The six-month Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Community Development provides working professionals with a flexible path to improving their practical experience, skills and knowledge in sustainable community development through new thinking, strategy and applied solutions.
This program combines on-site experiential learning with online study for an effective, flexible education option.
Through our collaborative partnership with the City of Victoria, students will complete an intensive eight-day residency at CityStudio, an innovative learning space located in downtown Victoria.
Who It's For
This graduate certificate program is for community-oriented professionals in the public and private sectors who are seeking practical tools and a holistic understanding of sustainable community-based development. By working on current, local projects that demand initiative, originality and leadership, you will gain the applied and theoretical expertise necessary for resolving complex community challenges. The CityStudio residency also creates the opportunity to apply place-based evidence decision-making, improving your ability to effectively facilitate sustainable community development.
Outcomes
Upon completion of this six-month graduate certificate, students will be able to:
-Apply principles and practices to increase resiliency, innovation and transformation on the path to sustainability
-Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to analyze applied research challenges or opportunities from an interdisciplinary perspective
-Gather, select and interpret appropriate quantitative and qualitative data to critically assess and evaluate issues using a systems lens
-Critically analyze, interpret and evaluate sustainable community development issues and scenarios, and recommend effective resolutions and strategies
-Work with comprehensive tools to support community success in planning, decision-making and successful implementation
-Apply principles and practices to build community engagement, capacity, collaboration and positive outcomes in varied contexts
-Demonstrate creativity and initiative across systems thinking and critical thinking
-Apply experience and theory for practical, effective community development solutions
Laddering Options
This graduate certificate program is designed to be taken on its own, or to ladder into the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies program.
Delivery Model
The Graduate Certificate in Sustainable and Community Development at Royal Roads University offers the unique advantage of an eight-day residency, preceded by one online course and followed by another online course. This structure provides students with the opportunity to apply and benefit from real-life case studies and place-based evidence decision making.
Residency
Students can expect the residency period to be quite rigorous. The normal schedule for a residency is from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Homework, readings and team assignments are completed outside of these hours so it is recommended that students keep their evenings available for these activities.
Online Learning
The online portion of the program involves several information delivery methods, including textbooks, articles, case studies, interactive learning and "chat" bulletin boards for corresponding. Courses involve assignments and teamwork, requiring students to plan carefully to meet timelines.
The two online courses last for a period of 10 weeks each, and require a level of effort of approximately 20 hours per week. During the first online course, the amount of time required may be higher as students familiarize themselves with our online learning platform.
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