Development and Community Communication (1 year PG Diploma in DCC)

Need for DCC course

Current Industry scenario

Objectives of the course

Uniqueness of the course

Job opportunities

Who will teach the course

Admission Requirements

Language Skills

Fee structure

Mode of Study

Structure and Content

Delivery

Assessment and Examination

Course Schedule

Broad Curriculum

Need for DCC course

The need for a specialisation in development and community communication was felt, and communicated to Commits, by organisations engaged in social and community projects. The students of Commits have a paper titled Development Communication in the first semester of their MA degree programme. They have to do a compulsory one-month internship with a development or social organisation to understand their grassroots work and communication strategies. The response from both, students and organisations, has been terrific since this is not something that any media institute offers.

Current Industry scenario

Community work today is a big time activity and involves millions of dollars in funding. And, professional expertise to manage these projects is limited for two reasons. One, students are still unsure about the career attractiveness of Community Communication and two, there is no professional expertise or guidance in this field. But NGOs and government departments are gradually beginning to recognise the need for 'professionalising' community work.

Keeping these factors in mind organisations approached Commits with a request to launch a new specialisation focussing exclusively on development communication. As with the other specialisations, this programme too will be run with cent-per-cent industry inputs.

Since Commits already has an active working partnership with Voices, a Bangalore-based social communication organisation, launching this specialisation makes tremendous logic to this relationship.

Objectives of the course

The programme will help students to understand the nature, purpose, scope, evolution and changes in social communication and social welfare services in today's context of community development. It helps students in planning and implementing development/welfare projects. The students will be able to engage in policy studies and policy formulation using social science knowledge gained in the programme. The programme prepares them for mobilising resources, participation in or management of ongoing social development/welfare organisation/projects, to undertake research, short-term consultation in training/report preparation and public relations.

Uniqueness of the course

The Development and Community Communication specialisation to be offered by Commits will be the first course of its kind in India . Indian universities generally offer Master's degrees in Social Work (MSW), Social Sciences (MSS) and Social Research (MSR). Other institutions such as TISS that offer such courses are rare. This means fewer seats and narrow academic scope because these courses limit themselves to 'social work' and not the vital 'communication in the context of social work' aspect.

The Development and Community Communication is being designed as a course that combines development journalism and community work.

The new specialisation will focus exclusively on development work and community communication. As with the other specialisations, this programme too will be run with industry inputs and involve subjects such as Development Journalism, Rural Management, Micro-enterprise Development, Public Policy and Legislation and Community Theatre.

To Commits it is a logical extension of its development communication programme of the first semester.

Job opportunities

Job opportunities for these students exist in government and non-government social development/welfare organisations working with unorganised, displaced and other marginalised sections; networking, issue-based, intermediary, and local/national/international funding organisations; charitable trusts and social responsibility divisions of corporate houses.

Students can also join as instructors and lecturers in training centres for community development personnel, funding agencies, and as development consultants.

The nature of opportunities ranges from service delivery for community development, designing awareness programmes about social causes, organising communities for change and organising training programmes for capacity building for local groups, government officials or other specialised groups.

Many graduates with this specialisation are also involved in providing policy inputs at various levels of decision-making within government agencies, advocacy work for the disadvantaged sections and documentation of development activities.

The specialisation qualifies students for development work in areas as diverse as NGO management, gender justice, human rights, education, health, public policy, international fund raising and disaster management.

The course has to be designed to help the students to understand the concepts of development administration, international development, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), micro-finance, economic globalization and civil society. Discussions of this multi-disciplinary course will be focused on contemporary issues and aspects of international and development administration. The method of teaching will comprise of lectures/presentations/field work, followed by short discussion, case studies dealing with the major themes of the lecture, and simulation exercise or group work.

Who will teach the course

The faculty for this programme will be development and communication professionals from the NGO and development sector.

Admission Requirements

The course is open to graduate and post-graduate students from any stream. Applicants for this programme should be able to demonstrate a well-defined interest in development. A good degree (or equivalent professional qualification) in sociology, psychology, education, communication and related subjects represents the most suitable background for the course. Candidates with a good degree in other disciplinary areas, or mature non-graduate applicants with an appropriate level of relevant sectoral experience, may also be considered for entry to the programme.

Admission will be on the basis of a written test, group discussion and interview.

Language Skills

For applicants for whom English is not the first language, a minimum standard of English proficiency is required, and will be tested.

Fee structure

The course fees for the 12-month programme is Rs.30,000.

Mode of Study

Full-time: PG Diploma: 12 months including a three month internship

Structure and Content

The programme consists of eight modules taught over two 12-week semesters plus a 15,000 word dissertation to be submitted at the end of the course, at the time of examinations.

Delivery

The taught modules of the programme are delivered using a variety of teaching methods. In addition to lectures and tutorials, the programme makes use of case studies, role-playing, fieldwork exercises, site visits, guest speakers and company projects.

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Assessment and Examination

Much of the programme is examined by continuous assessment, which takes the form of reports, essays, case analyses and presentations, in various combinations. Assessed work is often conducted in groups, as developing team working and communication skills is seen as an important part of the programme. There will be a three-hour examination for each module at the end of each term. The dissertation has to be submitted after the internship followed by a viva voce that will be conducted after the final exams.

Course Schedule

July 2008 - May 2009 (with a three-month internship)

Broad Curriculum

Term 1

101 DEVELOPMENT STUDIES: THEMES AND ISSUES

102 GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

103 SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY

104 DISASTER AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Term 2

201 DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM

202 DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS

203 DEVELOPMENT LEGISLATION

204 COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION

Internship: February-April

Placement: April 2009

Dissertation Submission, Final Examinations and Viva Voce: May 2009