The M.A. in Community Development and Planning requires a minimum of 10 graduate course units, combining skills/methods courses and elective courses that link theory with practice. You can pursue one of our transdisciplinary concentrations or create your own.
Our pedagogy is community-engaged. We incorporate internships, case studies, instructor-practitioners, and field-based courses. The projects in our field-based courses are situated within highly effective and impactful cross-sector partnerships forged by our faculty over many years. These include the Worcester Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, food systems work with Worcester Public Schools, housing and neighborhood plans with local community development corporations, and reconstruction efforts in Puerto Rico.
Courses reflect our community-engaged educational focus. Classroom discussions and applied projects tackle the implications of community development and planning theory, planning techniques, decision-making and negotiation, spatial analysis, and research and project evaluation methods.
Located within Clark University’s renowned International Development, Community, and Environment (IDCE) department, students interact with other students and faculty on complex topics that blur the lines between disciplines. Our unique transdisciplinary curriculum integrates the perspectives and ideas of other departmental programs, including Environmental Science and Policy, Geographic Information Sciences for Development and Environment, Community and Global Health, and International Development.
You have the flexibility to complete your degree at your own pace — either as a full-time or part-time student, beginning in Spring, Summer (online only), or Fall.
Three separate degree tracks provide students with options for completion of an advanced degree.