Major in International Development and Social Change

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Major in International Development and Social Change

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Analyze. Act. Achieve.

According to the International Monetary Fund, approximately 70 percent of all nations are “developing” — characterized by economic vulnerability and high levels of poverty. At Clark, international development and social change (IDSC) majors learn how to bring about positive change by thinking critically, acting collaboratively, and engaging responsibly.

Research and activism are hallmarks of the IDSC experience at Clark, from promoting sustainable development through local action to devising technological solutions to food shortages in developing nations. Our graduates — who have gone on to work for organizations including The World Bank, UNICEF, Care USA, Partners in Health, and the National Democratic Institute — work to create a better world every day.

Requirements for:

Major

Minor

Accelerated BA/Master's

Why Study International Development and Social Change at Clark?

In spite of the importance of international development and social change in today’s fractious world, Clark is one of the few U.S. colleges and universities to offer this major. If you want to make a difference, here is where you want to start.
You will be active in the world; recent examples of student projects include working with an environmental activist organization in northeast Thailand, developing a social entrepreneur project in Colombia, and researching habitat encroachment in Myanmar.
Enjoy the benefits of being part of our renowned Department of International Development, Community and Environment, which is built on more than 35 years of collective field experience in North America, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Our Stories

View All International Development and Social Change Stories

From Clark campus to the State House

Clark students make an impact during state public health seminar

Through the lens of Krithi Vachaspati ’18

Photographer and IDSC major wants to reframe public policy on immigration

She's pulling together threads of research

Molly Gurney explores Thai weavers' protest against mining company

View All International Development and Social Change Stories

Your Will. Your Way.

The Major Path

In the classroom, IDSC majors develop critical analytical skills, explore links between local and global perspectives, and focus on the human and ecological dimensions of sustainability.

The major requires the completion of at least 12 courses. You’ll take five core courses and four in a subfield of international development and social change that interests you. You’ll also complete one methods course, two skills courses, one internship or directed research project, and a capstone seminar.

We encourage you to take courses across programs representing diverse perspectives, including undergraduate classes offered through Clark’s Graduate School of Geography and Graduate School of Management. This provides opportunities for you to gain the skills you need to work across the nonprofit, private, government, nongovernmental organization, and research sectors.

Skills you will learn include how to:

Read and interpret quantitative and qualitative data
Think critically about social, political, cultural, and economic dynamics and relationships
Work in teams to apply theory to real-world problems affecting vulnerable groups in Worcester and abroad
Address challenges on every level, from a village to the global policy arena
Problem-solve, evaluate, implement, monitor and communicate in a logical, organized way
Evaluate your own position and intentions to facilitate social change

During your junior year, you might be accepted into the international development and social change honors program. Joining the program means you’ll work closely with a professor to create a thesis on a topic of your choice. Examples of recent honors theses topics are:

Immigrant Rights in the Climate of Economic Crisis: An Ethnographic Study on Native Public Opinion in Seville, Spain
Sex Work and Storytelling: Toward a Feminist Epistemology in Social Science Research
Access to and Utilization of Primary Healthcare Services by the African and Latino Immigrant Communities in Worcester, Massachusetts

The LEEP difference

An education merging knowledge, action, and impact

With Liberal Education and Effective Practice, lessons begin in the classroom but never end there. Your learning includes world and workplace experiences that forge your skills and shape your path.

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At Clark, your education extends beyond the classroom. LEEP Center advisers can help you choose from a range of opportunities that complement your coursework and put your international development and social change knowledge into practice. Many students become actively engaged in political and social groups on campus, in Worcester and beyond.

Clark international development and social change majors are part of a close community of scholars and practitioners dedicated to fostering social justice and economic well-being in the developing and developed world.

You can:

Join fieldwork led by faculty on the forefront of social change
Get involved with projects within Clark’s Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise and George Perkins Marsh Institute
Connect with the Community Development Training Institute, an alumni-run, nonprofit community development consulting firm
Travel abroad while studying sustainable development through collaborations such as the Haiti Relief Initiative

Many students take advantage of domestic and international internship opportunities during the academic year or over the summer to connect what they’re learning with professional development.

Other opportunities include:

In alignment with Clark’s LEEP philosophy, participation in a Study Abroad and Away program is an opportunity to gain world and workplace experience to complement your on-campus work. Clark approves semester, yearlong, and summer opportunities to earn credit through academic coursework, internships, community-based learning, or research. Explore our Study Abroad and Away page, where you can search programs by academic interest, location, and language; after you’ve identified some appropriate programs, ensure they fit into your four-year plan by talking with your faculty adviser as early as possible.

You can participate in Clark’s many clubs, organizations, and athletic teams as a way to complement your academic work. Many students also get involved with Campus Sustainability efforts. Here are some student organizations that might be of interest to you as an international development and social change major:

Internships

Growing Places
Leominster, Mass.
Girls, Inc.
Worcester, Mass.
Kitendo Children’s Charity
Kenya
Save the Children
Nicaragua
Ivy’s Place
Ethiopia

Clark is committed to action-based learning, which means as an undergraduate you can join faculty and graduate students in their research. Faculty members have doctoral degrees in anthropology, education, political science, sociology, and economics. Working closely with them, you will acquire a broad analytic background in the social sciences. Their significant areas of research are:

Nongovernmental organizations in development and humanitarian assistance
Land, food, and agriculture
Development and globalization
Global and community health
Forced migration and mobile populations

You also can apply for funding to support your own research on a project of your choice during the academic year or during the summer.

Collaborate with faculty

Professor Cynthia Caron and student Shelby Margolin: “Rescuing Girls, Investing in Girls: A Critique of Development Fantasies.” Journal of International Development 27: 881-897.
Professor Anita Fábos with a cohort of IDSC undergraduate and graduate students created the Refugee Community Oral History Project, which preserves the histories of refugees from Bhutan who have resettled in Worcester.
Professor Marianne Sarkis has invited more than 100 students to work with her on a project commissioned by the Worcester Division of Public Health and the City Task Force on Prostitution. To better understand services provided to victims and survivors of the commercial sex industry in Worcester, they engage in primary data collection, GIS mapping, and oral history interviews with survivors. In 2015, this collaborative work received national attention and led to a policy change in the Worcester Police Department.

Fall Fest and Academic Spree Day
Clark’s annual Fall Fest and Academic Spree Day are opportunities to share your research or creative work with the Clark community while you hone your presentation skills. Some projects international development and social change students and recent alumni have presented are:

In the Name of Land, Community and Life
Cultivating Urban Youth: Professional Development through Farming
Rural Energy Crisis, Poverty and Conflict in Rural Haiti
Understanding Post-Apartheid Dynamics in an Integrated South African Village
Safe Routes to School Program in the City of Worcester

You also can submit your research results for publication in our student-run Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal.

At Clark you’ll get more than a great education; you’ll also be prepared for a long, productive career and life of consequence. And once you’ve completed your degree, you can join other Clark alumni who have gone on to work for great organizations and attend some of the best graduate schools in the world.

Graduate School Placement

Graduate schools attended by international development and social change graduates from Clark include:

Brown University; master’s in urban education policy
Columbia University Teachers College; master’s in international and comparative education
The New School; master’s in nonprofit management
University of Edinburgh, Scotland; master’s in public health

Our students have also been awarded prestigious fellowships after graduation, including the Compton Mentor and Fulbright fellowships.

Career Outcomes

Development Alternatives, Inc.
Geographic information systems/development specialist
Handicap International France
Project manager
Abt Associates, Cambridge, Mass.
Associate analyst
Jeremiah’s Inn, Worcester, Mass.
Communications Coordinator
Balkan Trust for Democracy
Serbia project coordinator

We’ve Got It Covered

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Learn More

Major in International Development and Social Change

Why Study International Development and Social Change at Clark?

Our Stories

The Major Path

Skills You Learn

Honors Program

Related Programs

An education merging knowledge, action, and impact

Study Abroad and Away

Student Clubs and Organizations

Collaborate with Faculty and Present Your Research

Featured Courses

Trafficking: Globalization & Its Illicit Commodities

Introduction to Socio-Cultural Anthropology

Healthy Cities