural sciences, health sciences, social sciences and management. It combines classroom study with field experiences in a range of disciplines, including agriculture, policy, health, engineering, management, environmental science, education, and nutrition.

Tsinghua’s School of Public Policy and Management (SPPM) is the only Chinese institute elected in the program. Dean of SPPM, Professor XUE Lan commented that, “the funding from the MacArthur Foundation will further strengthen the School of Public Policy and Management by increasing the school’s ability to provide more international-orientated master’s degree.” SPPM now runs two other English-taught international masters programs, Masters in International Development and International Master of Public Administration.

In all, 140 institutions from all over the world applied for the program. The MDP project secretariat conducted a comprehensive and extensive review of the strength of the applicants and announced their selection results on June 30th.