Bachelor of Arts/Master of Arts in Community Development & Planning, BA/MA

Overview

The Community Development and Planning (CDP) program prepares current and future community development practitioners, activists, and scholars to take on the challenges and struggles facing urban areas in the United States. In the program, students learn alternative ways of thinking and transforming communities to achieve greater equity and social justice.

We believe that preparing graduate students to become effective community development practitioners requires three main forms of teaching, learning and training. First, students need to understand community development’s policy legacy and theoretical and conceptual debates in the field. Second, they need to acquire a diverse range of skills in areas such as theory application, community organizing, finance, geographic information systems, planning and zoning, and non-profit management. Finally, students must engage in critical thinking about power, racial, and economic privilege.

CDP students receive a strong foundation based on theory, skill development, and practice. Building on that foundation, students can either design their own area of specialization, or focus their studies on one of the following areas:

• Community Planning
• Enterprise Management and Economic Development
• Community-Based Development and Social Change

Through the CDP program, students will: understand social, economic, and political forces that shape places, view communities in a regional and international context, gain rigorous analytical training to explore and research complex social issues, gain strong writing and public communication skills, develop professional practices that trigger social change to improve quality of life, and be prepared to be leaders in a diverse range of community development and planning arenas.

Sample courses include:

Community Development Finance

Negotiations in Community Development

Grant Writing for Community Developers

Planning and Zoning for Community Developers

Nonprofit and NGO Management Issues

Departmental Eligibility Requirements

With careful planning, qualified Clark undergraduates may apply to the Accelerated Degree Program with the fifth year tuition free. To be considered for admission, students must first meet the University’s requirements (see guidelines from the Graduate School) and have demonstrated before senior year an interest in community development by taking four courses that are central to the CDP Program, such as Urban Development and Social Change courses: one at 100-level and three at 200-level.

Program of Study

The master’s degree in Community Development and Planning requires a minimum of 12 graduate course units. These include 4.5 core CDP unit courses in community development. CDP B.A./M.A. students are required to take two internship credits. The CDP program culminates in a final research paper or consultancy paper.

B.A./M.A. Timetable for Community Development & Planning

• In the senior year, students take two 300-level courses approved by the Community Development and Planning Coordinator. These courses must be eligible for CDP graduate credit and will be credited as two of the 12 courses required for an M.A. degree. We recommend taking IDCE 344 - Going Local and IDCE 346 - Practicum, or IDCE 30240 - CDP Planning Studio.
• Two credits are earned for internships or approved research projects (post-B.A.).
• In the graduate year, Accelerated Degree student take 5.5 additional courses, a mix of skill courses and electives

Program Advisor

(Signature Required on the Accelerated Degree Program Advisor Form)
Professor Laurie Ross
IDCE Department
10 Hawthorne Street
lross@clarku.edu
508-793-7642