Management and Community Organizations

Certificate Program
Frequently Asked Questions!

Many people who work in community organizations are "accidental managers"-- they started organizing or providing a direct service because of their deep commitment to an issue or need, and several years later they face the challenge of administering growing, complex organizations. The certificate in Management of Community Organizations (MCO) provides management training within the framework of the social, economic, and political values that shape the nonprofit sector.

The program trains people with a commitment to social purpose and effective management who wish to work at the community level.

Who Should Apply

The certificate in Management of Community Organizations is open to students with a bachelor's degree and is especially appropriate for:

• New managers of community organizations
• Those with experience in the field who want to obtain management training
• Mid-career individuals interested in pursuing community work
• People who want to start a new agency or program
• Individuals seeking to explore graduate education in nonprofit management

Students interested in earning a graduate degree can often apply the certificate courses toward a Tufts master's degree in urban and environmental policy and planning.

Curriculum

To earn the MCO certificate, students complete four graduate-level courses for credit. Students choose the four courses from a combination of MCO core courses and MCO skills and urban and social policy electives. Students must select at least one core course as part of their program of study.

MCO Core Courses
Select at least one core course from the following:

• UEP 253 Financial Analysis and Management (Spring)
• UEP 256 Program Evaluation (Fall and Spring)
• UEP 273 Nonprofits, States, and Markets (Fall)

Course descriptions for these core courses can be found on the UEP website

MCO Course Electives
Select up to three skills and urban and social policy electives from the following:

• UEP 161B Writing and Public Communication (Summer)
• UEP 172A Strategies for Social Change (Summer)
• UEP 181 Homelessness in America (Spring)
• UEP 182 Social Policy for Children and Families (Fall)
• UEP 188 Seminar on Government and the Family (Spring)
• UEP 205 Urban Planning and Design (Fall)
• UEP 213 Housing Policy and Community Development (Fall)
• UEP 215 Legal Frameworks of Social Policy (Spring)
• UEP 230 Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (Fall and Spring)
• UEP 240 U.S. Social Welfare Policy (Fall and Spring)
• UEP 242 Race, Class, and Public Policy (Fall)
• UEP 261 Community Development, Planning, and Politics (Spring)
• UEP 271 Community Economic Development (Fall)
• UEP 284 Developing Sustainable Communities (Fall and Spring)
• UEP 294-02 Policy Implementation and Innovation (Spring)

(Students may substitute other Tufts graduate courses, subject to the approval of the certificate advisor.)

Read more about many of these UEP courses at the UEP web site

Tuition:

Certificate students pay a course rate for each required certificate course of $2,930 per course (2008-2009).

Students in a certificate program may be eligible for Stafford Loan assistance. Contact the Student Financial Services Office at (617) 627-2000 for more information.

Certificate courses are also available, at a cost of $2,930 per course, to students who are not pursuing a certificate. In addition, students have the option of auditing courses for $600 per course, but these courses cannot be applied toward a certificate.

For more information, contact:
Certificate Faculty Advisor:
Rusty Russell, J.D. (617) 627-2220

Download Application Forms for the certificate program.