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
Helen Hambly (109 Johnson Hall, Ext. 53408)
hhambly@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 - Professor
Graduate Faculty
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:
| 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:
| 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
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.
Provides students with abilities and knowledge to undertake, formulate and implement research in their chosen area of development. Students are expected to acquire the ability to identify research question and the appropriate designs to answer such questions.
Selected study topics which may be pursued in accordance with the special needs of students in the program.
This course will explore the philosophy and principles of public participation. An emphasis will be placed on those practices and methods that can be used to engage communities and organizations within a participatory framework.
Learning processes enhancing human capital in civil society and the organizational and managerial capabilities that can empower communities to meet their economic, social, cultural and environmental needs. Examines development and underdevelopment and the role of non-formal education and administration in facilitation social change in peripheral regions from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Explore the theories of leadership, practice leadership skills and activities, and develop an understanding of the role facilitation and conflict management play in organizational success. Emphasizes personal individual development through practice, lecture and group discussion. Service learning through facilitation of community meetings will be part of the course.
A program of supervised independent study related to the student's area of concentration.
Communication process for social change and development including participatory media. Students engage in community-based work involving multi-media projects. Course covers the history of development communication and current praxis in Canada and internationally.
This course explores the relationships between the environment and socio-economic issues at the community level and the resulting conflict. Using the social change model, this course examines the linages between advocacy, decision-making and conflict and the development of strategies to mitigate community conflict.
Students select a topic and write a paper that does not necessarily include original data but is an analysis and synthesis of materials dealing with the topic selected.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDRD*6000 | Qualitative Analysis in Rural Development | 0.50 |
| RPD*6380 | Application of Quantitative Techniques in Rural Planning and Development | 0.50 |