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Community Development Program Profile

The mission of the community development program is to prepare Christians to join the Father as He works to help communities (landscapes, people, plants, and animals) flourish and experience the beauty and joy of shalom.

More about Community Development
Female student sits at a table and discusses research with others on the research team

STRENGTHS:

Program strengths are:

  • Nine areas of specialization for students to select from.
  • Students develop in-depth skills and are prepared to make valuable contributions to community well-being soon after graduation.
  • Relatively small class sizes and solid teaching.
  • Many experiential learning opportunities (field trips, conferences).
  • Connections to professionals in the discipline.
  • Cooperative arrangements with other departments on campus.

STUDENT OUTCOMES:

Student learning objectives. Students will:

  • Identify the beauty and the brokenness that are a part of every community.
  • Articulate a Reformed, Christian foundation for the community development discipline.
  • Describe the range of contexts (rural and urban, domestic, and international) in which community development can occur and be equipped to work towards shalom in each of them.
  • Interact with a broad spectrum of community development practitioners.
  • Identify, explore, and critique a wide range of development approaches and strategies, both historical and contemporary.
  • Develop applied skills (serviceable insight) and deepen their desire to use those skills to work toward shalom in God's world.