Internship Requirement

Students are required to complete a 200 hour professional internship in a community development organization. This is highly valued by students who view it as a way to network, gain practical skills, and develop substantive expertise. Internship placement assistance is provided by the Department and External Advisory Committee.

Career Options

Students completing their Master of Science degree in Community Development are prepared for professional roles in community development and related fields such as planning, community design, nonprofit organizations, and policy consulting. Several have pursued doctoral study in such fields as sociology, urban and regional planning, and geography. Typical careers include leadership positions in rapidly growing fields such as:

  • Nonprofit community organizations
  • Public interest groups
  • State and local government agencies
  • Regional planning
  • Research and consulting organizations
  • Social welfare and public health agencies
  • Special interest organizations
  • Housing development corporations
  • Local economic development corporations
  • Land trusts or farmland preservation organizations
  • Foundations

What Our Alumni Do

Among the many organizations CDGG alumni have worked for in recent years are the following: Alameda County Resource Conservation District; AmeriCorps VISTA; BRB Architecture & Planning; CA Air Resources Board; CA Department of Housing and Community Development; CA Department of Social Services; CA Institute for Rural Studies; CA State Assembly; Central Valley Air Quality Coalition; Cities of Sacramento, West Sacramento, Davis, Hillsboro, Oakland, San Francisco, and Chicago; CivicMakers; CivicWell (formerly the Local Government Commission); Climate Mayors; Code for America; Colorado State University; Community Action Marin; County of San Diego; Decarcerate Sacramento; Delta Stewardship Council; Eagle County CO; Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; GHD Group; Google; Harwood Art Center; Mercy Housing; Ogilvy; National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group; Northwest Cooperative Development Center; People Assisting the Homeless; Portland Metro; Portland State University; Sacramento Air Quality Management District; St. Bonaventure University; Strategic Growth Commission (California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research); SACOG; SMUD; Tahoe Regional Planning Agency; UC Cooperative Extension; UC Davis; UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program; Valley Vision; Visionary Home Builders of California