CPCS Requirements

The CPCS curriculum is comprised of different "competencies" that we think are important for our graduates to have in order to develop the skills and knowledge they need for effective practice in public and community service or to go on to further study in related areas at the graduate level. All students at the College are required to demonstrate 40 different competencies to graduate. The competencies in the curriculum are clustered into three main groupings (Core Knowledge & Skills; Major & Concentration; and Writing Portfolio).

 

Core Knowledge & Skills- There are 29 competencies required in the Core Knowledge & Skills area. These competencies are spread across three different levels that require increasingly complex skills or more thorough understanding of concepts and theories. Students will do a combination of required and elective competencies in the Levels I through III section of the Learning Plan. Also, as a final competency in this area, students must complete a Capstone project. Student who reach midpoint (approx 20 competencies )in there learning plan may want to begin planning for thier Capstone Project.

 

Competencies in the Core Knowledge and Skills area of the curriculum focus on skills that cut across public and community service, including critical thinking and argument skills, understanding and impacting political processes, understanding different historical perspectives, knowing how policies are formed and how to influence that process, cultural awareness, etc. (The titles of the competencies that are printed on the Degree Diagram will give you some clues about the different competencies.) The competencies in Core Knowledge and Skills represent a combination of skills and knowledge that we think are important for all students at the College to demonstrate, no matter what their particular interest or specialization.

 

Major & Concentration- Each major has six required competencies that address the kinds of skills and knowledge that are particularly relevant to that field of study and practice. When you select a major, you will then enter the required competencies for that major on your learning plan. The concentrations allow students to tailor their majors by specializing in a particular area of practice, there are 4 competencies in the Concentration area to complete the major section of the learning plan

CPCS currently offers seven majors:

• Community Planning
• Community Studies
• Gerontology
• Human Services
• Labor Studies
• Legal Education

Major				Concentration
1	2	3		7	8
4	5	6		9	10

The College offers the following concentrations:

• Community Studies
• Gerontology
• Human Services
• Labor Studies
• Legal Education
• Management
• Organizing
• Planning
• Training & Development
• Youth Work

You can pick from the approved concentrations for each major to tailor your major. For example: A Human Services major who is most interested in working with adolescents could select to do a concentration in Youth Work. Or a Human Services major who is interested in running a non-profit organization might find that the Management concentration offers her better preparation.

 

You don't have to decide your major or concentration right at the start. We encourage students to learn more about their different options before making a decision. Brief descriptions of the different majors and concentrations can be accessed by clicking the links above.

During your first semester, you will have an opportunity to hear from faculty in the different majors and concentrations and learn more about your options before you make any final decision.

The Portfolio- One of the things you'll quickly learn about the College is that we place a great deal of emphasis on "effective communication skills" including writing and oral presentation. As you work on demonstrating competencies throughout the curriculum, you will also be working on developing your writing skills (academic writing, professional writing, etc.) and your presentation skills. These products will be evaluated for the competencies in the major and the core, but it is also important for you to be able to demonstrate that these pieces of work demonstrate strong communication skills. (We hear from employers and graduate programs all the time these are some of the most important competencies they are looking for from our graduates.)

 

We evaluate these skills through a Portfolio system. As you move through the curriculum, you will collect products that demonstrate your skills in writing and speaking, and when you are ready, you will select three of those products to be evaluated by a Portfolio team to get the credit and recognition for the skills.