During 2007 representatives of Cornell University and Bahir Dar University (BDU) in Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding to offer a Master’s of Professional Studies (MPS) degree in International Agriculture and Rural Development with a specialization in Integrated Watershed Management [see Sept. 12 chronicle article] at BDU.

The program, now in its second year, is offered entirely in Ethiopia at Bahir Dar University, but students will receive degrees from Cornell. Cornell faculty will travel to Ethiopia to offer courses in 3-week blocks with faculty from BDU. Cornell and BDU faculty will jointly supervise students’ research/development projects. The interdisciplinary program includes courses in engineering, agriculture, management and the social sciences to provide students with the skills needed to manage watersheds. Each student must complete 24 credits of course work and a research or development practicum (6 credits) to receive the MPS degree. Bahir Dar’s location on the shores of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile in a largely agricultural area make it an ideal site for research and development projects on watershed management.

Faculty and administrators from Cornell and BDU have worked for several years to develop this degree program that was approved by the General Committee of the Graduate College last spring.

For more information contact:
- Tammo Steenhuis, Professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University
- Alice Pell, Vice Provost for International Relations and Professor of Animal Science at Cornell Univerisity

First Cohort of MPS Students in Ethiopia Earn Degrees

The first class to enroll in Cornell’s Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree program in international agriculture and rural development offered at Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia recently received their degrees during a graduation ceremony attended by President David Skorton, Vice Provost for International Relations Alice Pell, and Tammo Steenhuis, a key professor involved in the program. The group of 10 students fulfilled all the requirements of the MPS program and join a small group of alumni who have earned Cornell degrees without having attended a Cornell campus.

The curriculum for the Bahir Dar Cornellians centered on watershed management, a particularly relevant topic because of the proximity of the town of Bahir Dar to Lake Tana, source of the Blue Nile River. With the education received from the Cornell faculty involved, the students will be better equipped to deal with the lake siltation, soil degradation, and erratic rainfall experienced in the area.

During the trip to Ethiopia, President Skorton and his party also met with agricultural researchers from several groups in Addis Ababa and with Bahir Dar University officials. After departing Ethiopia, President Skorton also visited Tanzania and Rwanda.