Concentrations - IDCE
Students may select from one of the Concentrations within IDCE.
Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation
The Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation concentration focuses on understanding and responding to one of the world’s greatest challenges. IDCE’s program brings together environmental, social, and policy scientists to produce collaborative, integrative approaches that improve society’s capacity to understand and address the climate crisis. All people and places are touched by climate change, but impacts and capacities to adapt are unevenly distributed across populations and landscapes, making social equity and justice core concerns. Students gain literacy in the science of climate change, the structure and policy of climate negotiations and finance, and they learn how climate change factors into multiple sectors, including health, water, food, urban infrastructure, energy, and conservation. Students develop skills in climate modeling in GIS; risk assessment; quantitative and qualitative data analysis; participatory research methodologies, and policy analysis. Opportunities to contribute to faculty research include active projects in the Arctic, West Africa, Ethiopia, Mexico City, and New England. Students are prepared for careers with international organizations like the World Bank, USAID, FAO, and World Resources Institute, as well as state and municipal agencies, climate action networks, and private sector consultants.
GEOG 363 The Climate System and Global Environmental Change
IDCE 328 Food Security and Climate Change
IDCE 332 Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
IDCE 341 Nongovernment Organizations: Catalysts for Development
IDCE 365 Cities, Regions, Climate Change & Health
IDCE 30101 The Political Economy of Food and the Ethics of Eating
IDCE 30102 Case Studies in Environmental Issues and Policy Analysis
IDCE 30117 Place-Based Ecological Knowledge
IDCE 30118 Science Meets Policy in the Real World
IDCE 30205 Climate Change, Energy and Development
IDCE 30231 Humanitarian Assistances in Complex Emergencies/Disasters
IDCE 30243 Seeing Like a Humanitarian Agency
IDCE 30264 Environmental and Social Epidemiology
IDCE 30272 Environmental Justice in Latin America
IDCE 30701 Beyond the Population Bomb: Rethinking Population and The Environment in an Era of Climate Change
MGMT 5615 Corporate Social Responsibility
PHYS 343 Technology of Renewable Energy
Environment & Development
The Environment & Development concentration explores how the science and politics of resource use shape efforts to promote sustainable development. The program critically examines what is being conserved, for whom, and why with particular attention to issues of power, equity, and justice. Coursework includes ecology and earth systems science, natural resource management, ethnobiology, political ecology, and sustainable development. Students tackle complex problems through transdisciplinary collaborations that integrate multiple ways of knowing and being in the world, including marginalized perspectives. Conceptually, students will learn why conservation and development efforts frequently have adverse impacts on human-environment relations. Students will gain competencies in environmental impact assessment, evaluation of ecosystem services, stakeholder mapping, system dynamics modeling, diversity analysis, and participatory action research. The concentration prepares students for careers with international environmental organizations such as the Nature Conservancy and the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as land trusts, environmental advocacy groups, and governmental agencies.
Courses (Note: the non-IDCE faculty who offer courses mentioned in this concentration have agreed to include their courses in this list):
BIOL 316 Ecology
GEOG 333 Terrestrial Ecosystems and Global Change
IDCE 332 Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
IDCE 365 Cities, Regions, Climate Change & Health
IDCE 30101 The Political Economy of Food and the Ethics of Eating
IDCE 30117 Place-Based Ecological Knowledge
IDCE 30701 Beyond the Population Bomb: Rethinking Population and The Environment in an Era of Climate Change
GEOG 309 Trends in Forest Ecology
GEOG 316 Field Methods for Environmental Science
GEOG 323 Forest Ecology and Management Seminar
GEOG 332 Landscape Ecology
GEOG 336 Wildlife Conservation GIS Research Seminar
GEOG 360 GIS & Land Change Models
IDCE 395 Culture, Environment, and Development
IDCE 30154 Mega Development: Exploring The Nexus Between Natural Resource Extraction, Infrastructure Development and Environment
IDCE 30245 Natural Resource Management
IDCE 30272 Environmental Justice in Latin America
IDCE 30287 Fundamentals of Environmental Science
GEOG 386 Special Topics Habitat Modeling
GEOG 386 Special Topics Urban Forestry
GEOG 389 Conservation GIS
Refugees, Forced Migration, & Belonging
The Concentration in Refugees, Forced Migration, & Belonging strives to understand the complex political economy of the global distribution, circulation, and regulation of people on the move today. We take a participatory, community-based, and refugee-centered approach to the field, and offer a comprehensive analysis of experiences of and responses to forcible displacement and integration from a mobilities perspective. Students will learn how policies and organizations designed to manage or assist forced migrants, refugees, and other displaced people intersect with ideas about citizenship, integration, sustainability, gender, development, and belonging. Students are introduced to critical policy perspectives, and integrative methods and approaches for research with forced migrant populations, including GIS, and narrative research and analysis. Graduates will be equipped to pursue doctoral or other advanced degrees, work for government, inter-governmental, international aid agencies or non-profit organizations.
IDCE 332 Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
IDCE 341 Nongovernment Organizations: Catalysts for Development
IDCE 358 Advanced Topics in International Development
IDCE 365 Cities, Regions, Climate Change & Health
IDCE 30103 Networks and Analytics of Development
IDCE 30107 Forced Migration and the City
IDCE 30108 Research Methods for Forced Migration
IDCE 30111 Urban Development: Process and Change
IDCE 30231 Humanitarian Assistances in Complex Emergencies/Disasters
IDCE 30235 Trafficking: Globalization and Its Illicit Commodities
IDCE 30243 Seeing Like a Humanitarian Agency
IDCE 30248 Gender and Health
IDCE 30297 Refugees, Forced Migration, and Belonging
IDCE 30397 People on the Move Research Studio
Education, Youth, & Development
Education is one of the most important tools communities across the globe possess for addressing inequity and achieving socio-economic development. In IDCE, we understand education to be both formal and informal, and what happens within and outside of schools. Community-based youth development focuses on the whole child and the whole family. The Education, Youth & Development concentration connects these fields and prepares students for rewarding careers in youth development and educational settings in the US and internationally in communities, schools, governmental institutions, non-profit organizations and NGOs, and philanthropic foundations. Our courses are taught at the intersection of critical analysis of power and privilege; educational access, justice and equity; gender identity, race, and class; and youth development studies. IDCE field-based experience may take you into the City of Worcester and surrounding areas, or internationally to our various field sites. You will develop professional skills in program planning and management, policy analysis, advocacy and organizing.
EDUC 308 Literacy Across the Curriculum
EDUC 327 Culture, Language and Education
IDCE 341 Nongovernment Organizations: Catalysts for Development
IDCE 358 Advanced Topics in International Development
EDUC 361 Human Development and Learning
EDUC 381 Critical Pedagogies
IDCE 332 Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
IDCE 333 Development Mgmt in Developing Countries
IDCE 364 Educational Policy Issues in “Developing” Countries: Governance, Management, and Financing
IDCE 365 Cities, Regions, Climate Change & Health
IDCE 30117 Place-Based Ecological Knowledge
IDCE 30221 Education and Development
IDCE 30365 Global Issues in Education
IDCE 303 Youth Work: Practice and Social Justice
IDCE 335 Strategies for Community Organizing
IDCE 340 Fundamentals of Youth Work
IDCE 345 CDP Practice: Reflection and Deliberate Practice
IDCE 387 Labor, Globalization and Inequality
IDCE 30111 Urban Development: Process and Change
IDCE 30203 Program Evaluation for Youth and Community Development Initiatives
IDCE 30225 Grant Writing for Community Developers
IDCE 30281 Community Needs and Resource Analysis
IDCE 30296 Nonprofit Management
Urban Resilience
The Urban Resilience concentration prepares students to understand the capabilities of individuals, communities, institutions, and businesses in cities to withstand and adapt to a variety of multi-dimensional shocks and chronic stressors. Students will investigate the resilience of urban communities to natural hazards, environmental depletion, economic downturns, social exclusion, and other systemic failures or structural challenges. Through classroom instruction, internships, and fieldwork, students learn to support community asset building, and to address inequitable impacts on different groups in society such as youth, immigrants, women, and other vulnerable populations. Students who pursue this concentration will acquire analytical and practical tools, and professional expertise. Graduates will be qualified to work as urban and community planners, program and policy analysts, project managers, social advocates, and nonprofit leaders at various levels of government and in non-profit organizations in the United States and abroad, as well as to pursue further graduate education.
IDCE 303 Youth Work: Practice and Social Justice
IDCE 308 Health (in)Equity: Social Determinants and Policy Solutions
IDCE 320 Food Production, Environment, and Health
IDCE 332 Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
IDCE 334 Planning and Zoning for Community Developers
IDCE 341 Nongovernment Organizations: Catalysts for Development
IDCE 344 Going Local: Community Development and Planning
IDCE 365 Cities, Regions, Climate Change & Health
IDCE 387 Labor, Globalization and Inequality
IDCE 390 CDP Research Seminar
IDCE 395 Culture, Environment, and Development
IDCE 30107 Forced Migration and the City
IDCE 30111 Urban Development: Process and Change
IDCE 30203 Program Evaluation for Youth and Community Development Initiatives
IDCE 30204 Advanced Community Development Finance and Research
IDCE 30205 Climate Change, Energy and Development
IDCE 30225 Grant Writing for Community Developers
IDCE 30231 Humanitarian Assistances in Complex Emergencies/Disasters
IDCE 30245 Natural Resource Management
IDCE 30261 Immigration and Knowledge-Driven Industries
IDCE 30281 Community Needs and Resource Analysis
IDCE 30287 Fundamentals of Environmental Science
IDCE 30289 Community Development Finance
IDCE 30291 Qualitative Research Methods
IDCE 30296 Nonprofit Management
IDCE 30393 Social Applications of GIS
Monitoring & Evaluation
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is an essential and required element of domestic community and international development programs. Collecting and using program data related to outcomes, impacts and performance, both intended and unintended, are essential for accountability and evidence-based decision making. The Monitoring and Evaluation concentration prepares students in the current theory, knowledge, skills and professional competencies necessary for leadership roles in program evaluation and management. Students will learn to: design and develop M&E systems; develop project specific indictors; understand and use evaluation frameworks including logical frameworks; appropriately utilize evaluative thinking and evaluation theory of change frameworks; develop knowledge and competence in a range of evaluation methodologies; collect, manage, and analyze data; and, craft professional reports and presentations. We prepare graduates to work according to the American Evaluation Association’s professional standards and code of ethics. Students who complete the concentration may enter the field as “monitoring & evaluation officers,” “M&E leads,” or more senior positions such as “MLE Director.”
IDCE 319 Quantitative Methods and Statistics For Evaluators
IDCE 332 Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
IDCE 341 Nongovernment Organizations: Catalysts for Development
IDCE 365 Cities, Regions, Climate Change & Health
IDCE 30103 Networks and Analytics of Development
IDCE 30203 Program Evaluation for Youth and Community Development Initiatives
IDCE 30225 Grant Writing for Community Developers
IDCE 30229 Program Monitoring and Evaluation Fundamentals
IDCE 30245 Natural Resource Management
IDCE 30275 Gender in Development Planning
IDCE 30281 Community Needs and Resource Analysis
IDCE 30282 Community Based Health Research
IDCE 30306 GIS for International Development
IDCE 30360 Spatial Analysis for Health
Gender and Development
Gender and Development concentration students examine the creation, reproduction, and reduction of gender inequalities around the world. We bring a feminist lens to tackle global issues pertaining to gender and power. Students interested in gender identity and politics may pursue topics such as access to land and natural resources; power and empowerment; and forced migration and displacement, as well as gender inclusion in the management of non-governmental organizations, advocacy campaigns, and related fields. Students who take the concentration will learn the methods, tools and approaches used by scholars and practitioners to conduct gender analysis. Graduates will be equipped to pursue doctoral or other advanced degrees, work for government, inter-governmental, international aid agencies or non-profit organizations. Students completing this concentration could be qualified to serve as “gender specialist” or “subject matter expert,” and would be able to pursue careers in education, research, policy and program development, project management, consulting, and more.
IDCE 329 Property and Community
IDCE 332 Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
IDCE 341 Nongovernment Organizations: Catalysts for Development
IDCE 354 Beyond Victims and Guardian Angels: Third World Women, Gender and Development
IDCE 358 Advanced Topics in International Development
IDCE 365 Cities, Regions, Climate Change & Health
IDCE 395 Culture, Environment, and Development
IDCE 30117 Place-Based Ecological Knowledge
IDCE 30221 Education and Development
IDCE 30103 Networks and Analytics of Development
IDCE 30154 Mega Development: Exploring The Nexus Between Natural Resource Extraction, Infrastructure Development and Environment
IDCE 30184 Gender Analysis of Power and Conflict
IDCE 30235 Trafficking: Globalization and Its Illicit Commodities
IDCE 30248 Gender and Health
IDCE 30275 Gender in Development Planning
IDCE 30360 Spatial Analysis for Health
IDCE 30365 Global Issues in Education
IDCE 30701 Beyond the Population Bomb: Rethinking Population and The Environment in an Era of Climate Change
Health Equity
The field of community and global health calls for achieving health equity and justice for all people worldwide. Students in the Health Equity concentration will learn about the global and local determinants of disease, the barriers to accessing high quality and affordable medical care, the ways communities and governments set health priorities and evaluate health needs, and the role of policy in promoting healthy individuals, families, and communities. Students who concentrate in health equity will gain understanding of the national and global burden of disease, the major actors and institutions that influence health policy domestically and globally, how health systems are organized around the world, and how they might contribute to achieving health equity as a community and global health professional.
IDCE 308 Health (in)Equity: Social Determinants and Policy Solutions
IDCE 320 Food Production, Environment, and Health
IDCE 332 Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
IDCE 341 Nongovernment Organizations: Catalysts for Development
IDCE 365 Cities, Regions, Climate Change & Health
IDCE 377 Approaches to Global Health
IDCE 30101 The Political Economy of Food and the Ethics of Eating
IDCE 30103 Networks and Analytics of Development
IDCE 30248 Gender and Health
IDCE 30264 Environmental and Social Epidemiology
IDCE 30282 Community Based Health Research
IDCE 30306 GIS for International Development
IDCE 30360 Spatial Analysis for Health
IDCE 30701 Beyond the Population Bomb: Rethinking Population and The Environment in an Era of Climate Change
Healthy People/Healthy Planet
We inhabit an ever-changing social and natural world that has a profound influence on individuals, households and communities. Human health and wellbeing depend on a complex interplay among social conditions (economic, cultural, and political) and the physical environment (indoor and outdoor spaces, residential and occupational). These factors help us understand health vulnerability in terms of marginalization, poverty, lifestyle, and disparities in access to health-enabling resources and differential exposure to life-threatening conditions. The Health People/Healthy Planet concentration approaches health in the broadest sense (physical, mental, social). We train students to analyze the origins of health disparities and identify how risk factors and promoting factors vary across populations and landscapes. Graduates will be equipped to examine the intersection of social and environmental determinants of health and to work towards health equity in partnership with diverse stakeholders.
GEOG 316 Field Methods for Environmental Science
GEOG 343 Foundations and Frontiers in Land System Science
IDCE 308 Health (in)Equity: Social Determinants and Policy Solutions
IDCE 320 Food Production, Environment, and Health
IDCE 328 Food Security and Climate Change
IDCE 332 Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
IDCE 341 Nongovernment Organizations: Catalysts for Development
IDCE 365 Cities, Regions, Climate Change & Health
IDCE 377 Approaches to Global Health
IDCE 395 Culture, Environment, and Development
IDCE 30101 The Political Economy of Food and the Ethics of Eating
IDCE 30117 Place-Based Ecological Knowledge
IDCE 30205 Climate Change, Energy and Development
IDCE 30231 Humanitarian Assistances in Complex Emergencies/Disasters
IDCE 30330 Approaches to Community Health
IDCE 30245 Natural Resource Management
IDCE 30360 Spatial Analysis for Health
IDCE 30701 Beyond the Population Bomb: Rethinking Population and The Environment in an Era of Climate Change
MGMT 5615 Corporate Social Responsibility
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