ETH Zurich MAS Global Cooperation and Sustainable Development: Complete 2026 Guide

Programme Overview and NADEL’s Mission

The Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) ETH in Global Cooperation and Sustainable Development is a flagship continuing education programme offered by NADEL — the Center for Development and Cooperation at ETH Zurich. With a legacy spanning decades and more than 1,500 alumni placed across the world’s leading development organisations, NADEL has established itself as one of Europe’s premier training grounds for professionals in international cooperation.

At its core, the programme is built around a simple but powerful mission: understand global challenges, develop sustainable solutions, and seize local opportunities. This translates into a 70-ECTS credit curriculum that blends rigorous academic coursework with an immersive eight-month field placement, preparing graduates to tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time — poverty, inequality, climate change, and governance failures.

What makes this MAS truly distinctive is its structure. Unlike conventional master’s programmes that keep students in classrooms for one or two years, NADEL sends its students into the field as junior professional officers within internationally recognised organisations. This experiential learning component, fully financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), bridges the gap between theory and practice in a way few other programmes can match. If you’re exploring top-tier education options in Europe, you might also be interested in our curated guide to leading university programmes across the continent.

Curriculum and Core Courses

The academic backbone of the MAS is delivered during a six-month full-time study semester at ETH Zurich’s campus in Zurich. The curriculum is deliberately interdisciplinary, reflecting the complexity of global development challenges that cannot be solved through a single lens.

The programme features five compulsory core courses, each covering one of the essential dimensions of sustainable development:

• Cultural and Social Aspects of Development: Examines how social structures, cultural norms, and identity shape development processes and outcomes across different contexts.
• Development Economics: Provides the economic frameworks and empirical tools needed to analyse poverty, inequality, market failures, and policy interventions in developing countries.
• Politics and Governance: Explores how political institutions, governance structures, and power dynamics influence development trajectories and policy implementation.
• History and Forms of International Cooperation: Traces the evolution of international development cooperation from colonial-era aid to modern multilateral partnerships and South-South cooperation.
• Environment and Resources: Addresses the intersection of environmental sustainability and development, including natural resource management, climate adaptation, and ecological limits to growth.

Together, these five pillars ensure that every graduate — regardless of their prior academic background — acquires a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of global development. The teaching approach combines lectures with case studies, group discussions, and practical exercises, drawing on real-world examples from NADEL’s extensive network of partner organisations and field operations.

Elective Courses and Workshops

Beyond the core curriculum, students tailor their learning through a rich selection of elective courses that allow specialisation in areas aligned with their career interests. These electives are taught by leading researchers and practitioners, offering deep dives into specific sectors and methodologies:

• Food Security and Agriculture: Global food systems, smallholder farming, agricultural policy, and nutrition interventions.
• Water, Sanitation and Waste: WASH sector challenges, infrastructure planning, and sustainable waste management in developing countries.
• Health and Health Systems: Global health governance, health system strengthening, and the intersection of health with poverty and development.
• Justice and Normative Aspects: Ethical frameworks for development, human rights approaches, and the normative foundations of international cooperation.
• Applied Statistics and Policy Evaluation: Quantitative methods for impact evaluation, randomised controlled trials, and evidence-based policy design.
• Sustainable Development — Bridging Art and Science: Innovative approaches that use creative methodologies to communicate and address sustainability challenges.

In addition to electives, NADEL organises a comprehensive series of practical workshops that prepare students for their upcoming field placements. These workshops cover project cycle management, working in intercultural teams, personal resilience, safety and security protocols, and negotiation and moderation skills. The semester begins with a three-day retreat in a small mountain village where students and faculty establish the collaborative learning environment that characterises the NADEL experience.

The final semester — completed part-time after the field placement — features block courses taken alongside experienced development professionals enrolled in the CAS ETH in Global Cooperation and Sustainable Development, providing invaluable professional networking opportunities with mid-career practitioners.

The Eight-Month On-the-Job Training Abroad

The crown jewel of the MAS programme is its eight-month on-the-job training abroad — an extended field placement that sets NADEL apart from virtually every other development studies programme in the world. While many master’s programmes include short internships, NADEL offers a fully integrated, funded professional experience that is more than twice the length of typical internship programmes.

During this placement, students work as junior professional officers (JPOs) within one of NADEL’s 30+ partner organisations, gaining first-hand exposure to the complex realities of international cooperation. The roster of partner organisations reads like a who’s who of global development:

• Bilateral agencies: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
• NGOs: HELVETAS, Caritas, Swiss Red Cross, Swisscontact, SolidarMed, Biovision, Terre des Hommes
• Research institutions: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)
• Multilateral organisations: World Bank, UN agencies
• Foundations: Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Jacobs Foundation

The placement geography is truly global. Previous cohorts have been deployed to countries across Latin America (Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil), Sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Malawi, Namibia), South Asia (India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan), Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan), the Middle East (Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt), and South-Eastern Europe (Kosovo, Albania). Students from high-income countries are placed in low- or middle-income countries, while students from developing nations complete their training in Switzerland — ensuring cross-cultural learning in every direction.

Crucially, the entire on-the-job training — including travel, living expenses, and additional insurance — is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). This removes one of the biggest barriers to quality field experience that students in other programmes face. As NADEL alumnus Nils Krauer, now Deputy Head of Cooperation at SDC Burundi, notes: “The MAS at NADEL offers a great mix of theory and practice… Thanks to my on-the-job assignment, I had a great insight into project implementation, which shaped my further professional career.”

Admission Requirements and Application Process

The MAS programme at NADEL is designed for graduates from all disciplines. Whether your background is in natural sciences, engineering, humanities, social sciences, or any other field, you are eligible to apply. This deliberate openness creates remarkably diverse cohorts where an environmental engineer might collaborate with a political scientist and an anthropologist — mirroring the interdisciplinary teamwork that characterises effective development practice.

The formal admission requirements include:

• A Master’s-level degree recognised by ETH Zurich (or equivalent). This can be from any discipline.
• English language proficiency: The programme is taught entirely in English.
• Motivation and commitment to a career in global sustainable development.

The application period typically runs from January to the end of February for a September start date. The selection process is rigorous and involves a two-stage procedure with interviews, usually held in May. Final decisions are communicated before the end of May. Applications are submitted through the School for Continuing Education at ETH Zurich.

Given the programme’s reputation and limited cohort size, competition for places is significant. Successful applicants typically demonstrate a genuine passion for global equity, relevant extracurricular or volunteer experience, and the intellectual curiosity to engage with complex, interdisciplinary challenges.

Tuition Fees, Scholarships, and Funding

One of the most attractive features of the NADEL MAS is its exceptional value proposition. The total programme fees are CHF 6,260 — remarkably affordable for an ETH Zurich credential, especially when compared to similarly positioned executive programmes at other world-class institutions that can cost tens of thousands of euros.

Here’s a breakdown of the financial picture:

For students from low- and middle-income countries, NADEL offers a limited number of scholarships that can cover part or all of the programme fees and living costs. Details and applications for scholarships are available on the NADEL scholarships page. The fact that the eight-month field placement is entirely funded by SDC means that even self-funded students benefit from significant financial support during the longest component of the programme.

Career Outcomes and Alumni Network

The career statistics for NADEL graduates tell a compelling story. More than 80 per cent of graduates go on to work in organisations that promote global sustainable development. This is not a vague aspiration but a measurable outcome that NADEL consistently delivers, cohort after cohort.

Alumni occupy roles across the full spectrum of international cooperation:

• Bilateral development agencies: Programme officers, policy analysts, and cooperation heads at SDC, SECO, GIZ, and other national development agencies.
• Multilateral organisations: Positions at the World Bank, UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, FAO, OECD, and other UN and international bodies.
• Civil society: Project managers, country directors, and specialists at HELVETAS, the Swiss Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam, and other leading NGOs.
• Private sector: Sustainability consultants, impact investors, and corporate social responsibility managers at firms integrating development objectives into business operations.
• Academia and research: Researchers and lecturers at universities and think tanks focused on development studies, global health, environmental policy, and related fields.

The NADEL alumni network is a powerful professional resource. With more than 1,500 graduates worldwide, the network spans continents and sectors, providing mentorship, job referrals, and collaborative opportunities. NADEL actively facilitates these connections through alumni events, a podcast series, and a mentorship programme where former MAS students support incoming cohorts. As Melchior Lengsfeld, Executive Director of HELVETAS and NADEL alumnus, states: “NADEL graduates excel at many qualities sought after in international cooperation, including solid methodological skills, a strong sense of personal responsibility and dedication, and a deep understanding of local and global realities.”

If you’re comparing career outcomes across top development programmes, explore our comprehensive university programme reviews for additional data points.

Faculty and Guest Lecturers

The MAS programme is led by Executive Director Dr Fritz Brugger and Academic Director Professor Isabel Günther, both of whom bring deep expertise in development research and practice. Professor Günther, who also leads NADEL’s research agenda, emphasises that the programme is “constantly adapting to do justice to a rapidly changing world and to inspire innovative solutions for a more equitable and sustainable future.”

The teaching team extends far beyond the core NADEL faculty. Over 50 leading experts from various international organisations and research institutions contribute to the programme as guest lecturers. This roster includes:

• ETH professors: Harald Fischer-Tiné (History of the Modern World), Eva-Marie Meemken (Food Systems Economics), Elizabeth Tilley (Global Health Engineering), Johan Six (Sustainable Agroecosystems), Anthony Pratt (Climate Policy), and Simon Mason (Mediation and Security Studies).
• Research institutions: Jürg Utzinger, Director of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute; Chris Zurbrügg from EAWAG (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science).
• Practitioners: Manuel Bessler (Deputy Director, SDC), Philippe Schneuwly (CEO, Swisscontact), Patrick Elmer (CEO, iGravity), Donika Dimovska (Chief Knowledge Officer, Jacobs Foundation), and Juan Pedro Schmid (Programme Manager, SECO).

With a supervision ratio of four students per lecturer, NADEL provides an extraordinarily personalised learning experience. Students receive individual support and thorough preparation for their field placements, ensuring they are well-equipped to navigate the challenges of working in complex, cross-cultural environments.

Student Life in Zurich and Programme Experience

Studying at NADEL means living in Zurich, Switzerland — consistently ranked among the world’s most liveable cities. The ETH Zurich campus is centrally located, offering easy access to Zurich’s cultural institutions, international organisations, and the stunning natural landscapes of the Swiss Alps.

The NADEL learning environment is described by alumni as “family-like,” with easy access to staff, guest lecturers, and fellow students. The programme’s structure — a relatively small cohort moving through an intensive shared experience — fosters deep professional relationships and lasting friendships. As Esther Waldmeier, now a Junior Policy Analyst at the OECD, reflects: “I have greatly benefited from the network I have built at NADEL as it has helped me gain invaluable work experience that has helped further my career.”

The programme begins with a three-day retreat in a mountain village, where students and teachers get acquainted in an informal setting, discuss their interests, and establish the collaborative spirit that carries through the entire programme. This intentional community-building sets the tone for a learning experience that is as personally transformative as it is professionally rigorous.

Beyond the formal curriculum, students participate in interdisciplinary group projects, seminars with visiting practitioners, and informal networking events that connect them with Zurich’s vibrant international development community. For prospective students looking to compare the living experience with other European university cities, our university programme directory provides city-by-city insights.

How to Prepare a Winning Application

Competition for places in the NADEL MAS is strong, and a well-prepared application can make all the difference. Based on the programme’s values and selection criteria, here are key strategies for prospective applicants:

Demonstrate Genuine Commitment

NADEL seeks candidates who are truly passionate about global sustainable development — not those looking for a career credential alone. Your application should articulate a clear vision of how you intend to contribute to development outcomes, drawing on specific experiences and motivations. Volunteer work, internships in development organisations, or community-level projects all strengthen your profile.

Leverage Your Disciplinary Background

Because the programme welcomes graduates from all disciplines, your unique academic perspective is an asset. If you’re an engineer, explain how technical solutions intersect with development challenges. If you’re a social scientist, show how your analytical frameworks apply to real-world policy problems. NADEL values the intellectual diversity that comes from bringing different disciplinary lenses to shared challenges.

Prepare for the Interview

The two-stage selection process includes an interview component. Be prepared to discuss current global development issues, your understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and specific regions or sectors that interest you. Demonstrate that you’ve researched the programme thoroughly, including the on-the-job training component and NADEL’s partner organisations.

Address Language and International Experience

While the programme is taught in English, experience working or studying in cross-cultural environments is a strong asset. If you’ve lived or worked abroad, highlight what you learned about intercultural collaboration, adaptability, and working under uncertainty — all skills that are essential for the field placement.

Plan Your Finances Early

While the programme is very affordable by international standards, securing funding takes time. Explore NADEL’s scholarship options early, and also investigate external funding sources such as government scholarships, employer sponsorship, or development-focused foundations. Remember that the field placement is fully funded by SDC, which significantly reduces the overall financial burden.