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Master's in Community Development and Planning Program IDCE Department Clark
Community Development and Planning Course of Study
The Master’s program in CDP requires a minimum of 12 graduate course units. These include five one-unit core CDP courses (including the final M.A. project), two half-unit required core courses, two units of skills courses, and three units of electives.
We recommend students do an internship with a community organization to provide training in practical skills. As part of your elective credits, you have the option of doing a directed reading/research with any faculty member. You can take a total of two internship and/or directed study/research credits over the course of your CDP studies.
Required Core Courses (7 units)
1. IDCE 344 (One Unit) Going Local: Perspectives on Community Development and Planning – introduces the various theories, debates, and strategies regarding the development of urban communities.
2. IDCE 346 (One Unit) Practicum in Community Development and Planning – operates within a community-based participatory research framework.
3. IDCE 30250 (One Unit) People and Places: Theories of Community Development and Planning – deepens students understanding social, economic, and political forces that shape places and of various models and theories of community development and planning.
4. Research Design and Methods (One Unit) – Students choose one of the following three courses (other methods courses may be substituted with permission from your advisor). One research design and methods course should be taken during year one of the program:
a. IDCE 314 Research Design and Methods – covers major topics in empirical social research design and methodology: problem definition, research strategies, measurement, sampling, data collection techniques and procedures, and proposal writing.
b. IDCE 30291 Qualitative Research Design and Methods – provides an introduction to qualitative inquiry and explores the major assumptions, language, and logic of qualitative research.
c. IDCE 390 CDP Research Seminar – advances research and skills by working on specific projects proposed by students.
5. IDCE 30289 (One Unit) Community Development Finance – introduces students to the field of community development, with a particular focus on finance.
6. Students will take both of the following two ½ semester skills courses:
a. IDCE 30281 Community Needs and Resource Analysis – students develop skills in identifying and analyzing community issues through community resources and first-hand community observations and contacts.
b. IDCE 30218 Negotiations in Community Development – daily compromises and negotiations characterize the community development profession.
7. A final M.A. project (One Unit). The final requirement for a CDP M.A. degree is the successful completion of a final M.A. project, which is either a research paper, practitioner project, or a thesis. Students register for a final M.A. project credit with their first reader.
CDP Skill Courses (a sampling, 2 units required)
• IDCE 30204 Advanced Community Development Finance
• IDCE 396 Advanced Raster GIS
• IDCE 30240 Community Planning Studio
• IDCE 30212 Introduction to Quantitative Methods
• IDCE 325 Data Mining Community Profiles
• IDCE 363 Decision Methods for Environmental Management and Policy
• IDCE 352 Technology and Environmental Assessment
• IDCE 30225 Grant Writing for Community Developers
• IDCE 30203 Program Evaluation for Youth and Community Development Initiatives
• IDCE 30238 Public Communication Seminar
• IDCE 334 Planning and Zoning for Community Developers
• IDCE 395 Participation and Environmental Management
• IDCE 366 Principals of Negotiation and Mediation: An Overview of Conflict Resolution Approaches
• IDCE 30219 Risk Analysis: Policy and Methods CDP Elective Courses (a sampling, 3 units required)
• IDCE 30205 Climate Change, Energy and Development
• IDCE 30221 Education and Development
• GEOG 337 Feminism, Nature and Culture
• IDCE 30248 Gender and Health
• IDCE 347 Globalization
• IDCE 304 International and Comparative Analysis of Community Development
• IDCE 30202 Land Use Seminar
• IDCE 30296 Nonprofit and NGO Management Issues
• IDCE 30290 Participatory Research Methods
• IDCE 39912 Social Policy, Immigration and Poverty
• IDCE 309 Roots and Routes: Immigrants, Diasporas and Travel
• IDCE 30265 Social Movements: Quest for Justice
• GEOG 366 Urban Economic Geography
• GEOG 354 Urban Transportation: Problems and Prospects
• IDCE 30293 Youth and Community Development
Please view Clark’s official Academic Catalog for a complete listing of course offerings. Remember that each IDCE program offers flexibility so students can take classes across programs and within other departments at Clark University, including the Graduate School of Geography and the Graduate School of Management.
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