Sustainability and Social Justice
In the Sustainability and Social Justice department (formerly IDCE - International Development, Community and Environment up until 2024), we strive for a more just and sustainable world. We embrace the complexity of urgent social, political, and ecological problems and seek to approach these challenges through multidisciplinary teaching and learning, collaborative scholarship, and innovation.
We offer master’s degrees in Community Development & Planning, Environmental Science & Policy, International Development, and Geographic Information Science. Our degree programs are organized around nine cross-cutting concentrations, for example ‘Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation’, ‘Refugees, Forced Migration and Belonging’ and ‘Gender and Development’.
from 2023
Field Notes of an RPCV: Reflecting on Development and Adolescence, Marissa Kelly
Country-Scale Crop Field Mapping for Zambia Using U-Net, Yao-Ting Yao
from 2022
Characterization of Municipal Water Sources for the Mexico-Lerma-Cutzamala Basin Region, Ian F. Hirons
ADDRESSING MEXICO CITY’S WATER CRISIS VIA WASTEWATER RECLAMATION IN THE MEZQUITAL VALLEY, Holden Nicholas Moore and Duncan Drapeau
Taking the Bull by the Horns: Gender Analysis in a Cattle Project in Indonesia, Febrina Prameswari
The Belt and Road Initiative Policy: How Chinese Policy Influences Southeast Asia and South Asia, Chendong Wang
Is Health Literacy a Defined Risk Factor? A Literature Review of Health Literacy as it relates to Immigrant Populations in the U.S., Kelly Zdanuczyk
from 2021
An Analysis of the Impacts of Climate Change on Food Security in the Albertine Rift of East Africa, Malcolm Jacob
Global Perspectives on Harmful Algal Blooms: Impacts and Responses, Ryan Mitchell
Global Perspectives on Harmful Algal Blooms: Impacts and Responses, Ryan Mitchell
Urban Permaculture for Climate-Resilient Farming in Worcester, Massachusetts, Priyanka Shrestha
Development of a Human Health-Centered Climate Resilience/Vulnerability Framework for the Mexico City Region, Alex Stever
EVALUATING GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES FROM 1979 TO 2019, TO IDENTIFY PRIORITY CONSERVATION AREAS FOR BIRDS, Qihui Wang
from 2020
Application of Autoencoders for Latent Pattern Analysis in Image Time Series, Jiena He
Refugee Housing in Worcester: A Neighborhood Case Study of Bell Hill, Tyler Seth Maren
Redesigning our Conception of Local Food Utilizing a Value-Based Approach, Heather Riesenberg
from 2019
Overcoming Recurring Crisis through Resilience: An Analysis of USAID’s Definition of Resilience, Leta Branham
Assessing the impacts of gold mining deforestation on the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) in Madre de Dios, Peru, Erica Carcelen
ANALYZING TRENDS AND PATTERNS IN ADVERSE BIRTH OUTCOMES IN MASSACHUSETTS FROM 2000-2014, Madeleine Haynes
Challenges to Effective Monitoring and Evaluation Systems: Lessons from Afghanistan, Qudratullah Jahid
A study on the reflections of women and men on a women’s empowerment project: A case study of Sindhuli, Nepal, Shreyasha Khadka
The Transformational Haze: Crisis, Shadow Economies, and Global Civil War on the Venezuela-Colombia Border, Sam Kirsch
The Relevance and Adequacy of Youth Development as Part of the National Development Agenda: Reflection of Malawi, Siphiwe S. Komwa
Puerto Rico's Coffee Region: A Socio-economic Profile, Carla B. Lee Ms.
Webster Square Neighborhood Plan, Conor McCormack
An Evaluation of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 for Land Cover Classification, Aaron Meneghini
Coastal Plastics Abatement on Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island: Stakeholder Perspectives and Lessons Learned, Paige Myatt
Food Deserts Debunked and Decentered: From Deficit to Relational Mapping for Food Justice in Worcester, MA, Brenna Robeson
An Analysis of United States Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Policy and the Public Participation Process, Alexis Stabulas
from 2018
DEGROWTH LESSONS FROM CUBA, Claire S. Bayler
Foreclosures for Sale: Revisiting Stories of Worcester's Mortgage Crisis, A Radio Documentary, Hallie Blashfield and Beatrice Misher
Media Analysis of City-Wide Local News Portrayals of Youth Criminality: Worcester, Massachusetts, Andrea Boffice
Exploring Existing Innovative Education Models: A Best Practice Guide for a New School Design in Lewiston, Maine, Katie Bosse
Haiti: The Relationship Between Political Instability and Post-Disaster Response, Ashly Brun
Wellness and Prevention Program Sustainability Design for Clark University Athletics Department, Emily Corbett
The Rise, Fall, and Revival of the Moviegoing Experience: The Viability of Independent Theatres in a Multiplex World, Isabel S. Cruz
Exploring the Potential of Environmental Impact Investing for Sustainable Development: The Cases of Dominion Energy and Tesla Motors, Christopher Dibble
Worcester Community Clean Energy Project: A Preliminary Assessment of Project Aims and Potential, Gabe J. Epstein
What's the Vibe? Curriculum, Atmosphere, and Youth-Adult Partnerships, Jacob Folsom-Fraster
Linking Ecotourism Livelihood Strategies to Post-Displacement Homemaking in Internally Displaced Communities in Southern Nepal, Sophia Graybill
Ecological Sustainability within California's Improved Forest Management Carbon Offsets Program, Cory Hertog
Centering People in the Economy: Worker Cooperatives and the Solidarity Economy in Barcelona, James Hooks
SWOT Analysis of Comprehensive Anti-Gang Strategies (CAGS), Jenelle Howard
THE ETM AND ALCE TESTING: SUMMER INTERNSHIP IN CLARK LABS, Wenle Jiang
Sexual Violence Prevention Education at Clark University: A study of First Year Programming, Elyana Kadish
Underserved and Unaccompanied: LGBTQ Youth, Meeting the Intersecting Needs of Youth Homelessness and LGBTQ Identities in Worcester, MA, Molly Kellman
Seabird Distribution and Oil & Gas Potential Along the Northern Sea Route, Russia: An Arctic Marine Conservation Case Study, Meghan Kelly
Identifying Gaps in United States Federal Environmental Policy & Practice Through Greening Big Box Infrastructure, Elizabeth Kubacki
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Summer Fellowship: GIS Study of Threatened and Endangered Species in Colorado, Jeanie Lai
CREATING WEB MAPS OF FOREST RESTORATION PLOTS AT IRACAMBI ATLANTIC RAINFOREST RESEARCH CENTER, MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL, Daniel Lassila
A Place to Call Home: The Fight for Affordable, Erin Lavitt
An Analysis of Trade-offs: The Artisan Fair Trade Sector, Stephanie Leiderman
Examining The Effects of National Monument Establishment on Surrounding Communities, Sarah Maloney
Mapping Energy Access in Rural Tanzania: 2017 Summer Internship with the World Resources Institute, Naramena McCray
The United Nations Global Compact in México: Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting, Magaly Preciado
Identifying Reasons for Attrition at the Clemente Course in the Humanities, Worcester, MA, Mollie Rayner-Haselkorn
Queering Sexual Health: The Intersection of Sexual Health and LGBTQ Identities in Worcester, MA, Sara Richman Davidow
Arts and Social Justice: The Role of Art Organizations in Building Community, Hannah Romig
The Social Value of SEIU Women, Alex Rothfelder
Networks of Isolation: The Case of Donald J. Trump, Facebook, and the Limits of Social Movement Theory, Carol L. Stimmel
The Implementation of the Family Chaos Diversion Pilot in Worcester, Massachusetts, Nina Thacker
Learner Persistence in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Programs, Elyse Waksman
Commodification and Resistance: Migrant Labor in Jordan, Matthew Walleser
Refugee Case Files as an Indicator of Housing Needs, Molly Weilbacher
United in the Struggle: The Role of Land Titles for Communities of Internally Displaced Persons in El Salvador, Corie Welch
Agribusiness, Food Insecurity, and Chronic Diet-Related Ailments in Worcester, MA: Toward a Nuanced Narrative, Adam Wriggins
Building a Sense of Community: A Case Study of the Fairmount Neighborhood in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Bethany Yeo
from 2017
Asset Assessment for Women: A Case Study of Imasayi Village in Ogun State, Nigeria & NGO Development: A Strategic Plan, Olamide Adeyinka
THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATING THE SDGS IN UDAIPUR AND REFLECTIONS ON ALFA EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY, Celestina Dankwa Agyekum
A Moment Became the Season: An Exploration of Trauma Narrative within the Community Development Context, Lydia Berry
Inequity in Rebuilding after Disasters, Sara Brown
The Fight Against Botanical Invaders: Summer Internship with the Montana Conservation Corps and the U.S. Forest Service, Bryan S. Buttigieg
BE SERIOUS ABOUT DIVERSITY: EXPLORING WHY INNOVATION COMMUNITIES ARE NOT DIVERSE, Julia Carrasquel
Public Health Applications of GIS: A Spatial Analysis of Tobacco Sales and Violations for the Worcester Division of Public Health, Thomas M. Caywood
Barriers to Sustainable Hunting-Based Conservation of Elephants in Zimbabwe, Jessica H. Cusworth
Atole de Maíz Azul: Building Climate-Change Resilience with Local Knowledge/Food Sovereignty in Northern New Mexico, Katherine C.R. Dixon
TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN IN NEPAL AND THEIR VULNERABILITIES, Sushmita Diyali
Physical and Theoretical Notions of Home: In the Context of Khmer Krom in Soc Trang and Can Tho, Vietnam, ToQuyen T. Doan
Housing Crisis in Haiti post 2010 Earthquake, Kelley C. Eaton
Geoscientists-In-The-Park Summer Internship Mapping Shoreline Change with the National Park Service, Michael P. Endicott
A Summer at Azavea Working with Nonprofit Organizations: The Summer of Maps Fellowship, Sarah Gates
Seeing Community Through the Trees: Characterizing Resident Response to Urban-Tree Planting Initiatives, Eli Goldman
Commitment to Understanding and Understanding Commitment: Reflections and Dilemmas at the Intersection of Racial Justice and My Jewish Identity, Devra Goldstein
Contextualized Education in Global Schools: Conceptualizing School Systems in a Global World, Loren Guerin
Mitigating an Energy Utility Death Spiral in the United States: Applying Lessons from Germany, Eric W. Hopf, Will O'Brien, Timothy Downs, and Alistair Pim
Learning from a Mid-Term Evaluation of FONHDAD in Haiti, Kelsey E. Hopkins
