Undergraduate Catalog

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Community Studies (CMTY) Undergraduate Programs

339 STEWART HALL/(320) 308-3947

A department in the College of Social Sciences.
Also see College of Social Sciences descriptions and requirements.

Chairperson: Luke S. Tripp
Faculty: Greenberg, Karasik, Rigopoulou-Melcher, Tripp, Ugochukwu, Van Assche, Villanueva
Office Manager: Tritz

The Department of Community Studies integrates two degree-granting programs: Community Development and Gerontology. Moreover, it provides General Education courses in the areas of Democratic Citizenship and Racial Issues. These programs are partners in a commitment to foster the study, development, and enhancement of sustainable communities, with particular focus on Minnesota and the upper midwest region.

Community outreach is also an important dimension of the Department. Our goal is to establish partnerships with other institutions and organizations that will permit the Department to sponsor community-oriented symposia and workshops, to serve as a resource center for community concerns and issues in the upper midwest, and to provide students from the department with hands-on experience working directly with local communities.

Programs in the Department of Community Studies
(consult individual program descriptions in this catalog)

• Community Development
• Gerontology
• Heritage Preservation

Community Development

333 or 365 STEWART HALL/(320) 308-3184

A program in the Department of Community Studies. Also see College of Social Sciences descriptions and requirements.

Program Director: Aspasia Rigopoulou-Melcher
Faculty: Greenberg, Karasik, Rigopoulou-Melcher, Tripp, Ugochukwu, Van Assche, Villanueva

Community Development is a dynamic field of study that strives to improve the social, economic, and environmental qualities in our communities. It focuses on the design and implementation of programs designed to make a community a better place to live and work. Working to enhance a sense of place and sense of community is central to this field, as are the principles of sustainable development, social and environmental justice. Planning and Community Development integrates the following key elements:

• The characteristics of rural, suburban, and urban communities, emphasizing their heritage, built and natural environments, economic and social conditions, and cultural features;
• The issues confronting communities, such as suburban sprawl, affordable housing, downtown revitalization, environmental quality, social justice, traffic congestion, aging populations, neighborhood cohesion, and heritage preservation, to name but a few;
• Strategies to address these community issues, which can combine aspects of community organization and partnerships, urban and regional planning, citizen participation, community design, economic development, advocacy, and sustainable development.

Community Development is an applied major. Through class activities, community-based research projects, guest speakers, and a required full-semester professional internship experience, students gain the necessary tools and experience to be successful in this field. The program strongly emphasizes communication and leadership skills. Students of Community Development learn to speak, write, and interact effectively, both as individuals and in groups.

Graduates of this program are well prepared to help communities in a number of important areas, including:

• City and regional planning
• Community preservation and design
• Sustainable development
• Neighborhood/community organization
• Housing
• Downtown development
• Environmental management
• Transportation planning
• Human/social services
• Community economic development

Students interested in learning more about Community Development are encouraged to talk with the program director/advisor.

Admission requirements for students declaring a B.A. major or minor in Community Development include:

• Have earned at least 12 semester credits overall, nine of which must be from SCSU;
• Have achieved an overall GPA of 2.55 or higher in all coursework at SCSU
• Have earned a "B-" or higher in CMTY 200 (if course is repeated, including withdrawals, the second attempt must be from a different instructor).

Bachelor of Arts

Major (54)
Core (27): Required of all majors
CMTY 200, 333, 350, 493 (9 credits), 494; GERO 411 or 435; GEOG 394.

Specialization Distribution (9): Select three courses
CMTY 363, 367, 369, 464.

Planning and Design Distribution (9): Select three courses
CMTY 422, 428, 450, 451

Diversity Elective (3): Select one course
CMTY 470, 475; GERO 405

Applied Skills Elective (3): Select one course
CMTY 455, CMST 341, ENGL 332, FIRE 378, GEOG 316, ECON 365

Major Elective (3): Select one course
CMTY 466; ECON 461; ETS 375; GEOG 454, 457, HIST 447; POL 313, 380; PSY 323

Completion of CMTY 350 with a grade of C or better fulfills Community Development's upper division writing requirement.

Note: Up to 9 credits can be double-counted with another major or minor

Minor (18)
Core (6)
CMTY 200, 350

Specializations Distribution (6): Select two courses
CMTY 363, 367, 369, 422, 451, 464

Electives: Select two courses
CMTY 333, 428, 450, 466, 470, 475; GEOG 394; GERO 411, 435

Note: Up to 6 credits can be double-counted with another major or minor

Minor in Heritage Preservation (21)

The Heritage Preservation minor in Community Studies provides students with a clear understanding of the importance of a community's heritage in its future design and development, a systematic understanding of American architectural and landscape forms, specialized knowledge of heritage preservation as it relates to different disciplines, and opportunities to synthesize and apply their knowledge in community projects and programs.

Core (18)
CMTY 266, 350, 450, 451, 466 (Sense of Place only), 492

Elective (3): Select course from the following:
ANTH 481, CMTY 466 (Downtown Development only), GEOG 396, HIST 346

Note: Up to 9 credits can be double-counted with another major or minor

Bachelor of Elective Studies

Major (42)

Completion of 42 credits with prior approval of program director