Capacity Development and Extension

The Capacity Development and Extension Program offers a thesis or major paper course of study leading to the MSc degree. Subject areas including community engagement, adult learning and development, communication, leadership, decision-making, facilitation as well as capacity building at individual, organizational and systems levels. Our MSc graduates work in Canada and around the world in the operations and management of training, innovation and knowledge systems, community development and organizational change.

Administrative Staff

Director
Sean Kelly (101 Landscape Architecture, Ext. 56874)
sean.kelly@uoguelph.ca
Graduate Program Coordinator
Ataharul Chowdhury (121 Landscape Architecture, Ext. 52251)
ataharul.chowdhury@uoguelph.ca
Graduate Program Assistant
Lorena Barker (104 Landscape Architecture, Ext. 56780)
cde@uoguelph.ca

Graduate Faculty

This list may include Regular Graduate Faculty, Associated Graduate Faculty and/or Graduate Faculty from other universities.

Ataharul Chowdhury
B.Sc., M.Sc. Bangladesh, M.Sc. Wageningen, PhD Vienna - Associate Professor
Graduate Faculty

Helen Hambly
BA Toronto, MES, PhD York - Professor
Graduate Faculty

Allan C. Lauzon
BA, M.Sc. Guelph, EdD Toronto - Retired Faculty, University of Guelph
Associated Graduate Faculty

Derya Tarhan
MA Toronto, MES Waterloo, PhD Toronto - Assistant Professor

MSc Program

Admission Requirements

The program is open to qualified graduates from a wide variety of disciplines including agriculture, education, international development, sociology, communication, cultural studies, health, political science, history, and economics. A four-year honours degree is considered as the normal and basic admission requirement. Work or volunteer experience in a rural area or rural community is preferred.

Students in Capacity Development and Extension have employment opportunities in areas such as nonprofit and social enterprise organizations, community development, non-formal education, communication technology, agricultural extension and applied research, health, development project management and program analysis, and technology transfer.

Program Requirements

Capacity Development and Extension offers a professionally oriented program leading to the MSc degree in capacity development and extension. The program covers a broad range of topics including organizational capacity building, interpersonal communication, facilitation and leadership, media and communication technologies, adult learning, systems thinking and innovation processes. Capacity Development and Extension is a learner centred program and we actively support and encourage students to seek research and internship opportunities to complement their formal coursework.

Students enrol in one of two study options:

course work and major paper, or
course work and thesis.

A minimum of two full-time semesters of course work, or equivalent, must be completed. The MSc program requirements provide a foundation for capacity development and extension research and practice.

Thesis

Students must complete three (3) core courses, a minimum of two (2) restricted electives, one (1) open elective and a thesis.

The core courses consist of:

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
CDE*6070	Foundations of Capacity Building and Extension	0.50
CDE*6260	Research Design	0.50
EDRD*6000	Qualitative Analysis in Rural Development	0.50
or RPD*6380	Application of Quantitative Techniques in Rural Planning and Development

Students will be assigned an academic Advisor when they receive their offer of admission. By the end of their first semester they should have a thesis or major paper Advisor and an Advisory Committee. Your thesis/major paper Advisor may be the same as your original academic Advisor, or you may choose another faculty member from CDE. Your Advisor will guide you through the remainder of your program.

Course Work and Major Research Paper (MRP)

Students must complete three (3) core courses, a minimum of four (4) restricted electives, one (1) open elective and the major paper.

The core course consist of:

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
CDE*6070	Foundations of Capacity Building and Extension	0.50
CDE*6260	Research Design	0.50
EDRD*6000	Qualitative Analysis in Rural Development	0.50
or RPD*6380	Application of Quantitative Techniques in Rural Planning and Development
CDE*6900	Major Research Paper	1.00

Collaborative Specializations

International Development Studies

Capacity Development and Extension participates in the International Development Studies (IDS) collaborative specialization. The MSc degree for students in this collaborative specialization will have the specialist designation rural extension studies: international development studies. Please consult the International Development Studies listing for a detailed description of the collaborative specialization including the special additional requirements for each of the participating departments.

Courses

CDE*6070 Foundations of Capacity Building and Extension Unspecified [0.50]

Contemporary issues and changes in rural communities and the implications for building community capacity. Students will be introduced to and examine dominant paradigms of community capacity building for meeting rural needs.