Careers in International Policy and Development
Graduates of our International Policy and Development (IPD) master’s degree program pursue rewarding careers researching, analyzing, and creating effective solutions to the world’s most pressing policy and development challenges.
Alumni Careers
Why the Institute: Make Your Career Count
I came all the way from Ghana in 1999 to the US. Landed in New York first, went to Florida, and then eventually to Minneapolis, and then to school in Iowa. And then four years after going through studies with languages I came to Monterey. At MIIS, I loved the opportunity to really apply what I was learning to real issues.
And I got an internship with UNICEF and I started working for the social protection for children and women. That was when I really dug deep. And since then I have been doing work with women and girls and children. Currently, I serve on the board of the African Women’s Development Fund USA.
Really raising visibility within the diaspora about the contributions of African women, about getting resources into their hands to do what they have to do. Looking at how do you build movements, vigorous, vibrant, women’s movements. And then looking at feminism in it’s own space and what does it mean to be an African feminist.
What does it mean to be a young woman leader? Women do hold the solutions in their hands. Seeing how resourceful women are, how resilient they are, how courageous they are, how bold they are. I learn so much even about myself as a woman. I started something called being a whole woman, which means I bring all of who I am to everything I do.
I bring my trials, my successes, my failures, my faith, my intellectual capacity, my passion, my talents, my gifts. I bring all of that, so when I show up I don’t show up in silos, but I show up in the fullness of who I’ve been created to be. For me feminism is not about a power struggle, it’s about recognizing the values and the assets and the contributions.
Women realizing that they can be carpenters, they can be engineers, they can be masons, they can be whatever they want to be. You give them the freedom and the permission to live boldly, to live powerfully, you allow them to also show up as that whole woman or as that whole leader.
Because I strongly believe that the power to lead comes from the commitment to serve.
Cassandra Otero
Current Employment: Mind Over Border Community Organizer, La Cocina (Fort Collins, Colorado)
Internship: Centro Legal de la Raza and the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (Oakland, California)
Institute Advantage: The career management course offered by the Center for Advising and Career Services as well as meetings with my advisor definitely helped a great deal.
Story: How I Got Hired
Onaba Payab
Current Employment: Community and Partnerships Manager, Here East (London, England)
First Job after Graduation: Director of Advancement, American University of Afghanistan (Kabul, Afghanistan)
Internship: Gender Fellow, the Asia Foundation (Washington, D.C.)
Institute Advantage: Career consultation with professors at the Institute helped me grow professionally.
Story: Leading from the Front
Claire Potdevin
Current Employment: Fiscal Policy Expert, United Nations Environment Programme (Malmo, Sweden)
Previous: Lead Consultant for Open Data Portal Development, United Nations Development Programme (Dili, Timor-Leste)
First Job after Graduation: Research Intern, United Nations Development Program-IICPSD (Istanbul, Turkey)
Institute Advantage: I took general courses, which gave me a broad view of theoretical and practical challenges in the world of development, and core courses on policy evaluation and assessment tools, which I still use today. I applied firsthand what I was learning in class to real-life issues, including a “water challenge” competition to solve the water shortage in Monterey.
Story: Dispatch from East Timor
Monique Rao
Current Employment: Grants Specialist, ClimateWorks Foundation (San Franciso, California)
First Job after Graduation: Program Associate, the Erik E. and Edith H. Bergstrom Foundation (Atherton, California)
Internship: Evaluation Intern, UNICEF (Phnom Penh, Cambodia)
Experiential Learning: January Term Practicum, Chile
Institute Advantage: There was definitely no way I could have gotten my position with UNICEF if I hadn’t earned my degree from the Institute. A professor suggested I apply for internships in Cambodia so that I’d be eligible for the Freeman Foundation Award, which I ended up getting.
Ariana Sawyer
Current Employment: U.S. Border Researcher, Human Rights Watch (Los Angeles, California)
Institute Advantage: I think that the aspects of my Middlebury Institute education that are critical to my work today are the language courses and immigration classes. I now regularly draft policy memos, and to do so I must frequently refer to and understand international human rights law and interview Spanish speakers.
Story: How I Got Hired
Jorge Silva
Current Employment: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Washington, D.C.)
First Job after Graduation: Hispanic Press Team Intern, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) (Washington, D.C.)
Internship: FIFA World Cup in South Africa
Institute Advantage: The range of people who choose the Institute—the tremendous diversity of backgrounds and experiences—is what made my time there meaningful. They helped me understand issues from different points of view. I gained valuable knowledge about how policies are developed and the consequences they carry. This wealth of insight combined with a knowledgeable faculty helped me process complex concepts and be able to communicate them simply to a diverse group of people.
Check out more profiles on our development, policy, and trade career insights blog.
One Year After Graduation
Many of our alumni are in rewarding careers around the world; scroll down to see where they are and what they are doing within one year of graduation.
Mouse over charts to see details.
Location (Employed or Continuing Education)
Afghanistan; Canada; Chad; Georgia; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Nepal; Sierra Leone; South Africa; Switzerland; Syria; Tunisia; United States
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Internships
Partnerships
The Middlebury Institute has partnerships with the following employers for unique internship opportunities—click on the link for more information:
Employer Testimonial
“[The student] consistently went above and beyond to complete her assignments … preparing a complete two-day training … to accompany a new advocacy guide we were developing. [She] worked efficiently and was always prepared with materials. She took ownership of the project, often exploring new ideas on her own time. On numerous occasions, [she] would share a new idea she’d found by talking with professors, colleagues, etc.”
—International Professional Service Semester Supervisor, Mercy Corps
Summer 2019–2021
Secured Opportunity: 88% (several opportunities canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
Locations: Armenia, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, Ghana, Jordan, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Rwanda, Senegal, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Ukraine, United States, Viet Nam
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There are 60+ employers of recent IPD interns, a few are highlighted below:
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