Master's Degree - Community Development

« Graduate Certificate - Community Development
2024 Fall Course Info
Foundations of Community DevelopmentCommunity and Regional Economic Policy and AnalysisPrinciples and Strategies of Community ChangeSustainable CommunitiesEconomic Development and Strategies and ProgramsIntroduction to Native Community Development
2024 Summer Course Info
Organizing for Community ChangeGrantwritingElective in CD: GIS for Community DevelopmentNonprofit ManagementTopics: Community Development & Advocacy In Urban Metropolitan Cities
Course Planner
Information is subject to change.
Please revisit this page again before the semester starts to make sure you have all the current information.
Drops and Refunds:
Students adhere to the drop and refund policies and deadlines of their home university.
Course Information
Sustainable Communities
Course Description
Content of this course links management of natural capital to other community-based actions around resource allocation and the impacts on quality of life. Students examine literature on community-based natural resource management and assess alternative ways of valuing natural capital. Students contrast theories of natural capital in communities and human society as the theories relate to community sustainability with regard to economic vitality, social well-being, and ecosystem health.
Contacts
Campus Coordinator

For course access questions, contact the teaching university’s campus coordinator. For enrollment questions, contact your home university campus coordinator.
View the Campus Coordinator Directory >>

Disability Support Services

To request accommodations for this course, contact the disability support office at your home university. You must register each semester and for each course. Read more about the Great Plains IDEA process for requesting accommodations.

Textbooks

The Community Resilience Reader: Essential Resources for an Era of Upheaval
Lerch, Daniel
Edition: 2017
ISBN: 13: 978-1-61091-8

Resilience for All: Striving for Equity through Community Driven Design
Brown Wilson, Barbara
Edition: 2017
ISBN: 13: 978-161098923

Thinking in Systems: A Primer
Meadows, Donella H
Edition: 2008
ISBN: 978-1-60358-055-7

*Recommended Text* Rural Communities: Legacy and Change
Flora and Flora
Edition: 2016 5th Edition
ISBN: 13: 978-081334971

Course Access
 
In the three weeks prior to the start of class, students will receive course information and access instructions via email from the Iowa State campus coordinator, Iowa State Online. 
 
The email will include instructions for how students can set up their Iowa State Net-ID and password which is needed to log into Iowa State’s Canvas system. It typically takes 1-2 business days after setting up a Net-ID before students can log into Iowa State’s Canvas. Courses may not be visible in Canvas until the first day of class.
 
If students experience problems registering for a Net-ID, they can contact the Iowa State Solution Center for assistance at 515-294-4000. Students will need their 9-digit ISU university ID (provided in the ISU campus coordinator email) for the Solution Center to assist them. The Solution Center is open evenings and weekends.  View the Solution Center's hours of operation.
Exam Proctor

This course does not require an exam proctor.

Synchronous Components

This course does not include synchronous components.

Faculty
University Members
Members of the Great Plains IDEA are universities accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Member universities recruit, admit and graduate students, teach in an academic program and contribute to the leadership and maintenance of the alliance. Membership in the alliance is a selective process that engages institutional leadership at all levels.
More about our members »

Shannon Spencer is a graduate student in the agricultural education program.The Great Plains IDEA program has allowed me the flexibility to continue my education while also being a full-time extension agent and mother to twin boys. The program has given me the opportunity to interact with students and teaching professionals from various universities that I may have never met. This program has allowed me to focus not only on my education but also on my profession and family and for that, I will be forever grateful.

– – Shannon Spencer, Agricultural Education Master's Degree Student,
See more testimonials »