We offer courses to give students foundational academic and professional skills and we encourage our graduate students to seek out courses and skills both within the program and across UVM to individualize their transdisciplinary experience. With 20 years of experience researching both within our communities and across the world, CDAE graduate students study current development issues facing local and international communities. The well-connected nature of both Burlington and Vermont provide opportunity unmatched anywhere else. The degree requires a total of 36 credit hours, of which 30 are from advanced courses in CDAE and other related fields and six hours are thesis research. A written comprehensive examination and an oral defense of the thesis are also required. A student's thesis research is often an integral part of the faculty-led, ongoing research projects in CDAE.

Master's degrees require a minimum of thirty credits; some programs require more. A minimum grade point average of 3.00 must be achieved. A minimum of fifteen graded credits used in compilation of the graduate GPA must be taken in residence at UVM following matriculation into the master's program. Completion of an acceptable Calculus course. Completion of an acceptable Intermediate Microeconomics course. Satisfactory scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE); official scores are required. Three letters of recommendation attesting to the candidate’s academic potential for graduate work and motivation for pursuing the M.S. in CDAE. For international students whose native language is not English or who have not completed undergraduate degrees in English, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores or IELTS scores must be submitted.