International Development and Urban Studies

 

The Global South is the home of the world's poor. Poverty and oppression are facts of life. Many in rural areas face daily
struggles–diminishing water for farming, children orphaned to HIV/AIDS, war uprooting people from their homelands.

The Global South is also rapidly urbanizing as many search for a better life in teeming cities. In the United States, inner city areas are often characterized by crime, poverty, and broken families. Children are drawn into gangs, and teenagers become drug dealers as a means to put food on the table and shoes on their feet.

At Fuller we firmly believe that it is our calling to bring the whole gospel of development, justice and the good news of Jesus Christ to the the poor in God's broken world. The poor and the lost deserve the best biblical and professional ministry and this requires professional equipping. Fuller's School of Intercultural Studies offers this type of program in a seminary setting. The International Development and Urban Studies emphasis equips students to carry out holistic Christian mission anywhere in the world.

Our faculty–many having spent years in relief, development, and inner city work–will prepare you to bring the love of Christ to the least of these in tangible ways. You will gain an understanding of the issues, learn what is needed to bring about holistic change, and see how God is calling you to work in these problem-laden areas.

How will you help bring transformative hope to the poor and marginalized of our world?

Featured Faculty 
FacultyBryant Myers
Bryant Myers, professor of Transformational Development, is a lifelong activist dedicated to Christian relief and development around the world. Myers has over 30 years' experience with World Vision International and is a recognized scholar and author in the areas of poverty and transformational development, humanitarian aid, and world mission. profile  
FacultyJude Tiersma Watson
Associate Professor of Urban Mission Judith “Jude” Tiersma Watson wants her students to experience the joy, as well as the suffering, in the city—to “see the flowers in the sidewalk.” Born in the Netherlands, she has served in places ranging from Katmandu, Nepal to California’s San Joaquin Valley, where she taught the children of migrant farm workers. Today she lives among the marginalized in a disadvantaged L.A. neighborhood—and brings what she’s learning into the classroom. profile  
Alumni in Action 

Jean Gill (MAGL 2006)
When Jean Gill first came to Fuller in 1996 "for just a year" after her 17th year of ministry in Japan, she never dreamed that she would graduate from Fuller 10 years later with a degree that did not yet exist--nor could she have anticipated that her vision for equipping Christian leaders across the globe would ripen right in Pasadena. read more  

Joe Harbison (PhD 2000)
Joe Harbison, Asia area director for the Seattle-based relief and development organization World Concern, is in Sri Lanka assessing the humanitarian needs of the devastated region. He e-mailed this journal entry to his colleagues in Seattle, who passed it along to The Seattle Times. Harbison has lived in Thailand for 20 years, directing relief and development aid in Asia and Africa. read more  

Andy Matheson (MA Intercultural Studies 2001)
Andy Matheson works as international director of Oasis, a worldwide ministry to urban poor founded and based in London. He completed the majority of his master's degree at Fuller while on a one-year sabbatical. He recently shared about his ministry with E-News. read more  

Emphasis Requirements (20 Units)  
Take the following courses:
MD525 Poverty and Development

Choose One:
MN520 Encountering the City
MN534 Complex Urban Environments
GM518 Introduction to Urban Studies

Choose One:
MN533 Organizing Urban Communities
MD528 Development Tools and Practice

Choose two courses from any combination of the below categories (8 units):
International Development
MD500 Globalization, the Poor and Christian Mission
MD528 Development Tools and Practice
MD546 Relief, Refugees and Conflict
MD540 Theology of Poverty and Development
MD524 Advocacy and Social Justice
Other Children at Risk courses

Urban Studies
GM518 Introduction to Urban Studies
EV514 Urban Evangelism
TM520 Church-Based Urban Research
MN534 Complex Urban Environments
MN533 Organizing Urban Communities for Transformation
MN576 Incarnation and Mission among the World's Urban Poor
TM522 Homelessness, Congregations and Church Partnerships
TC511 Theology and Hip Hop Culture
SP504 Spirituality and Urban Mission

Other Courses
PG504 Community and Caring for Children at Risk
TM521 Congregations in the World

course schedule