About Community Studies

 

Healthy, nurturing and sustainable communities are the basis of the wellbeing of individuals and families, instrumental in the quality of life of urban areas and the goal of effective public and community services. Communities, whether defined geographically or by the experiences or identities that formed them, are at the center of the inquiry of CPCS curriculum. The College offers a major in Community Studies which builds on its core requirements and offers students a multi-disciplinary, applied approach to the study of human communities. In addition to the major in Community Studies, it also offers the opportunity for combined certificates leading majors in Community Studies and Planning, Community Studies and Organizing and Community Studies and Human Service Delivery.

 

The Community Studies major has four defining characteristics:

a unifying theme focusing on human communities, their histories and cultures, their identities and values, their institutions and economies, their problems and prospects.

• a unique diversity of perspectives for learning about the human experience in communities, including the content and method drawn from the social sciences as well as the liberal arts, from various ethnic studies as well as global studies.
• an emphasis on experiential learning, particularly community service learning, balanced with classroom and distance learning.
• a strong orientation to social justice and human rights, along with a commitment to activism for democratic social change.