The SDG Challenge Program: Sustainable Development Goals and Policy Intervention

Course Description

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 goals established by the United Nations in 2015, aiming to address the world's most urgent challenges—ranging from poverty and inequality to climate change and innovation. These goals represent a global call to action. But how can we turn this vision into reality? How can we leverage data and policy research to drive meaningful change?

The SDG Challenge Program is a three-week, non-credit, immersive research experience designed to equip students with the tools to analyze and address real-world policy challenges through the lens of the SDGs. Through hands-on research and data analysis, students will examine how public policy is designed and evaluated, using sustainable development as a motivating context, and will gain the analytical skills needed to assess complex issues and craft evidence-based solutions.

Participants will gain foundational experience in R, a powerful open-source programming tool, to clean and analyze data. The program's lecture series introduces foundational concepts in public policy, normative frameworks, and experiments and development. These sessions provide the conceptual grounding for students' applied work with data and policy evaluation.

Through a combination of theoretical learning and case studies, students will develop key research skills, including formulating research questions, evaluating data sources, applying data forensics techniques, and designing policy interventions. The program will culminate in an SDG-themed Policy Capstone Challenge, where students apply their skills to propose evidence-based solutions to global issues. By the end of the program, students will have built a strong foundation in quantitative research methods, gained a deeper understanding of policy analysis, and enhanced their ability to think critically about sustainable development challenges.

Program Contact: All questions should be directed to Zoe Wu at zhongyu6@uchicago.edu.

For SSEN questions, please refer to our FAQ.

Academic Interest

Examining Culture and Society, Social Sciences (e.g., history, psychology, sociology)

Application Materials

A complete application includes a transcript, two short essays, a letter of recommendation, writing sample, application fee, and a submitted parent confirmation. If you are seeking need-based financial aid, you must indicate that in your application before it is submitted. Please refer to the Application Instructions for complete details.

This program is hosted by the Harris School of Public Policy in partnership with Summer Session. This is a three-week, online course, offered on a non-credit basis. Students registered for this program will be eligible for the SSEN benefit. On the application, students will select Online Partner Programs as their Course Category, followed by SDG Challenge as their course selection.

Instructor(s)

Adam Zelizer

Cost

$4980.00