Degrees & Requirements

As a central part of the curriculum in Civic Innovation, students are actively solving community-identified problems and achieving outcomes for people and places.

Throughout the curriculum, students build and maintain a results portfolio, presenting this at points in their study, culminating in the senior capstone presentation.


  • Civic Innovation (B.A.)

    CVIN 100 Introduction to Civic Innovation (4) 
    CVIN 124 Skills Seminar: Project Design and Project Management for Innovation (1) 
    CVIN 125 Skills Seminar: Public Presentations (1) 
    CVIN 126 Skills Seminar: Interviewing and Collaborative Research (1) 
    CVIN 205 Skills Seminar: Building Collaboratives and Alliances for Innovation (4) 
    CVIN 224 Skills Seminar: Innovative Leadership for Community Groups, Projects and Nonprofits (1) 
    CVIN 225 Skills Seminar: Funding Innovation (1) 
    CVIN 226 Skills Seminar: Program Development and Assessment for Innovation (1) 
    CVIN 240 Research Methods for Innovation (3) 
    CVIN 300 Skills Seminar: Innovative Leadership for Projects (4) 
    One course from: (3) 
    CVIN 200 Public Movements, Social and Cultural Change
    CVIN 255 Place, the Built Environment, and Civic Innovation in New York
    CVIN 260 Ireland

    CVIN 400 Senior Project (6) 
    CVIN 450 Civic Innovation, Citizenship, and Place: Capstone Seminar and Thesis (3) 
    Area Selection: (3-4)
    One course from
    Place, Politics and Policy area:
    CVIN 312 Politics and Public Policy (3)
    ECON 262 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (3)
    GEOG 205 Environment and Planning (3)
    GEOG 322 Environmental Policy (3)
    POLS 202 State and Local Government in the United States (3)
    POLS 310 Parties and Elections in American Politics (3)
    OR
    One course from
    Diversity Studies area:
    CVIN 345 Innovative Capacity and Community Development (4)
    HIST 234 Comparative Slavery and Race Relations in the Americas (3)
    HIST 309 Studies in U.S. Women’s History (3)
    MCOM 250 Women and Media (3)
    SOCI 270 Race and Ethnicity
    Total36-37
    Additional Requirement 
    One course from: (4) 
    STAT 161 Introduction to Statistics
    STAT 162 Introduction to Statistics for the Social Sciences
    STAT 163 Introduction to Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences

  • Minor in Civic Innovation

    Required courses: 100; one course from the Place, Politics, and Policy area or one course from the Diversity Studies area; either 450 or 470 (at least 3 semester hours credit); and 8 credit hours in skills seminars, chosen in consultation with program chair and advisor.


This information is effective using the most recent Academic Catalog for more detailed course descriptions you can view the Academic Catalog here.

Students in the Appalachia class are working collectively on the Watershed Project.