Community-Engaged Research & Evaluation Graduate Certificate

Support Communities with Research and Partnership

With the graduate certificate in community-engaged research and evaluation, you’ll grow as researcher or evaluator who can work with communities to construct questions and methods, collect data, and interpret results to resolve locally relevant problems. As a student in the Community-Engaged Research & Evaluation graduate certificate, you’ll be prepared with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to conduct authentic research and evaluation, and you’ll develop the practical knowledge and tools to support communities in resolving locally relevant problems.

This 16-credit graduate certificate program can be completed on a full- or part-time basis.

Program Features

Complete Foundational and Methodology Courses

The Community-Engaged Research & Evaluation graduate certificate prepares current master’s and doctoral students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, with conceptual frameworks and methodological tools to work in partnership with community-based organizations, schools and school districts, higher education institutions, and municipal and state agencies.

Gain Meaningful Field Experiences

Once foundational and methodology coursework has been completed, students in the graduate certificate in community-engaged research and evaluation will get hands-on experience through a required practicum.

Career Outcomes for a Community-Engaged Research & Evaluation Graduate Certificate

Develop skills to communicate findings in clear, actionable ways and to develop continuous improvement processes with partner organizations. Students in the graduate certificate in community-engaged research and evaluation will learn to:

• Work in authentic partnership with communities
• Engage community members in conducting research and evaluation
• Communicate findings in clear and actionable ways
• Support the development of practical knowledge and tools that can resolve locally relevant challenges
• Build organizations’ continuous improvement capacity

Join Alumni in a Rewarding Career in Community-Engaged Research

Graduates of the certificate in community-engaged research and evaluation are competitive for roles such as researchers, evaluators, advocates, and policymakers. They work in diverse settings such as:

• Public and private elementary and secondary education
• Research-practice partnerships and community collaborations
• Higher education
• Informal education in community agencies
• Educational technology
• Community-based youth development organizations
• Public health and community mental health agencies
• Juvenile justice systems
• Child welfare systems
• Private foundations

Community-Based Research and Evaluation Courses

Coursework in the community-based research and evaluation certificate will help you reach your goal of working in authentic partnership with communities to strengthen practices and policies. You’ll take foundational and methodology courses such as:

• Community-Engaged Research: Theory, Methods, and Applications
• School Improvement Science and Implementation
• Causal Design in Education Research

Admissions & Dates

Connect with BU Wheelock to learn more about the Graduate Certificate in Community-Engaged Research & Evaluation program. Learn about application requirements and deadlines, sign up for an information session, or start your application today.