The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Department of Social Development Services is excited to announce that our Master in Social Development and Sustainability (MSDS) degree has been green-lit! This comes after the 1397th Board of Regents (BOR) meeting last 27 February 2025. The news of the decision was shared in a post by the UP Office of the Faculty Regent in the evening after.

For a brief background about the degree, read the below citation from the proposal. More information to be posted soon!

The proposed MSDS program offers a human ecological perspective to social development and sustainability that views human ecosystems as the basic unit of analysis. In doing so, the proposed program can both expand and deepen current understanding and framing of the role of human ecosystems and the value of human ecological security in the anthropocene.

The Program will be anchored on the principles of participatory and integrative approaches, inclusive social development, and sustainability. It will also draw on innovative and transdisciplinary approaches encompassing both the natural and social sciences. This integrative approach to sustainability is a growing area of specialization in both the scientific community and development practice. As the discipline continues to grow, it is imperative to equip professionals, specialists, and practitioners on how to contribute to the discipline, as well as apply current social development and sustainability approaches and frameworks in practice.

This Master’s program will specifically cater to social development professionals, specialists, and practitioners who seek to upskill and meaningfully contribute to the work of government, corporate or civil society sectors, and/or other international organizations in social development and sustainability. They will be provided with applied and innovative academic training focused on the intersectionality of social development and sustainability of HOSIs and social development interventions. This Program is most relevant to those working in the fields of social development, social protection and welfare, natural resource management and conservation, sustainable livelihoods and social enterprises, community-based disaster risk reduction and management, and sustainability reporting, planning, and implementation. Among these are corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability officers in private organizations, project/program officers in civil society organizations implementing social development initiatives, and personnel in local government units (LGU) and government implementing and regulatory agencies, whose tasks and assignments revolve around the design, implementation, and monitoring of social service delivery.

See the 1397th BOR Meeting highlights here:
Here are some of the highlights of the... - Opisina ng Faculty Regent | Facebook