Location:

Worcester, United States

Program Type:

Full Degree

Degree Level:

Master

Specialty:

Urban Affairs & Planning

Program Overview

Program Description:

The Master of Arts in Community Development and Planning program provides current and future community development practitioners, activists, and scholars with a strong foundation - based on theory, skill development, and practice - to take on the challenges of urban revitalization in the United States. Our program links theory to practice through insightful participation of practitioners in seminars, high quality internships, and studio and practicum courses that allow students to learn directly from residents and community-based organizations about their resources, priorities, and strategies. Students in the Community Development and Planning Program learn alternative ways of thinking and transforming communities to achieve greater equity and social justice. The CDP Program offers core courses and hands-on skill development in critical areas such as: community development and planning theory, planning techniques, community organizing, community development finance, grant writing, land use, decision-making and negotiation, non-profit management, youth and community development, geographic information systems, and research and project evaluation methods. CDP students also benefit from a unique interdisciplinary approach to community development that integrates the perspectives and ideas of the other departmental programs: Environmental Science and Policy, Geographic Information Science for Development and Environment, and International Development and Social Change. Students enrolled and planning to enroll in the CDP program are able to declare a concentration in Enterprise Management based on a partnership with Clark University's Graduate School of Management (GSOM). Beginning in Fall 2009, IDCE and GSOM are piloting an CDP/GSOM Dual Degree Program. Students in the dual degree program will earn two degrees at the end of three years of graduate school - a MA in CDP and a MBA from GSOM.

Additional Program Information

Accreditation:

Clark University is accredited by The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.

Financial Aid:

Yes

Requirements:

- Application form - Personal Statement - Transcript(s) from all previous colleges/universities - 3 Letters of Recommendation - Resume/CV - Signature Page and $75 application fee - TOEFL/IELTS score (international students from non-English speaking countries or have not studied at a university in U.S. for 4 years) The IDCE Department does not require you to submit GRE scores; however if you have taken the GRE’s and feel your scores would enhance your application, you are welcome to submit them.

International Requirements:

Applicants from countries in which English is not the first language must submit original test scores from either 1) a TOEFL score of at least 575 (233 on the computer-based test) or 2) a 90 on the iBT (Internet Based TOEFL) or 3) a minimum score of 6.5 on the IELTS.