Microfinance has become the subject of many headlines since Mohammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank, which he founded, were awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. However, the practice of microfinance - giving small loans to the poor - has been aiding the poor out of the poverty for centuries. Jonathan Swift, the Irish author known for works such as Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Proposal, started the Irish Loan Fund in the 1700s. Today’s Microfinance Institutions provide services to almost 50 million people.

In line with Morningstar’s philosophy of training students academically, analytically and practically students will be given the opportunity to learn the inner workings of microfinance and other economic development practices in the class room through their research as well, as on the field during their international internships. Students gain knowledge of the historical, economic and political procedures of poverty alleviation. Through class work and research, students gain the knowledge of the various forms of microfinance, as well as other economic development practices. In the field, students have the ability to conceptualize the workings of economic development in the developing world.