Program Description
Mission
The MA in Urban Studies concentration in Community Development produces professionals who are competent to work with communities to revitalize their physical, economic and social infrastructure.
Students will
- Learn practices and processes that form community development (and its sub-components; e.g. neighborhood economic development, planning, etc.)
- Learn how policies affect community development
- Develop research and community assessment skills
- Have relevant field experiences
- Develop leadership & management skills and opportunitiesQuick Links
Quick Links
Program Goals & Objectives
The broad goals of the Interdisciplinary M.A. Degree Program in Urban Studies are:
- To develop leaders who understand the complex interrelationships among various influences on urban development, including the historical, religious, legal, political, philosophical, economic, sociological, aesthetic/artistic, and global dimensions.
- To cultivate within students critical reasoning and professional communication skills, along with an ability to apply knowledge of various research methodologies to analyze patterns, synthesize information, and evaluate existing solutions, as well as create new solutions, to critical complex problems inherent in urban communities.
- To assist students to become Christian change agents who understand the role of leadership in effectively empowering individuals and urban communities to bring about social transformation, and who integrate personal call with professional work.
The M.A. in Urban Studies Program prepares students to work in a wide range of service areas as Christian leaders and change agents, such as: organizational development, growth management, youth ministry, environmental concerns, neighborhood arts revitalization, public and private education, health and human services, social welfare, infrastructure management, public policy and government.
Graduates of the program become members of a global network of partners in continuous learning, who enhance the knowledge base underlying urban renewal in a variety of specializations. Students network with others around the globe to continue to find new ideas and solutions to urban issues, mentor new students, and engage in continuous lifelong learning. In the truest sense, students learn that holistic, lifelong learning means to become a steward of one’s discipline. <return to top>
History & Mission
Eastern is a Christian university of the arts and sciences dedicated through teaching, scholarship, service, spiritual formation, student development and societal involvement to the preparation of undergraduate and graduate students for thoughtful and productive lives of Christian faith and service.
We achieve our mission when our students develop a Christian world view; sharpen their understanding and skills of critical thinking, reflection, analysis and communication; demonstrate knowledge and competencies in the liberal arts, the natural and social sciences and their major fields of study; experience genuine Christian community in a supportive environment which enables personal and spiritual growth; participate in opportunities for meaningful service; and grow in their love of God and neighbors.
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Philosophy
Interdisciplinary
To function as effective catalysts of social change in this environment, leaders must have the ability to analyze problems and develop solutions from a holistic and integrative perspective.
Partnership
To be effective, change agents must be able to analyze and interpret information through a variety of lenses and perspectives, and this can only be accomplished by following God’s calling to build relationships with others.
Praxis
Effective leaders must have a strong foundation of academic theory, but they must also be armed with practical critical thinking and analytical skills to function as catalysts for change in urban areas.
Scholar-Practitioner
To complete its philosophical foundation, the Program utilizes the Scholar-Practitioner model. All program instructors are carefully selected for their ability to provide instruction from both a theoretical and practical perspective.
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Core Values
Urban-focused
Because cities directly affect the lives of a vast majority of the world’s people, students inevitably will confront the weight of urban influence. They must be prepared to utilize the city’s resources and systems in their calling to transform individuals and communities.
Interdisciplinary
Urban communities are living organisms with complex, interrelated systems. A professional, while working competently in a single area or discipline, must recognize and utilize other disciplines. Understanding health care, education, economic development, politics, religion and the arts provides the practitioner with a more complete perspective for affecting positive transformation.
Cross-cultural
Cities are global communities where the ethnic groups of the world live and work. Students who wish to succeed in this environment must develop competence in cross-cultural skills to relate to, minister to, and lead a diverse population.
Research-based
Critical thinking is essential, and knowledge becomes power in an environment with complex problems and limited resources. Leaders must have the skills to ask the right questions, work through critical thinking processes, analyze complex data, and draw sound conclusions.
Faith-centered
Faith is a most significant factor in transforming communities. CSSC is committed to faith integration, the critical thinking skills of reason, and the biblical call to seek justice in the world.
Field-intensive
Competency-based professional training and education requires students and faculty to prove what they claim. Related to this is the call by businesses and institutions for graduates with real-world experience. CSSC provides students knowledge, experience and skills for effective performance in a highly selective job market. <return to top>
Our Commitments
Scholarship And Teaching
We believe in the unity of God's truth, whether supernaturally revealed or humanly discovered, and we value the search for knowledge and understanding in all areas of life. We are guided by our faith in Jesus Christ who is "The way, the truth and the life." As an educational community we seek to develop leadership and innovation, sound scholarship, original research and publications, and appropriate relevance as we maintain a high priority on excellence in teaching. We value highly the integration of Christian faith and learning in all academic disciplines and in the development of a Christian worldview.
Scripture
We recognize the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, as inspired of God and as the supreme and final authority in faith and life. We submit ourselves to carrying out our mission under its authority and seek to apply biblical principles to all facets of human aspiration and action.
The Church
We affirm our conviction that the Church of Jesus Christ, as a visible community of believers inclusive of persons of all cultures, races and nationalities, is central to faithful obedience in living the Christian life and advancing the work of the Gospel. We highly value our established relationship with the American Baptist Churches in the USA. We seek to maintain and strengthen this relationship while we also serve the larger Church in ways appropriate to our mission.
Evangelism
We affirm the importance of calling all persons in this country and around the world to personal faith and faithful discipleship in following Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We intend for every student to have a meaningful and appropriate opportunity to hear and respond to the call for repentance, faith and obedience to Jesus Christ.
Justice
We acknowledge with sorrow the brokenness of the world at personal, national, and international levels, and we seek to work for justice, reconciliation and Christian transformation in all arenas of life. We particularly seek to work with and for poor, oppressed and suffering persons as part of our Christian discipleship. As part of this commitment, we seek to provide educational opportunities and financial resources to attend a private Christian college.
The World
We affirm that Christ calls us to concern, understanding and involvement in the world, both near at hand in Philadelphia and the Main Line, and to far distant places around the globe. This includes work done in various careers and in volunteer service, in traditional Christian missions and in newly emerging forms of Christian service in a globally interdependent world. We seek to encourage each other as "ambassadors for Christ" and "agents of reconciliation" in a world torn apart by conflict and bound together throughout the world but also for the earth itself as responsible stewards of the environment and other physical resources.
Community
We believe that the way in which we live and work together is important in fulfilling our mission. We desire a campus community of students and faculty, staff and administration which embodies values of caring and compassion, justice and integrity, competence and affirmation. We want to encourage the holistic development of our students intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. We value faculty-student ratios which facilitate personal and mentoring relationships. We seek an inclusive student body, faculty, staff and Board. We seek to treat each member of the campus community with fairness, dignity and respect seeking a spirit of unity and harmony as we join together to achieve our common mission.
(Adopted unanimously by the Board of Trustees of Eastern University, September 29, 1989)
Eastern University, founded in 1952, is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges & Schools to offer Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in the arts, sciences and professional studies.
The Campolo School for Social Change (CSSC) at Eastern University (part of the Campolo College for Graduate and Professional Studies) exists to prepare Christian change agents—compassionate professionals and activist scholars—to use their professions and their lives to assist and empower urban communities in America and around the world to transform themselves, economically, socially, politically, and spiritually. <return to top>
Contact Us
Urban Studies Department
Campolo College of Graduate and Professional Studies
Eastern University | Philadelphia
3300 Henry Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19129
P: 215-769-3121
F: 215-848-2651
E: urbanma@eastern.edu
