The Master's in Community Development: Career Impact and ROI

What can you do with a Master's in Community Development (MCD)? Is an MCD degree worth the investment? Community development practitioners "help create communities where residents have what they need to thrive where they live, learn, work, and play." Now equipped with his Master's in Community Development, Jean Hakuzimana '20G has been able to do just that.

Community Development in Action

As the statewide director of the refugee resettlement program at Ascentria Care Alliance, Jean works to help refugees integrate into the community with the basics they need to fly on their own.

"I believe that I'm making impacts in people's lives. When you see young men coming from Afghanistan or Ukraine, where you see bombings every night, and when you see them being resettled, getting the basics, going to work, having again hope...you feel like, look, I believe I'm making an impact in someone's life,  and it's fulfilling," Jean explains.

Balancing Work, Life, and a Master's Degree

Like many Carsey students, Jean was able to complete his degree while working a full-time job. "The way courses are organized, they give you some time and flexibility. And I could do some homework in the evening hours...that was very helpful to me, to meet the deadlines."

The MCD program was a great fit with Jean's role at Ascentria, as he got to choose assignment topics that directly connected with his job in the refugee resettlement program. "I remember doing the cost-benefit analysis of teaching English to newcomers or new Americans or refugees, so it was a nice combination. The job that I'm doing is community development, and learning community development when you're doing it—it's a perfect combination of applying, learning, and even trying some new concepts. I believe that most of the job that I do here is informed by the MCD," Jean stated.

Applying the MCD Degree to Real-World Challenges: The Lake Chad Project

Although he relocated to New Hampshire, Jean was able to take his education back to his roots in Africa through the Capstone project. Focused on the disappearing waters of Lake Chad, Jean recognized the struggles the community faced, losing 90% of their water supply. "It used to be their source [of living] from fishing, farming, but now if you see the whole vanishing coverage, people are suffering. They're being displaced, they're running out of resources."

His project, Addressing the Poor Inclusion and Participation of Communities in the Programs and Efforts to Restore and Rehabilitate Lake Chad and its Biodiversity, consisted of engaging the communities of the lake in the efforts to rehabilitate and restore lost ecosystems. He approached this by teaching the communities skills and knowledge surrounding the ongoing efforts.

Jean described his experience as a substantial project with great impact. "All the achieved outputs have harnessed community inclusion and engagement to the level of having permanent community committees that join hands with ongoing and incoming projects to save Lake Chad."

Is an MCD Degree Worth It?

For Jean, it has certainly paid off. "In the long run, I would say it paid off...I believe the assurance that you have the ability to do something, in the development world, going to the conversations, meeting people, feeling like you can help, you can contribute...that's the raw return on investment that I believe I have."

Having the problem-solving and logic-focused knowledge taught in the MCD program is a cross-cutting skillset that appears across industries. Though you may not realize the future impact on your career while you're in it, "it's a big investment within any framework of career you want to go into."

Should I Get a Master's in Community Development?

If you ask Jean, the answer is a resounding yes.

"I would say jump on it. Have it. It's from expert teachers...Jolan is so good at those logic model concepts. And you have people like Michael Swack. I really enjoyed the integrative approaches course. So...jump on it, have that wealth of knowledge which will inform your career moving forward."