About the CDE

About the CDE

For Future Leaders

  • Plunge into a tailored program in Policy Economics with six decades of success. Fuse economic theory and policy practice in specialized courses for rising policy-makers.
  • Hone your skills among future leaders from twenty or more nations. Outstanding CDE Fellows are selected each year from hundreds of applicants. They enroll, face challenges, and graduate to forge their marks in the world.
  • Benefit from unparalleled access to professors, teaching assistants, and administrative staff. The result is timely graduation for over 98 percent of CDE Fellows.
  • Apply for your future. If you are a strong enough candidate to be admitted, there is substantial scholarship funding available. Every CDE fellow in the last five years has received full or partial scholarship support.
  • Connect with Williams CDE Alumni in more than 100 countries who are making valuable, sustained contributions to the well-being of their nations.
a map showing geographical spread of the CDE alumni

1,300 graduates from 110 nations around the world form a dense network of CDE alumni. The range of countries and the number of admitted fellows varies from year to year, but the mission of the CDE remains the same: to give our students the state-of-the-art analytical tools to improve policy making and analysis in developing countries.

About Williams College

  • Founded in 1793, Williams has been a leading U.S. college for over 200 years and is the second oldest college in Massachusetts after Harvard. Williams is called a “college” in the U.S. terminology because it has remained small and focused on the teaching interaction between professor and student.
  • Ranked #1 among more than 200 small colleges in the U.S. since 2004 by US News and World Report magazine.
  • Among the top 1% of all U.S. universities and colleges across parameters including undergraduate admissions selectivity, financial endowment per student, engagement of alumni, and more.
  • 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio—among the best in the U.S.
  • Small size and residential campus ensure your access to professors, classmates, and other resources.
  • Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education since 1929, the same year in which Harvard, Yale, and MIT all gained accreditation from the same entity.

Resources

a photo of basketball court

Athletic Facilities

The Athletics Department at Williams offers many opportunities for recreation and physical enrichment through classes, open gym hours, and individual instruction. With a dedicated faculty and world-class facilities, the department seeks to promote the highest standards in health and physical fitness.

Information about fitness center, gym, and the pool is available on the Athletics Department page.

the Health center building

Health Center

Williams College is committed to supporting students in mind, body, heart, and spirit. It offers all registered students access to a full range of medical and psychological care, as well as 24/7 emergency response. Students can call or stop by The Health Center or the center for Integrative Wellbeing Services in Pond House with any question or concern. Once they learn how easy and comfortable it is to access our services, students are empowered to take charge of their own health and wellbeing as young adults. For more details, visit the Health Services website.

a photo of students at OIT desk

Information Tech

The Williams College Office for Information Technology (OIT) supports the College’s mission of offering the best liberal arts education by helping faculty and students to develop effective uses for technology in teaching, learning, and research. The OIT provides computing services and spaces to faculty, staff, and students at Williams College. OIT staff are located in two buildings on campus: Jesup Hall and a designated space of Sawyer Library (2nd Floor). Visit the OIT Staff page to find out whose office is where.

a photo of  library main hall

Sawyer Library

The award-winning Sawyer Library building serves as a central hub on campus. It is home to an impressive collection of 400,000 books and over 70,000 journal and newspaper titles (in print and electronic formats). Innovative use of restored structures and new materials creates an inviting space for collaborative work. Explore its amazing resources by visiting the Williams Libraries website.

Writing Center

The Writing Center at Williams College offers individual peer tutoring through Writing Workshops and individual consultations. It works with faculty across the curriculum to support student writing. To book an appointment with a writing tutor and learn more about offerings, visit the Writing Center website.

land acknowledgement

We respectfully acknowledge that Williams College stands on the ancestral homelands of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans, who are the indigenous peoples of the region now called Williamstown. Following tremendous hardship after being forced from their valued homelands, they continued as a sovereign Tribal Nation in Wisconsin, which is where they reside today. We pay honor and respect to their ancestors past and present as we commit to building a more inclusive and equitable space for all.