• Admission GPA
    3.0+
  • Total Credits
    30
  • Format
    Partially online
    In person
  • Time to Complete
    2-3 years (average)
  • Cost
    $936 per credit
    Fees | Financial Aid

Please note: We are not currently accepting applications for spring 2026 as we work through program and curriculum updates.

Be a Community Engagement Champion

Are you motivated to improve the quality of life for individuals and communities? Do you want to contribute to finding solutions to society's biggest challenges?

The Master of Professional Studies in Civic Engagement (CIVE) is for emerging leaders like you who want to make a difference. This community engagement degree gives you a broad set of leadership skills, as well as deep expertise in an area of community-focused practice. You will build on a core of applied professional courses with elective courses based on your goals and interests. Whether you are just starting out, changing careers, or want to strengthen your current role, you’ll be ready to make an impact.

What Is a Civic Engagement Degree?

The MPS in Civic Engagement is:

  • Self-curated—Focus on a specialty through 12 credits of electives.
  • Career-focused—Apply your coursework in a variety of professional areas in the nonprofit sector, government, or activism.
  • Expansive—Explore the ways civic engagement connects diverse communities and sectors to make change.
  • Connected—Network with faculty members and experts in different civic engagement practices
  • Applied—Blend professional skills with community-focused practice to empower you as a change-maker
  • Systemic—Learn to navigate power structures and work within a range of cultural contexts to make targeted, systemic change

Watch the video below to learn more about civic engagement.

Read the video transcript.

Why Earn a Degree in Civic Engagement?

Because we need more equitable leaders with advanced professional, communication, and data literacy skills to serve our communities. Luckily here in Minnesota, we have one of the most generous and engaged populations in the country. It’s a great place to generate action and create change.

We are:

  • 3rdIn voter turnout in 2022*
  • 3rdMost charitable across all states in 2023**
  • 3rdIn volunteerism across all states in 2024***

* Minnesota Compass: Voter Turnout
** WalletHub
*** Americorps

Courses

Required Courses (18 credits)

Electives (12 credits)

Working with an advisor, you'll select courses from academic departments across the University of Minnesota related to your chosen track. Courses must be taken at the graduate level. Here is just a sampling:

Civic Life and Social Justice Track

  • GCC 5001 – Can We Feed the World Without Destroying It? (3 cr.)
  • SOC 8551 – Life Course Inequality and Health (3 cr.)
  • GWSS 8260 – Seminar: Race, Representation, and Resistance (3 cr.)
  • PA 8312 – Analysis of Discrimination (4 cr.)
  • ENGL 8300 – Seminar in American Minority Literature (3 cr.)
  • COMM 5231 – Media Outlaws (3 cr.)
  • ACL 5211 – Trends and Impacts in Arts and Cultural Leadership and Management (3 cr.)
  • HSEX 6011 – Policy in Sexual Health: Cutting Edge Analyses (offered online) (3 cr.)
  • ACL 5231 – Ethical Dilemmas and Legal Issues for Cultural Leaders (3 cr.)
  • ACL 5261 – Culture, Place, and Community: Ways of Living Together in the 21st Century (3 cr.)

Perspectives in Global Citizenship Track

You may take up to 6 credits of GCC (Grand Challenge Courses):

  • PA 5601 – Global Survey of Gender and Public Policy (3 cr.)
  • HSEX 6011 – Policy in Sexual Health: Cutting-Edge Analyses (3 cr.)
  • PA 5724 – Climate Change Policy (3 cr.)
  • PA 5422 – Diversity and Public Policy (3 cr.)
  • ESPM 5241 – Natural Resource and Environmental Policy (3 cr.)
  • PA 5161 – Human-Centered Service Redesign (3 cr.)
  • BTHX 5710 – Ethical Issues in Global Health (3 cr.)
  • COMM 5451 – Intercultural Communication Processes (3 cr.)
  • CSPH 5118 – Whole Person, Whole Community: The Reciprocity of Well-Being (3 cr.)
  • GCC 5001 – Can We Feed the World Without Destroying It? (3 cr.)
  • GCC 5005 – Global Venture Design: What Impact Will You Make? (3 cr.)
  • GCC 5007 – Toward Conquest of Disease (3 cr.)
  • GCC 5008 – Policy and Science of Global Environmental Change (3 cr.)
  • GCC 5031 – Global Climate Challenge: Creating an Empowered Movement for Change (3 cr.)
  • GCC 5011 – Pathways to Renewable Energy (3 cr.)
  • GCC 5013 – Making Sense of Climate Change: Science, Art, and Agency (3 cr.)
  • GCC 5014 – The Future of Work and Life in the 21st Century (3 cr.)
  • GCC 5015 – Bioinspired Approaches to Sustainability: Greening Technologies and Lives (3 cr.)
  • GCC 5017 – World Food Problems: Agronomics, Economics, and Hunger (3 cr.)

Election Administration Track

  • PA 5971 – Survey of Election Administration (3 cr.)
  • PA 5972 – Elections and the Law (2 cr.)
  • PA 5973 – Strategic Management of Election Administration (2 cr.)

Electives (5 or more credits)

  • PA 5975 – Election Design (2 cr.)
  • PA 5976 – Voter Outreach and Participation (1 cr.)
  • PA 5982 – Data Analysis for Election Administration (2 cr.)
  • PA 5983 – Introduction to Election Security (1 cr.)
  • PA 5984 – Elections Security: How to Protect America's Elections (2 cr.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Tracks

Sculpture of woman holding scales and sword

Civic Life and Social Justice 

Civic organizations need leaders skilled in business and management in order to help their communities thrive. Your passion for improving the world around you, serving your community, and enacting social justice will be enhanced through this disciplinary focus.

 

 

Group of diverse young people standing arm in arm

Perspectives in Global Citizenship 

The opportunities and tensions that arise from living in a global society require a broad knowledge of what it means to be a global citizen. This focus prepares you for work in health care and health disparity nonprofits and NGOs that concentrate on climate change, the environment, wealth inequalities, maternal and child health, or diversity and equity issues. 

 

Man and woman at polling place

Election Administration 

This 12-credit online certificate, offered through the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, allows you to gain up-to-date expertise in election administration at the local, state, or national level. In this focus area, you will earn two academic credentials: the MPS in Civic Engagement and the Election Administration Certificate.

 

Young smiling woman with backpack

Self-Designed Track

If you are interested in a disciplinary area outside of the three described, work with your academic advisor and faculty to craft a personalized master's in community engagement that fits your professional goals.

Careers in Civic Engagement

Civic engagement professionals can work for organizations, corporations, government agencies, educational institutions, and much more. Leaders who can foster civic behavior are needed at every level of employment, no matter the field.

Here are just a few potential job titles you could have:

  • Director of Equity and Community Engagement
  • Director of Immigration and Civic Engagement
  • Race Equity and Public Policy Strategist
  • Civic Engagement Strategist
  • Corporate Social Responsibility Officer
  • Civic Engagement Manager
  • Policy Communications Manager
  • Communication and Engagement Manager
  • Data Coordinator for Civic Engagement
  • Program Manager of Engagement Services

Our Stories

Faculty

MPS in Civic Engagement faculty come from a range of community engagement, business, education, and legal backgrounds.

Meet the Faculty

Apply

Please note: We are not currently accepting applications for spring 2026 as we work through program and curriculum updates.

We strive to be fair in the admissions process. Our program thrives when we have students from different backgrounds and cultural experiences. The admissions committee completes a holistic review of all required application materials to ensure that you will be successful in the program. We do not require standardized test scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).

You will receive an admission decision four to six weeks after the application deadline. If you have questions about the admission requirements, would like advice on how to put together application materials, or missed the application deadline, please email [email protected].

Admission Requirements

We welcome applications from students who have:

  • a bachelor's degree from an accredited post-secondary US institution or its international equivalent.
  • an undergraduate GPA of 3.0*.

* If you have a GPA below 3.0, please include an explanation in the extenuating circumstances part of your professional statement.

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