Human and Community Development < West Virginia University

For questions or inquiries please contact the Program Coordinator: Dr. Aaron J. Giorgi, Assistant Professor, Agricultural and Extension Education, School for Community and Economic Development, Aaron.Giorgi@mail.wvu.edu

Degree Offered

Master of Science
Doctor of Philosophy

Nature of the Program

The Human and Community Development (HCD) program is intended for applicants with an interest and/or professional background in community development and design, landscape architecture, interior architecture, fashion design, design and merchandising, or applicants who have significant prior experience improving the social, cultural, and/or economic conditions of communities by working with government or educational institutions. The program provides students with access to a variety of courses and faculty expertise to help students develop an interdisciplinary perspective of human and community development, through research in two or more fields. To this end, the program is flexible and relies on the intellectual maturity and curiosity of the student and the guidance of the student's graduate committee, to develop a student-centered curriculum.

The Ph.D. degree is the most advanced degree offered and prepares students for careers at the highest level of the profession as a faculty member, staff in a research organization or governmental and non-governmental agencies, or as a consultant. This program is currently administered by the School for Community and Economic Development in partnership with Resource Economics and Management within the School of Natural Resources and the Environment.

Admissions for 2027-2028

A regular graduate student is a degree-seeking student who meets all the criteria for regular admission to a program of their choice and be under no requirements to make up deficiencies.

For regular admission, a student must:

Possess a master degree from a college or university in a discipline relevant to human and community development and have at least a grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale.
Provide three letters of reference from persons acquainted with the applicant’s professional work, experience, or academic background.
Submit a written statement of 500 words or more indicating the applicant’s goals and objectives relative to receiving a graduate degree, and identify a potential faculty advisor.
A design portfolio (physical or digital) is encouraged for applicants who come with a design background, such as environmental planning and design, landscape architecture, community planning, and so on.
For the Area of Emphasis in Agricultural and Extension Education: At least two years equivalent of full-time relevant professional experience.

Major Code (M.S.): 1736
Major Code (Ph.D.): 1732

Degree Progress

The School for Community and Economic Development requires the following milestones for all students. According to the graduate catalog, students will receive a yearly evaluation. Students who are either not making adequate degree progress or who are failing to uphold professional standards may receive notice of probation, suspension or dismissal. Students may be notified of academic consequences outside of routine evaluation processes if an issue must be addressed immediately.

Each year, no later than the first day of classes of the Fall semester, the department will distribute an updated version of the graduate handbook.

Benchmarks

Year One: Completion of Plan of Study and research proposal
Year Two (MS): Significant progress toward thesis completion;
Year Two (Ph.D.): Successful completion of written and oral comprehensive examination
Year Three (MS): Completion and defense of thesis
Year Four (Ph.D.): Satisfactory progress toward completion of dissertation
Year Five (Ph.D.): Completion and defense of dissertation

Satisfactory Progress

Satisfactory progress toward completion of thesis/dissertation includes literature review, data collection, and analysis.

Human and Community Development