Graduate Programs Overview

An Integrated Approach to Social Change

The four master’s programs are designed to mutually enrich each other, which makes the interdisciplinary education at IDCE unique among development, environment, planning, or GIS graduate programs. Whether creating micro-finance opportunities in Asia, using GIS to predict impact of land use on watersheds, auditing environmental resource management, or organizing neighborhood revitalization in Massachusetts, IDCE graduates pursue careers on the forefront of social change.

IDCE students are trained to link theory with practice and to use an integrated approach to solving problems. This enables our students to turn their ideals into reality and to generate constructive change on the issues that inspire them. They learn to grapple with complexity and to analyze problems from various disciplinary perspectives.

For instance, in addition to learning about core environmental policy design, ES&P students might examine how power relations and development policies affect land degradation in Africa. After learning traditional project management skills, IDSC students might then study the role of technological innovation in poverty alleviation; CDP students can add to their repertoire of planning skills cutting-edge research exploring the impacts of environmental pollution on human health. Students in all programs may learn to use GIS and remote sensing techniques to study such issues as delivery of health services, refugee movements and human rights violations, or location of environmental health hazards in a local community.

Course of Study

The master’s degree programs each require a minimum of 12 graduate course units. These typically include five required core courses, including a final MA project, two skills courses, and five elective courses to form the student’s field of specialization, yet each program varies. Students have three options to choose from in completing their final MA project: a research paper, practitioner paper, and thesis.

Student Body

Our diverse student body (with approximately 160 graduate students and just under 100 undergraduate majors and minors) bring to the program a wide range backgrounds, skills, cultures, and interests. 40% of our graduate students are international—coming from over 30 different countries, including Ghana, Egypt, Vietnam, Pakistan, Sudan, China, Nepal, Malawi, Ethiopia, Thailand, Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Ukraine, Ecuador, Turkey, Ghana, Eritrea, Netherlands, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Russia, Albania, Rwanda, Peru, South Korea, Angola, and Bangladesh. Most IDCE students have several years of professional experience and have decided to return to graduate school to learn new skills and think critically about their profession.

Financial Aid

The cost of private education continues to rise, and Clark University is no exception. However, as part of our mission, IDCE remains committed to an economically and internationally diverse study body.

To support this effort, IDCE provides some form of financial assistance to more than 80% of its M.A. students in the form of merit based partial tuition remission awards, which range from 35-100% of the total cost.

Because of these resources, we actively encourage all qualified applicants—international as well as domestic—to consider IDCE, regardless of whether they can afford the full cost of attending. If admitted, applicants will receive an offer outlining what kinds of financial assistance they are eligible to receive.

We also strongly urge prospective students seek out additional, independent sources of financing to help cover the cost of graduate study. Extensive need-based grants and loans are available to U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident students through U.S. federal resources. Students who wish to apply for need-based assistance must submit the FAFSA (Financial Application for Federal Student Aid) by March 1. For information regarding need-based financial aid and application procedures, visit FAFSA. A significant number of funding sources are also available for international students as well.

Visit Funding Assistance for more information.

Worcester: A Place to Live and Learn

Worcester offers graduate students a dynamic urban setting with a reasonable cost of living. The second largest city in New England, Worcester is located one hour from both Boston and Providence, with convenient bus and rail links to New York City and Washington D.C.  First settled in 1631, Worcester’s nineteenth-century industrial boom drew waves of European immigrants to the city. Today Worcester continues to be a bustling destination for new immigrants coming from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Home to fifteen colleges and universities, as well as several new biotech and medical facilities, the city is undergoing an exciting process of urban revitalization.

For ways to get involved locally, see the CDP Graduate Student Guide to Worcester. This document provides an overview of local organizations and initiatives going on in the city.

All this makes Worcester an extraordinary living laboratory for faculty and students to pursue research and teaching in spatial analysis, sustainable community development, and environmental issues. Clark University as a whole and IDCE, in particular, are deeply engaged in the life of the neighborhoods surrounding campus.