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2025 Best Development Economics & International Development Schools

17 Colleges in the United States
535 Development Economics and International Development Degrees Awarded
If you plan on majoring in development economics & international development, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #536 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 17 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for development economics & international development students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 535 degrees in development economics & international development to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Development Economics & International Development School

Best Development Economics & International Development Schools The development economics and international development program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Development Economics & International Development rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for development economics & international development schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Development Economics & International Development Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Development Economics and International Development
Master's Degrees in Development Economics and International Development
Doctor's Degrees in Development Economics and International Development

The development economics and international development school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Development Economics & International Development Schools. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Development Economics & International Development in the United States

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the development economics and international development degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Schools in Development Economics and International Development

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NY
35 Development Economics and International Development Degrees Awarded

Cornell University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in development economics & international development. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.

There were about 35 development economics & international development students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in development economics & international development from Cornell University

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
115 Development Economics and International Development Degrees Awarded

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in development economics & international development. UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were about 115 development economics & international development students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in development economics & international development from University of California - Los Angeles

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Masters Degree Type
MBA in International Business Program Name

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More information about a degree in MBA in International Business from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

3
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In DC
33 Development Economics and International Development Degrees Awarded

Georgetown University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in development economics & international development. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.

There were about 33 development economics & international development students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in development economics & international development from Georgetown University

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MA

Northeastern University is a good choice for students interested in a degree in development economics & international development. Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #33 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northeastern is a great university overall.

There were approximately 13 development economics & international development students who graduated with this degree at Northeastern in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in development economics & international development from Northeastern University

5
Williams crest
Williams College
Williamstown, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MA

Williams is a small private not-for-profit college located in the fringe town of Williamstown. A Best Colleges rank of #90 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Williams is a great college overall.

There were roughly 27 development economics & international development students who graduated with this degree at Williams in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in development economics & international development from Williams College

6
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In DC
28.6% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means The American University is a great university overall.

There were about 7 development economics & international development students who graduated with this degree at The American University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in development economics & international development from American University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In LA

Located in the city of New Orleans, Tulane is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #95 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Tulane is a great university overall.

There were about 23 development economics & international development students who graduated with this degree at Tulane in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in development economics & international development from Tulane University of Louisiana

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Bachelors Degree Type
BS in Business Administration - International Business Program Name

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More information about a degree in BS in Business Administration - International Business from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

8
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In GA

Emory is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Atlanta. A Best Colleges rank of #31 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Emory is a great university overall.

There were roughly 12 development economics & international development students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in development economics & international development from Emory University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MA

Brandeis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Waltham. This university ranks 15th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were approximately 24 development economics & international development students who graduated with this degree at Brandeis in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in development economics & international development from Brandeis University

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MN

UST MN is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Saint Paul. This university ranks 2nd out of 52 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were roughly 5 development economics & international development students who graduated with this degree at UST MN in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in development economics & international development from University of St Thomas Minnesota

Development Economics & International Development by Region

View the Best Development Economics & International Development Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Development Economics & International Development is one of 5 different types of Economics programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Economics 25,066
Econometrics & Quantitative Economics 21,078
Applied Economics 550
International Economics 305
Other Economics 275

View All Development Economics and International Development Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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