Program Overview

Community Development and Inclusive Leadership Bachelor of Science Degree

Overview

The Community Development and Inclusive Leadership degree is an innovative, interdisciplinary program that provides students with leadership, interpersonal communication, research, and data management skills. The program ensures that students develop the skills and capabilities needed to lead and manage communities and not-for-profit organizations, advocacy groups, and other entities.

Why Pursue RIT’s Community Development and Leadership Degree

• Gain Real-World Experience: Cooperative education and internships, undergraduate research, and study abroad provide hands-on learning experiences where students can apply what they’ve learned in the classroom in the real-world.
• Comprehensive Course Offerings: Choose one of six concentrations in business management, community health, deaf leadership, political science, psychology, or public policy.
• Multidisciplinary Approach: Courses in business, leadership, communication, public policy, community health, management, and psychology come from across all of RIT’s colleges, providing an integrated, comprehensive education.

RIT’s Community Development and Leadership Degree

The community development and leadership degree is designed to provide students with the skills and capabilities needed to lead and manage communities and not-for-profit organizations, advocacy groups, and other entities. Students will learn to:

• Identify and analyze traits, skills, communication styles, and best practices of domestic, international, historical, and modern-day community leaders
• Examine personal leadership strengths and weaknesses
• Learn and apply qualitative and quantitative research methods to help identify and address community needs, develop and implement strategies, and assess outcomes
• Recognize and value multicultural, accessible, and inclusive community members and groups
• Determine strategies for dialoguing, identifying, and addressing social justice issues, concerning ability, race, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity within different communities
• Identify and utilize best leadership practices in individual, group, and social media communication skills to advance community inclusion, consensus, and productivity
• Integrate grant writing and grant management skills into development of community strategic planning
• Apply core theoretical foundations of inclusive leadership and community development to a variety of government, education, business, and not-for-profit agencies

Concentrations

• Deaf Leadership
• Business Management
• Public Policy
• Community Health
• Political Science
• Psychology

Careers In Community Development and Leadership

Students will be prepared to assume entrepreneurial, managerial, and advocacy leadership roles in government, public, private, and educational organizations. They will graduate with a leadership e-portfolio that demonstrates qualitative and quantitative research acumen, grant writing and leadership experience, multicultural competency, and social media management skills as well as a strong foundation in leadership theory and best practices in community development.

Combined Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Degrees

Today’s careers require advanced degrees grounded in real-world experience. RIT’s Combined Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degrees enable students to earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in as little as five years of study, all while gaining the valuable hands-on experience that comes from co-ops, internships, research, study abroad, and more.

Curriculum

The proposed curriculum outline provides an overview of the course work/topic areas in this new program and is subject to change.

• First Year
  • LEAD-101: Introduction to Community Leadership and Development
  • LEAD-102: Inclusive Leadership
  • LEAD-103: Introduction to Intersectionality
  • Choose one of the following: NMTH-250, STAT-145, or UWRT-150
  • General Education - Artistic Perspective
  • General Education - Scientific Principles Perspective
  • General Education - Elective
• Second Year
  • LEAD-200: Dimensions for Ethical Community Leadership
  • LEAD-201: Shaping Educational and Legal Policy
  • LEAD-203: Foundation of Dialogue: Understanding Black Experiences
  • LEAD Concentration Course
  • General Education - Global Perspective
  • General Education - Natural Science Inquiry Perspective
  • General Education - Mathematical Perspective B
  • General Education - Elective
  • General Education - Immersion 1, 2
• Third Year
  • LEAD-350: Introduction to Qualitative Research
  • LEAD-351: Introduction to Quantitative Research
  • LEAD-500: Experiential Learning in Community Development and Inclusive Leadership
  • NAST-220: Fundamentals of Database Applications
  • LEAD Concentration Course 2, 3, 4, 5
  • General Education - Elective
  • Open Electives
• Fourth Year
  • LEAD-501: Capstone Seminar (WI)
  • LEAD Concentration Course 6, 7, 8, 9
  • General Education - Immersion 3
  • General Education - Electives
  • Open Electives

Admissions and Financial Aid

All students (hearing, deaf, and hard of hearing) are invited to apply for the program. Hearing students accepted into the program will be in the Deaf Leadership concentration. All hearing students will be required to complete a Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI) assessment.

First-Year Admission

First-year applicants are expected to demonstrate a strong academic background that includes:

• 4 years of English with a strong performance is expected.
• 3 years of social sciences with a strong performance is expected.
• 3-4 years of math
• 2-3 years of science
• ASL fluency is required for hearing students applying to the Deaf Leadership track.

Transfer Admission

Transfer applicants should meet these minimum degree-specific requirements:

• Strong performance in English and social sciences is expected.
• ASL fluency is required for hearing students applying to the Deaf Leadership track.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

100% of all incoming first-year and transfer students receive aid. RIT’s personalized and comprehensive financial aid program includes scholarships, grants, loans, and campus employment programs.

Faculty

• Jess La Sala
• Rain Bosworth
• Denise Kavin
• Aimee Whyte
• Rachel Mazique
• Janine Butler
• Alesia Allen
• Matthew Dye

Contact

Program Contact:

• Kathryn Schmitz
• Department Chair
• Department of Liberal Studies
• National Technical Institute for the Deaf
• 585-475-2906
• kschmitz@rit.edu