Community Development

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology offers a 36 credit hour Master of Science (M.S.) or Master of Arts (M.A.) in Community Development. The degree is a multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary, online program in conjunction with the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (IDEA). Other institutions participating in this program include Kansas State University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and South Dakota State University.

The primary audience for this program is community economic development officials and specialists already employed in the field.

Program Objectives

The objectives of the Community Development graduate degree program are to:

• Increase the skills, knowledge, and competencies of community economic development officials who are currently employed and have limited opportunity to participate in an on-campus degree program.
• Provide graduate training for individuals entering the community economic development career field who require training/degrees for career advancement.
• Enhance the community economic development skills, knowledge, and competencies of individuals working with Native American communities, natural resource-based communities, non-profit organizations, and/or state and local government.

Students will write a master's thesis (Plan A), complete a comprehensive study (Plan B), or pursue a culminating experience (Plan C). The student's schedule of courses must be approved by the faculty advisor.