Courses
Courses primarily for graduate students, open to qualified undergraduates:
Credits: 3. Contact Hours: Lecture 3.
Examines the principles and practices of community change. Use of case studies to relate development approaches to conceptual models. Constructs defining community include community capitals, community field and interactionism, human ecology, social identity, community conflict, communitarianism, and central place theory.
Credits: 3. Contact Hours: Lecture 3.
Introduction to research methods relevant to community development. Topics include research design and methods of data collection. Conceptual frameworks are used to develop research questions and analyze data. Strategies for reporting research results as a means of community action are examined.
Credits: 3. Contact Hours: Lecture 3.
Examines the role of civil society in community planning efforts and a comparative approach to planning theories and approaches. Focuses on change within communities and the roles of government, planners, and citizens in reacting to or shaping change. Explores the relationship of community planning to community development as community responses to change.
Credits: 3. Contact Hours: Lecture 3.
Introduction to theories of community economic growth. Examines drivers of economic growth, community economic base, sources of growth or decline, roles of local government and institutions, analytical tools, and strategies for local economic development. Explores use of data in community economic development and local and regional development action.
Credits: 3.
Practical community development experience. Structured work in range of tasks under close supervision of a professional community developer. Exploration of relationships between theory and practice, exposure to variety of professional roles in community development, and demonstration of the ability to design community development programming. Demonstrate applications of knowledge gained from previous coursework.