Welcome to the International Development, Community, and Environment department at Clark University.
Is your passion to achieve a more equitable world, free from problems like hunger and preventable child deaths? Do you believe that it is important to understand how research and data shape policies and projects in the US and around the world? Do you want to learn from leading experts in fields including global health, environmental science, international development and geographic information science? Is it important to surround yourself with different personal, professional, and national backgrounds who also want to make a difference?
If you said yes to those questions, then IDCE is the place for you.
A hallmark of IDCE is our ongoing effort to meaningfully link theory to practice. We pride ourselves in undertaking engaged research that translates our high-quality primary research into policy and projects in the world. We believe that the most effective practitioners integrate ideas across fields. Our problem-centered curriculum is evidence of our ongoing effort to ensure that students engage in cross-cutting efforts to address global challenges so that they graduate equipped with the tools to have an impact on their places of work.
While our curriculum is unique, it is effective because of IDCE’s people. Our faculty produce highly-regarded publications, partner with organizations from small community NGOs to the world’s largest development donors, and engage in activism in Worcester and around the world. Our students include returned Peace Corps volunteers, former Americorps volunteers, and early mid-career professionals, and more than 40% of IDCE students come from outside the US. The typical IDCE classroom is characterized by a diversity of knowledge and experience that deepen the learning environment.
The student community of IDCE and Clark is inclusive and supportive, with many students living very close to campus. Frequent social events are planned by fellow students, as well as excursions to interesting destinations on weekends. Classes are taught by the IDCE faculty and are deliberately small. Doing so provides students the opportunity to collaborate with each other and their faculty – a feature that fosters the social and academic community at IDCE.
Our dedicated career development office works with IDCE students to set up internship opportunities and connections to the broad IDCE alumni network. Today, graduates work at a range of organizations and companies, including small NGOs like Last Mile Health, large multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, academic institutions including Duke University, government offices like the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, government contractors such as Chemonics and private corporations such as National Grid.
Ultimately, our goal is to graduate students who are effective in their efforts to address major challenges in today’s world – the sort of people that employers are seeking. Come join IDCE and be a part of the global changemakers making a difference in their communities and around the world.
Sincerely,
Ed Carr, Ph.D.
Director and Professor
International Development, Community, and Environment Department
Clark University