Community Leadership, M.P.S.

The Community Leadership Master’s in Professional Studies includes core courses designed to help each student develop the self-understanding, academic knowledge, practical skills, and professional relationships needed to excel as a community leader. In addition to completing the core courses, students choose elective courses that deepen their expertise in a specific area.

The Graduate Program Director will work with each student to create a coherent pathway through the program. Students can choose their elective courses from UMBC graduate offerings in Sociology, Public Policy, Social Entrepreneurship, American Studies, Geography and Environmental Systems, Modern Languages Linguistics & Intercultural Communication, and Community Psychology.

Core Courses

One course in Leadership, Management & Communication; one course in Quantitative & Analytic Methods; one course in Law & Ethics; and one Capstone course:

Elective Courses

Pathway Courses

Program Pathways

In the first semester of the program, students work with the Program Director to determine a Program Pathway tailored to their success with an additional 12 elective credits. Each student receives help identifying an appropriate grouping of elective courses that connect to their experiences, interests and aspirations. The most popular pathways for M.P.S. students include taking Community Leadership Skills Courses (beyond the required 3 credits), as well as courses in Social Entrepreneurship, Applied Sociology, and Public Policy. The Program Director maintains a continually updated list of graduate courses in a wide range of academic departments that are designated as Community Leadership electives and may fit into your pathway.

Urban Studies (choose any 4 courses)

In this pathway, students will learn how to understand and address the unique problems confronting cities today, as well as tools that can bring about change to improve urban life.

PUBL 644 - Urban Theory
PUBL 645 - The U.S. City
AMST 682: Research Seminar (Topic: Preserving Places, Making Spaces in Baltimore)

Non-Profit and Public Organizations

In this pathway, students will get an understanding of the roles of nonprofit organizations in American society, their methods of operation, research methods used to evaluate nonprofit programs, and substantive areas in which many nonprofits provide services. Completion of these courses, along with the SOCY 600 course that is a core requirement, will result in an additional Certificate in the Nonprofit Sector.

PUBL 613 - Managing Public Organizations
SOCY 681 - The Social and Institutional Roles of Nonprofit Organizations in American Society
SOCY 685 - Structure and Function of Nonprofit Organizations
Additional electives as deemed appropriate by the Graduate Program Director.

Social Entrepreneurship

In this pathway, students will learn to apply innovative entrepreneurial practices to the development of solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues.

ENTR 601 - Developing the Entrepreneurial Mindset
ENTR 605 - Learning Organizations
ENTR 608 - Design Thinking
ENTR 610 - Intrapreneurship
ENTR 611 - Project Management Approaches
ENTR 612 - Creative Problem Solving and the Socialpreneur
Additional electives as deemed appropriate by the Graduate Program Director.

Student Pathway

Work with the Program Director to design a pathway that speaks to your experiences, strengths and interests. Your pathway can draw on the courses above as well as other UMBC graduate courses that are designated as Community Leadership electives.