Our Mission: To prepare individuals to address one of the greatest challenges of the 21st Century: sustaining environmental resources while promoting development.

IDCE stands for International Development, Community, and Environment. We are a graduate school department at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. IDCE offers four master's degree programs: International Development and Social Change, Community Development and Planning, Geographic Information Sciences for Development and Environment, and Environmental Science and Policy.

Our programs give graduate students valuable skills for addressing complex problems of building community and managing resources. These skills include project design and management, risk analysis, geographic information sciences, conflict mediation, environmental and social impacts assessment, and local-level institution building.

To encourage local and national initiatives, IDCE programs present macro- and micro-level perspectives to build a realistic understanding of development in this era of globalization. Using tools designed specifically to strengthen partnerships, organize information, mobilize resources, monitor environmental trends, and adapt to change, IDCE graduates advance this meaningful work.

Four Goals of IDCE

IDCE's unique approach builds ownership on local levels and fosters alliances among researchers, community groups, governments, and non-governmental organizations. The resulting partnerships encourage collaborative responses to some of development's most complex problems. Building on 30 years of field experience in North America, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, IDCE promotes a more just, equitable, and sustainable future through the pursuit of four goals:

IDCE's Unique Elements

IDCE explores alternative approaches to overseas and domestic development through five key concepts:

The forefront of change

Intellectual vigor, diverse backgrounds, and a deep commitment to addressing global issues of justice, equity, and environmental sustainability characterize IDCE students and faculty. Eager to link theory and practice, IDCE graduates turn their ideals into action, facilitating social change in the U.S. and overseas. Whether creating micro-finance opportunities in Asia, using GIS to predict impact of land use on watersheds, auditing environmental resource management in the Newly Independent States, or organizing neighborhood revitalization in Massachusetts inner cities, IDCE graduates pursue careers on the forefront of change.