Across New Jersey communities work to make life better for the people who live in them. This work is called community development and it requires numerous skills and much knowledge in addition to the good will and mutual respect people bring to the challenges. Immigration, cross-cultural understanding, urban and suburban sprawl, poverty, providing access for people with disabilities, homelessness, aging in place and health care delivery and disease prevention are just a few of the challenges to making life better. More recently communities have begun to struggle with sustainability - meeting the needs of people in the present without compromising the needs of people in the future.
At the same time, the community development sector is expected to experience a large turnover in employment as practitioners who entered the field in the 1960s and 1970s begin to retire. Many communities and service organizations are already looking for replacements. Montclair State University offers the first and currently the only graduate certificate in Community Development in the State of New Jersey.
The Post-BA Anthropology Certificate Program in Community Development is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the role of the community development practitioner. The program equips graduates with training that will enhance their knowledge and skills that can be applied in a variety of settings. A key feature of the program is training in program evaluation that is an essential component of most community development initiatives. Career Opportunities
Individuals with a Certificate in Community Development will be qualified to work in a variety of settings: