School of Human Ecology
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AcademicsGraduate Programs

Civil Society & Community Research, PhD

With dynamic ideas, experiences, and research that enhances our department’s distinctive and exceptional qualities, graduate students are the heart of Civil Society and Community Studies (CSCR).

Through interdisciplinary coursework and research in community settings—often in collaboration with community organizations or coalitions—students have opportunities to become participant-scholars in change processes, and learn human ecological theory and participatory and application-focused research methods in the process.

The CSCR graduate program is designed to train educators and scholars to be highly qualified for positions in research and teaching within universities, cooperative extension, community-based groups, foundations, and other nonprofit and non-governmental organizations. The Department of Civil Society and Community Studies (CSCS) collaborates with communities, civil society organizations, and social movements to co-create a just and sustainable future for all.

Visit the Graduate Program website

Department affiliation

Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies

4W Women & Wellbeing Initiative

Civil Society & Community Research Faculty

  • A white female professor in her 50's with curling brown hair, wearing a read shirt and smiling.

    Melissa BublitzLiz Kramer Professor of Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship | Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies, Consumer Science

  • A white man with gray hair, glasses, and a close-cropped beard wearing a black shirt smiling.

    Matthew CalvertProfessor of Civil Society & Community Studies

  • A white man smiling, with short brown hair, wearing a blue shirt.

    Ben FisherAssociate Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies

  • A Native American Indian woman, with light brown curly hair, wearing a royal blue dress with silver beads.

    Carolee Dodge FrancisLeola R. Culver Professor in Nonprofits and Philanthropy | Department Chair and Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies

  • A white woman smiling, with brown, straight hair, wearing a white shirt and gold necklace.

    Jennifer GaddisAssociate Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies

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    Cynthia JasperVaughan Bascom Professor of Women and Philanthropy | Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies

  • A Native woman smiling, wearing a patterned blue and red dress with red beaded earrings.

    Kasey KeelerAssistant Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies

  • Portrait of Carolina Sarmiento, a Chicana woman, with a dark brown braid and black dress.

    Carolina S. SarmientoAssociate Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies

  • An Asian woman smiling, with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a blue neck scarf and jacket.

    Zoua M. VangMeta Schroeder Beckner Outreach Professor | Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies

CSCR Graduate Students

Civil Society & Community Research News and Research