Community Development or Similar Graduate Program

I am looking for a Masters program in community development (or something similar) for a friend. His criteria is giving me quite a bit of a challenge. Maybe you can all help?

What he wants:

1. Masters or doctoral level
2. RA or any NA other than DEAC (I know, right?)
3. Community Development or similar field
4. Preference for self-paced programs (similar to those offered by Global University)
5. Religious programs OK as long as the primary focus is not religious (I.e. He doesn't want an M.Div. or an M.A. In Church Planting, but if a Christian school offers a program he wouldn't reject it for being religious)

What he doesn't want:

1. MPA programs (too business-y)
2. Purely religious programs
3. Anything that would cost more than about $15k
4. An MSW

I have been checking all of my usual places. I found the MA in Community Development at Empire State College. Looks like a good program but I understand he wants something self-paced. perhaps folks know of something in the ABHE or TRACS world that I'm missing?

Similar fields are game on. I appreciate any assistance anyone can provide. Thanks.

 

Not perfect matches but with such rigid and unrealistic criteria, what else can you expect?

Program: Community Development (M.S.) - Kansas State University - Acalog ACMS

Family Youth & Community SciencesOnline FYCS A - Family Youth & Community Sciences

 

I was going to try to recommend something, but why bother if the person turned down Empire State College because it's not self-paced. Cutting out DEAC cuts out 99% of the self-paced graduate programs out there. ACICS and ACCS-accredited schools tend to be very expensive, and their graduate degree options are limited. In my opinion, DEAC is better than ACCSC and ACICS. So, you're mostly left with the religious accrediting bodies, but the person doesn't want religion-oriented programs. :dead:

 

He's OK with religious programs as long as they aren't overtly religious in nature (I.e. He doesn't want a Masters in Christian Community Development. If the coursework has christian elements he's fine).

I also don't believe he ruled out DEAC it's just that he's aware of the offerings there (this was one of my first stops when he asked me for "self-paced").

I think I can empathize with him on the point that I like the structure of Global University. If they offered even a single degree that was a bit more ecumenical it would be really tempting.

The unwillingness to consider ESC was a bit of a hit, as well. So was the lack of MPAs. Ultimately, my friend is working on getting himself downgraded to acquaintance with this incredibly annoying challenge.

 

The Kansas state program looks interesting. My friend might not like it but I hadn't seen it before and my wife might be interested since she's working in the nonprofit world these days. Thanks for these!

 

Sounds to me like your friend doesn't really want this degree. He/she has erected far more obstacles than are reasonable from someone who has a genuine desire to achieve something.

There has been some really good advice offered thus far, including opening the door to DEAC options. The ESC option is also a great one. Your friend, as you know, is going to have to compromise if he/she truly wants a degree.

 

If your friend or wife has an interest in the Family and Community Sciences degree, the following might also be of interest:

Doctor of Transformational Leadership About Doctor of Transformational Leadership (DTL) Program | Bakke Graduate University with options in Cultural Transformation, City Transformation, and Entrepreneurial Organizational Transformation. Also offered, a Master of Arts in Global Urban Leadership About Master of Arts in Global Urban Leadership (MAGUL) Program | Bakke Graduate University and a Master of Arts is Social and Civic Entrepreneurship http://www.bgu.edu/programs/about_masce. For the money, I think the doctorate is the best and most interesting option. I am VERY close to choosing it myself. This is a Christian university and the programs are distinctly Christian in nature, but not overtly so.

 

Tell your friend to register as a member and that way we can berate, umm I mean assist him directly.:chairshot:

 

He isn't anti-DEAC. It's just that he has already reviewed the DEAC options out there and wants to lay out all options before he formally decides. I hadn't thought of the Bakke program (largely because I keep forgetting about TRACS) so thanks for that. I've only ever looked at the program a few times. But I think it looks neat. My initial reaction was "oh heck, it isn't all online. You need to set aside two months to travel" then when you think about it, in the context of community development, it sounds a lot more exciting.

Will my friend (his name is Jon and I don't feel like making up fake names for him) follow through? That's his decision. I don't think he is unwilling to pursue his degree. But I imagine his position is similar to my own position toward a PhD. Will I pursue a PhD one day? Maybe. But for me to do one right now, I would also need one that is self-paced and extraordinarily cheap. I don't believe there is a program that would fit into my hectic schedule so I don't pursue it.

I think Jon is further along than I am. But I also recognize why he is delaying. He kind of sucks at research. He came to me because he thought his only two options were Capella or ESC. In fairness, unlike my wholly selfish existence, Jon has spent the better part of the past decade using his degree from Cornell's agricultural school to train farmers in Africa. He'll be going back soon.

I think his reason for wanting this degree is because, eventually, he is going to come home for good. And a lot of the jobs he is interested in want to see the MA. Flip side, of course, is that he's been training African farmers full time for the better part of his working career so I'm sure that will weigh heavily in his favor if he goes US job hunting.

Still, I appreciate everyone's input. I've learned some interesting things about some new ABHE and TRACS schools in the process of hunting.

 

Based on the above, I suggest that your friend consider the UNISA Dept. of Development Studies

Unisa Online - Development Studies

Considering Jon's background it should be easy to explain why he chose an African University for his academic pursuits. And despite his aversion to research, the thesis-only format will allow him to customize his degree as he likes. Plus it's cheap.

 

Regarding Bakke: 2 months for travel? Did I miss something in their program material? The only thing I've seen, and have confirmed with the Academic Dean, is an 8-day, on site Overture. A student can choose from several locations around the world, including one here in the U.S. (Fresno, CA). Everything else, I believe, is online. Did you see something else I should go investigate? :yikes:

 

Weird. When I went to the course description for one of the cohort trips here I would swear the date range was one month. I was a bit shocked as that seemed a bit much.

Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me. Or maybe there was a typo that his since been corrected. Anywho, you are correct, 8 days, my mistake!

 

Ok, cool. That's a relief. 2 months doing field work would be pretty awesome, but there is no way I could swing that! 8 days is plenty.

 

Not self-paced Neuhaus, on the other hand, these programs might be of interest:

E.g., Iowa State, Kansas State (per Kizmet), UN-Lincoln, ND State, SD State …
Great Plains IDEA Community Development Program

Penn State offers a 30-hour M.P.S. Community and Economic Development and/or a 15-hour Graduate Certificate:
Penn State Online | Master of Professional Studies in Community and Economic Development
Penn State Online | Graduate Certificate in Community and Economic Development

Northeastern: M.S. Commerce and Economic Development
Master's Degree Commerce, Economic Development | Northeastern College of Professional Studies

 

A coattail to Kizmet’s UNISA thought i.e., an East Africa university option:

The Open University of Tanzania

The Open Unervisity of Tanzania
http://www.out.ac.tz/page.php?m=342
The Open Unervisity of Tanzania

 

I just wanted to update this thread and throw out another neat curve ball I hadn't considered.

I spoke with Jon this morning and he indicated that he is going to start taking some courses leading to an MA at the University for Peace.

The fact that they are chartered by the UN leads me to believe that they aren't a total scam. And the UN apparently has an agreement that basically says all Member States give UforPeace authorization to award degrees. The only accreditation they have, however, is through SINAES. Though SINAES looks like a legitimate organization, I am wondering if it is a situation like ASIC in the UK where said accreditation really doesn't mean anything.

For starters, let me just say that this is Jon's educational endeavor. And I can understand why this is an appealing option for him. I would probably go with something that had an unquestionable level of accreditation but, I'm sure we can all agree that this is a very different situation than, say, Atlantic International University and a UN Charter is a bit different from state authorization.

But it raises some legitimate questions for us. Anyone have any thoughts on how a UPeace degree might be received in the academic world?

 

The Western Institute for Social Research would be a great place to study these things. However, they do not yet have recognized accreditation and, thus, are not a good choice for many people.

(NB: I'm doing some pro bono work helping them towards their accreditation bid.)

 

I think that if a school is going to operate in one of these "grey" areas the best thing for them, and their students, is to stick to graduate studies.

The reality is that a lot can be forgiven at this level because a fair amount of professional jobs only require a bachelors and many of those requiring a masters simply don't exert the same level of scrutiny that we, on these boards, do of an awarding school.

I have no doubt that, at some point, my MSM is going to run into a barrier. It might be if I seek a job with the state. It might be if I switch employers and their background check only covers RA degrees. But, generally speaking, I'm far less worried about it than I might be if my bachelors was from an NA school.

So, I suppose an employer or a future school might get a bit weird about UforPeace or even WISR when they get accredited. But I just feel, justified or not, that you can afford a bit more explanation for a graduate degree.

Still, UforPeace at just under $1,000 per class puts its MA somewhere around $12-14k (I didnt do a full accounting of fees). The UN charter lends legitimacy. And it sounds like an interesting program, particularly if you take advantage of some of their in-person learning.