Here's a short guide to courses for UCD Community Development graduate students, as compiled by previous students in the Community Development Graduate Group. Please add your own recommendations, unrecommendations, and course tracks to the following guide! This is only good if we keep it current!
Suggested Courses to Meet Your Interests
Agriculture
ARE 292: California Agriculture Seminar and Field Trip
IAD 200N: Philosophy and Practice of Agricultural Development
LAW 285C: California Agriculture Law and Policy
Environment
ESP 161: Environmental Law
ESP 171: Environmental Planning
Economic Development
ARE 215A: Microdevelopment Theory and Methods
CRD 152: Community Development
CRD 241: Economics of Community Development
IAD 200: Philosophy and Practice of Agricultural Development
Health & Nutrition
SOC 154: Sociology of Healthcare
AMS 101B/C: Food and Health in the U.S.
NUT 118: Community Nutrition
Social Issues
CRD 247: Transformation of Work
CRD 171: Housing and Social Policy
CRD 172: Social Inequality
CRD 242: Community Development Organizations
EDU 205 A & B: Ethnographic Research in Education
Landscape Design & Planning
AHI 288: Architecture and Urban Theory
AMS 151: Landscapes and Culture
CRD 171: Housing & Social Policy
ESP 171: Environmental Planning
GEO 200D: Research Methods in Geography
LDA 180G: Special Topics in Landscape Architecture: Regional Land Planning
LDA 185: Concepts and Methods in Geographic Information Systems
LDA 280: Open Space and Habitat Planning
Regional Issues & Policy
AHI 288: Architecture and Urban Theory
AMS 151: Landscapes and Culture
LDA 280: Open Space and Habitat Planning
Community-based Art & Social Propaganda
CHI 70: Survey of Chican@ Art
CHI 73: Chican@ Art Expression through Silkscreen
CHI 173: Chican@ Voice Silkscreen Workshop
CHI 171: Chican@ and Mexican Mural Workshop
ANT 125: Structure and Symbolism
WMS 165: Feminist Video Production
Anything from Technocultural Studies department
Research Methodology for a variety of purposes
HDE 220: Research Methods in Human Growth and Development
GEO 200D: Research Methods in Geography
EDU 205 A & B: Ethnographic Research in Education
CRD 160: Qualitative Research Methods
Recommended Courses
This is why we pay the big money.
Template:
CRD ###: Course Title
Instructor
-This was a super course! (Opinion from person A)
-Then again, I hated it! (Opinion from person B)
HDE 220: Research Methods in Human Growth and Development
"Katherine Masyn"
-Regardless of the title of the course, this class is actually a class in research design applicable to everyone's interests. In it you will get lots of support in picking and refining a research question for your thesis, writing your literature review, and deciding on the methods appropriate to your research question. Weekly assignments and readings make it a lot of work but very well worthwhile. You will also end up with a good deal of the introductory material to your thesis paper written (or at least drafted). It is offered in the spring, which makes it a great time to get your thesis ideas planned out to be able to start actually doing the research over the summer or in the fall of your second year in the program, especially if you make use of one of the two two-quarter classes in field work during your second year (Edu. 205 a/b and Soc. 292 a/b). Katherine is very helpful and fun. Part of her course is designed to help students understand and critique statistical articles. You aren't held responsible for this information so you can pursue it to the extent that you find it helpful to you. She is a statistician so her strengths are more in quantitative methods than in qualitative methods but the class is still a great start to your research for folks that anticipate using qualitative methods.
Sociology 156: Social Movements
professor varies
-I have really enjoyed this class and found it very relevant to community development interests in broad social change. It basically goes over the the different theories of how social movements form and what their outcomes are. Unfortunately the sociology dept. doesn't seem to have committed a regular faculty member to teach it but they do seem to offer it regularly with outside lecturers. Keep your eyes peeled for a graduate version of this class that may be taught in the future by new professor Michael McQuarrie.
ESP 298: Education for Sustainable Living Action Research Project
Joan Ogden
Offered only in Spring. Allows graduate students to develop a project that addresses some issue related to sustianability on campus- equity in labor, food system, energy, transportation- limited only by your imagination. You recruit undergrads to be a part of your team, who also get credit. Several CRD students have developed projects that are applicable to their theses. Don't miss this opportunity!
LDA 202: Community Participation Methods
Patsy Eubanks Owens
-This was a really great, hands-on course. We worked with a youth group in South Sacramento and helped them write a grant proposal/action plan for youth development in their community. It took a lot of out-of-class time attending meetings, etc, but there wasn't a lot of reading and writing, which was a nice break from all the theory classes. Also Patsy rocks!
MGT 291-2: Social Entrepreneurship
Cleve Justis
-I'm currently taking this course, and I'm finding it very valuable. It has guest speakers each week, and they range from insightful nonprofit management consultants to venture philanthropists to founders of socially-responsible companies and nonprofits. You learn practical skills as well. Contact the professor about getting in next year: <ctjustis AT ucdavis DOT edu>.
CRD 160:Research Methods
Bob Pence
-I took this to fulfill my research methods requirement. It's a VERY basic undergraduate course. I did learn some things, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you really need an intro to social science research. The professor was great, but he left. I've heard from undergrads that the current instructor is not engaging.
CRD 160: Qualitative Research Methods
Bernadette Tarallo
-A good overview of qualitative research methods for those of us for whom it’s been a while!
CRD 164: Community Change Organizations
Jonathan London
-Great basic overview of how organizations work, how to optimize performance in organizations and teams; good readings; lots of group activities.
-I took this class when it was offered by Frank Hirtz, before he was taken over by the administration borg. Good class — but basically the undergrad version of 242. Had more group writing (with a great structure) and less depressing "why does it all matter" existential blah-ness than 242.
CHI 72 + 172: Chicano Art Expression / Silkscreen Workshop
Malaquias Montoya
-Take this class, whether you're an artist or not!!! Malaquias has a life's worth experience as a political artist, teacher, and activist. He's got an incredible eye for design and wordage in political art/propoganda. He's insightful and nurturing, idealistic and demanding. If you want to bring about the revolution, you need to know how to take your message to the streets. Hands-on skills galore.
SAS 130: Contemporary Leadership
-Learn your leadership style and build upon your leadership skills
Not So Recommended Courses
Save yourself the trouble! Learn from other's wasted time!
Template:
CRD ###: Course Title
Instructor
-Oh, the pain I suffered! The indignity! (Opinion from person A)
-This course transformed my daily existance into bliss. (Opinion from person B)
CRD 241: Community Economic Development
Martin Kenney
-Okay, start out by saying I didn't take this class. Why? Because Mr. Kenney was rude, inappropriate, and sexist during the first day of class. He re-designed the class to remove the "Community" aspect AND so that all students basically did his research (for free) as their primary graded assignment. Research to help the Biotech industry, no less, when half the class were sustainable agriculture people, who find biotech morally reprehensible. Why is this worth complaining about here? Because Economic Development is a class I wanted to learn from, and had waited one year to take — so at the last second I scrambled for another course. So think strategically — know that you will need to gain these skills OUTSIDE the department unless you are one of the rare few who see eye to eye with Martin Kenney.
