Haramaya University has been providing skilled labor forces to the country for more than six decades. To this end Haramaya University deeply involved in the national development  in general and the rural development in particular, the University also committed to address the issue of national and international concern, gender equity and equality, and the role and contribution of women in the economic, social and political realms of the country.

Despite these efforts,  the University recognized and acknowledged the efforts made in the area of gender and development, be it in training, research, extension and outreach is scant in the country. To fill this gap the University opened an undergraduate training program in Gender and Development, the first of its kind in the country at Bachelors level, in the 2001 E.C. academic year with the aim to train students to become competent and qualified professionals in the area of gender and development. The graduates of the program are expected to be employed in governmental or nongovernmental organizations to work as development agents both in urban and rural contexts to address gender concerns including equity and equal opportunity, affirmative action for the historically disadvantaged, promote and uphold women’s and men’s contribution in the social and economic development of the country, and work towards reducing the gender disparity in the political, economic, and social affairs.

Department of Gender and Development studies also finished all the necessary procedures to start MA in Gender and Development Studies in 2016/17 second semester academic calendar. The graduates of this program are going to be employed in the government and non -government organization and address the gender issues of the society. According to the result of the need assessment there is high demand of labor forces graduated by MA in Gender and Development studies. Due to the absence of an expert that graduate in MA in Gender and Development studies different governmental and nongovernmental offices hired graduates of related fields.  This miss placement of the labor force result in less quality work accomplishment and wastage of resources. By putting the above mentioned gaps in to consideration the department of Gender and Development studies develop curriculum in consultation with different stakeholders.