NYU School of Professional Studies

The NYU Clean Start Program, offered in collaboration between the Center for Global Affairs and the Urban Future Lab, is designed to help you develop the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in this growing field.

The program covers a wide range of topics, including the clean energy ecosystem, existing and emerging clean energy technologies, policy landscape, project finance and markets, and data analysis and modeling.

In addition to virtual classroom instruction, you will also have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through an applied project with a clean energy company. This project will give you the chance to apply the skills you have learned in the program and to network with professionals in the field.

Whether you seek to prepare for a career in the international arena or you desire more in-depth knowledge of the topics you care about, our comprehensive course offerings in the Certificate in Global Affairs cover a variety of critical sectors and provide you with an opportunity to explore topics most relevant to your goals and to become an informed professional in the global arena.

You’ll gain a historical context and analytical frameworks to better understand today's critical issues, an examination of how the world order that emerged following World War II continues to influence today's geopolitical and economic landscape, reflecting the shift into post-colonial and post-Cold War political alignments, and a better understanding of the state of the world economy and the opportunities and challenges posed by international economic interdependence.

This certificate will analyze the historical, political, economic, and social factors shaping international development and what is being done through the Sustainable Development Goals to improve the lives of people living in poverty around the world. The certificate will also examine the critical role of civil society and the public and private sectors in advancing the goals of international development.

You’ll gain an understanding of international development, including its key components and metrics, an understanding of what is currently being done to advance international development, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ability to analyze countries based on key international development metrics and theories, the ability to apply lessons learned from our global experience to current issues in international development and foreign aid, and an understanding of the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in international development.

This certificate will provide a strong foundation in program design and implementation. You will explore a variety of tools and techniques used to measure project progress and report outcomes to the appropriate internal and external stakeholders—including donors, funders, supervisors, or the population being served.

You’ll gain an understanding of the conceptual meanings of monitoring and evaluation, the ability to design relevant and effective frameworks for monitoring and evaluation, the skills to develop and select appropriate indicators for measuring program outputs, outcomes, and impact/effectiveness, knowledge of data collection methods, both qualitative and quantitative, an understanding of how to collect data in the field, the ability to utilize analytical techniques for monitoring and evaluation, and the skills to write relevant reports and recommendations.