Background

Around 400 students graduated from the program which ran for four batches from 2012 to 2018. Implementation was made possible by the Educational Consortium for Rural Development (ECRD) composed of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), Ateneo School of Government (ASoG), University of the Philippines-College of Social Work and Community Development (UP CSWCD), and Xavier University (XU).

Curriculum
The MPM-RD program is designed to be taken in a ‘ladderized mode’ in which the students earn credit units after the completion of a set of courses. They will receive the Certificate in Public Management after completing the Foundation and Core Courses, while the Master’s Degree is conferred after successful completion of the major courses and the APP.

Students of MPM-RD are required to take 42 academic units or 13 courses, as follows:

Foundational Course (3 Units)

MPM-131 Perspectives in Rural Development

Core Courses (18 Units)

MPM-202 Organizational Management / Management Analysis

MPM-203 Public Management and Governance

MPM-204 Dimensions in Sustainable Development

MPM-230 Ethics and Leadership in Public Service

MPM-231 Public Policy Development and Analysis

MPM-237 Applied Economics in Rural Development

Major Courses (15 Units)

MPM-330 Rural Development Models and Approaches

MPM-331 Climate Change/Agricultural Environment Integration , Adaptation and Mitigation

MPM-332 Asset Reform and Natural Resource Governance

MPM-333 Agricultural Resources and Productivity Tools

MPM-334 Enhancing Institutional Mechanisms

APP (Thesis Equivalent) (6 Units)

MPM-400 Action Plan and Project

Methodology

The mode of delivery of the MPM-RD program is blended learning which combines traditional face-to-face classroom with online learning. This approach gives the students the social benefits of face-to-face sessions with the flexibility of distance education, allowing them to engage in a “work-study scheme” wherever they are based