MA in International Community Development
Practicum Handbook
The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Northwest University
5520 108th Ave NE
Kirkland, WA 98033
425-889-5328
Northwest University
ICD Practicum Handbook
Introduction
At the heart of the ICD program is an emphasis on applied learning. As you progress
through your course work, we want you always to be asking the question: "How can
I use this knowledge to make a real difference in the world, now and in the future?"
Also central to the ICD ethos is the idea that, when it comes to community
development, advocacy, leadership and the like, experiential learning is crucial.
Therefore, the ICD program is build around a practicum that spans the entire
program and provides supervised practical application of what you will be learning
throughout your journey at Northwest University.
We have shaped the practicum around a sequence of four, core learning processes:
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A project management internship project
A program evaluation experience
A qualitative fieldwork experience
A culminating thesis project
The practicum courses in essence are “meta courses” – that is, there are several
longer-term, overarching projects and goals that hover above the ordinary
coursework schedule. These practicum activities provide the foundation of the ICD
program, ensuring that you always have a setting in which to integrate and apply
your coursework and learning, while at the same time adding a new dimension of
praxis to them. The practicum series provides a context in which you will have
opportunity to contemplate your own experiences, and collaborate with your peer
community on how to prepare for maximized influence in your context of service.
The primary goals of the five-semester practicum series are:
 To learn the skills of project management through an internship with a
partnering organization
 To apprehend and practice the skill set of program evaluation with actual
programs in mind
 To prepare for, complete, and process qualitative research and applied
fieldwork with an organization/culture context of your own choosing
 To research, compose and defend a thesis project, thereby establishing
yourself as a subject matter expert in your chosen area of study
In addition, the practicum series is intended to be a venue for community building,
as well as personal and academic support. It is also the main context in which you
will interact with your program advisor. Specifically though, the activities of the
practicum series can be described as follows:
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Practicum I – Project Management (Fall) In this course you will work on
the formation of your team, and on initiating and planning a project with a
pre-determined partner organization. You will also start considering your
eventual practicum fieldwork site, and do some initial thinking about
potential thesis topics.
Practicum II – Project Management (Spring): In this course you will be
conducting the internship project with your team, and delivering your
preliminary results to your sponsoring organization. You will also identify
your practicum fieldwork site, and solidify possibilities for your thesis
project topic.
Practicum III – Program Evaluation (Summer): In this course you will
learn the important skills of program evaluation, and will have the
opportunity to test them in real-world organizational contexts. Also in this
course you will articulate your fieldwork plans and make preparations for
those particular activities. Classes in the summer semester are arranged so
that you have a number of weeks in August to invest in fieldwork with
minimal work required in the regular courses.
Practicum IV – Fieldwork and Thesis (Fall): You may continue your
fieldwork into this semester, and eventually bring it to closure by developing
and delivering a thesis. In this semester, you will also complete most of the
research for your thesis project, and begin to write sections of it.
Practicum V – Thesis (Spring): In this course you have the opportunity to
demonstrate mastery of your thesis project subject by finalizing your
research, creating your thesis, and defending it before an audience of your
peers.
This is a roadmap of the practicum semesters:
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Project Management and Program Evaluation
Project management and program evaluation skills are in high demand in the world
of service organizations. The teaching you will receive on these subjects, added to
the hands-on experience working on a project with real-world results, will add
crucial capacities to your skill set, and add enormous value to your resume.
You will form teams with other classmates and together you will conduct projects
for actual service organization. The projects will have defined objectives, meaning
that the organization will state the expected outcome.
During the first semester you will initiate and plan the project management project
with the sponsoring organization. During the second semester you will execute the
project, meaning you will do the work and package up the results into a deliverable
that provides the expected value to your project sponsor. During the third semester
you will engage in program evaluation tasks for a different sponsoring organization,
and present your results in the same semester.
In these three semesters, the organizational sponsors will provide evaluations of
your work.
Fieldwork
The fieldwork site is the context where you will carry out 80 hours of field research
for your thesis, primarily through qualitative methods. The site is the physical
location you will be in (i.e., southern Uganda, or Federal Way, Washington).
However you will almost always be operating in the context of a specific
organization as well (i.e., Living Hope Orphanage of Kampala, or World Vision), so
that organization constitutes a key element of the site as well. The general
guidelines for an appropriate site are these:
 It must provide an opportunity to learn about a specific type of service/social
change activity
 It must grant you access to 10-15 consultants in your research focus, each of
whom you will interview at least once
 It should provide an opportunity to learn more about a culture not your own.
However, if you are already involved in context of cross-cultural service, you
may opt to undertake a thesis project that addresses a need in that context.
Above all, you’ll want to consider a site that fits with your general goals and
interests. In other words, be sure to choose a site that will help you to explore
something you really care about, and which will help you to become better equipped
to do the sort of work you are called to do. However you shape the thesis project, it
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should provide opportunities for you to engage with people who know what you
need to know – the “consultants” referred to above. Ideally these would be people
who actually do the sort of work you are looking into, and/or those who are
integrally involved in the social context/community you are researching. Stay open
to anyone with “local knowledge” of the context – anyone who can help you learn
and think creatively about the research problem you are grappling with.
When possible, choose a site at which you can make a contribution, either through
research or general volunteer work. You may consider writing your program thesis,
for example, in such a way that the data you compile and/or the conclusions you
draw from your research might actually aid a specific organization in its work. (Ask
the organization in advance about this.) Or, you might simply volunteer your
time/work in a way not directly tied to your observations and site research; the
volunteer work simply gives you a role to play while you are making your
observations. Or again, you may opt to make a new contribution to the organization
you already work for.
While it might be ideal to find that perfect site that will integrate all your interests,
there are other factors to consider, such as:
 Practicality: What can you reasonably do, given your life circumstances (i.e.,
full-time school, job, family, etc.)?
 Affordability: While international travel might be your ideal, it may simply be
too costly given your financial situation as a graduate student.
The main idea in the practicum is learning through participant observation: that is,
direct experience, observation, and interviews. So as long as you find a fieldwork
context that is interesting, AND proves to be something you can do given the
realities of your life, you’ve got a perfectly suitable fieldwork site.
You will need to be proactive about finding this site. Some ideas regarding where
and how to look:
 Network, network, network. Ask everyone you know. And ask them to be on
the lookout too for possible contacts.
 Talk to fellow students; they may well be able to find opportunities in the
organizations where they are doing their own projects.
 Look close to home: Consider your local church, school, community center, or
local government office.
 And of course work closely with the your program advisor.
The ICD program does have a list of sites that could provide opportunities. You are
free however to find a site on your own. In any event, you are responsible for making
the contact with the organizations that interest you, and establishing the terms of your
research and service.
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Timeframe for Field Research Experience: The ICD program schedule is set up on
the assumption that most students will complete their 80 hours of field experience
in an intensive time frame, usually beginning in late summer and extending into the
fall semester. This is NOT the only option, however. (See below.) There are three to
four weeks available in the summer toward the end of the third semester for this, so
that you may opt for international travel (strongly encouraged!). You might of
course choose to engage in a multi-week intensive in a local context as well.
You also have the option of accumulating the 80 hours of fieldwork over the
course of two semesters. You could begin this process as early as the start of
semester three. You must however have your hours completed by the middle of
semester four (fall), since it is in that semester that you will begin compiling
research data and creating your program thesis project.
As you consider the approach you will take to fulfilling field research hours,
remember that you may count only those hours when you are actively observing or
participating in the field context. The time spent in plane travel or sleeping, for
examples, cannot be counted.
The Fieldwork Plan: The Fieldwork Plan is a one to three page summary of facts
that describe your proposed site and the activities you will carry out there. It
includes all the details of the site including the names of the site contact(s) who will
oversee your work, as well as substantial information about the history, philosophy,
and affiliations of your chosen organization. (Please use the cover page attached.)
Most importantly, it includes a description of the particular research question or set
of questions you will be exploring through field research. These will be drawn
directly from your thesis project objectives, since the fieldwork and thesis project are
inextricably linked. Your research must be focused on a specific, limited problem to
be solved or set of questions to be answered, such as:
 How can the Linnert Foundation best match the values of corporate donors
to specific development projects in the Amazon Basin? What innovative
strategies does it use to link developed world resources with developing
world needs? What unique approaches are they taking to engage human
resources as well as financial resources?
 How does Parker Elementary address the needs of children at risk? Why
have indicators of student success been showing a consistent decrease in the
past decade? In a context with a high incidence of poverty, what are the
strategies that have been tried to encourage student success? Why has there
been little success in engaging the broader community in efforts to alleviate
the potential drawbacks of the socio-economic risk factors of that
community?
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 What would be a contextualized model for sustainable microenterprise that
could operate alongside Calcutta Mercy Ministry’s new rural health clinics?
What new experiments and innovations in community development should
be taken into consideration for future clinics?
These questions will eventually need to lead into your thesis project, so you need to
have that thesis in mind as you formulate your research questions. At the same time
you will need to choose a field site that will likely yield the sort of data you need to
make your case. Perhaps an organization is doing exemplary, cutting edge work that
you want to analyze and highlight in your thesis. Or perhaps an organization is
doing work in counterproductive ways, and your research will lead you to develop
new and better approaches. All to say: Try to anticipate your thesis project goals
even as you look for your site.
Do note that, while the field data must be integrated into the thesis, your thesis may
or may not be focused on the organization/site. You may opt for such a case study
approach, or you may choose a more general topic that simply draws on your field
data for supporting material and examples.
Please note well: The Fieldwork Plan must be submitted and approved by BOTH
your site supervisor AND your program advisor before you can proceed with the
implementation of the plan. Please obtain the site supervisor signature first
before giving the form to your advisor.
The Site Journal, Site Report, and Record of Hours: In Practicum IV, you will be
asked to submit a report that summarizes the field experience, including a recap of
the data gathered and an initial estimation of research conclusions. You will be
asked as well for some subjective “processing” of the experience on a personal level.
To this end you will be required to take extensive field notes the essence of your
research and observations), as well as keep a regular personal journal
throughout the fieldwork timeframe.
Along with the site report you will be asked to submit a detailed record of your
fieldwork hours. A form for this is provided on the Practicum II Discovery site,
however you are free to create your own form. Note that you CAN count the hours
you spend in recording/compiling research data, and in contributing to your field
journal.
Your field notes may take any form that is useful to you. Your program advisor may
ask to see/hear them at the end of the field experience, so make sure they are in a
form that allows such access. Field data includes written/print notes, transcripts,
audio recordings, video, photographs, drawings, and collected artifacts among other
things. So be creative in how you gather data.
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Note that one component that is required in your field notes will be interview
notes OR transcriptions from your 10-15 required expert interviews. You will
need these notes because they will become valuable sources to integrate into your
thesis project. Note too that you don’t have to wait until semester three to carry out
these interviews. You may begin scheduling your interviews as soon as you have
your research question(s) in place.
During your fieldwork you will also be sharing your experience through mini
reports, notes, and photos on a blog that you create. Your thesis advisor and your
cohort peers will access your blog regularly. While it is not required, you are
encouraged to respond to the posts of your peers, to encourage them, to connect
their experiences to your own, and to offer insights on their work.
Site Supervisor Role: For the practicum experience you must identify one person
who will serve as your site supervisor. This person serves as the primary (or one of
the primary) contacts for your engagement with the practicum activities. Usually
this will be a person who serves in the main organization with which you are
involved. If you are not working under the auspices of one specific organization, the
site supervisor is the person who helps you to coordinate the diverse aspects of
your field experience.
The site supervisor can be as involved as you want them to be – or more to the
point, as involved as he/she wants to be! But the minimum functions of the
supervisor role are these:
o Help the student to define the components of the field experience,
including any service work.
o Provide occasional advice/guidance as needed during the practicum
period.
o Serve as the main contact for the practicum site (if an organization is
involved), or help the student coordinate various practicum
experiences (if multiple sites are involved).
o Provide authorizing signatures for the student’s project proposal, and
sign the report of practicum hours.
So you can see that the supervisor role can be minimal. In great part, how you shape
the experience, and what you draw from it, is up to you and not those who oversee
you.
However, do be aware that there is great value in learning from the experience of
those in the field. So if you have opportunity to solicit more input from your site
supervisor in the form of regular advice, vocational counsel, or even guidance on
your eventual thesis work, it would be well worth pursuing a quasi-mentoring
relationship with your site supervisor as far as that is possible. Again, this is
advisable but not required; quite often people who are engaged in works of service
are hard pressed to offer more than basic supervision, and this is just fine.
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In any case, you will want to provide your site supervisor with clear information
about their role. At the same time, you must solicit their expectations of you – and
this is something you would be wise to put in writing.
To this end, there is a form provided in the Practicum and Thesis Handbook. This
form should be filled out by the student and the supervisor; the student then makes
copies – one for the supervisor, one for the program director, and one to keep for
his/her own records.
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Thesis Project
In Practicum I, you will be introduced to the requirements of the program’s thesis
project. Generally speaking (and for most students), this will constitute a researchbased, MLA-formatted document by which you develop and support a specific thesis
idea. As noted, in all cases the thesis project must integrate the field research
described above. In particular, you are required to integrate and cite (by name and
date) knowledge gained from at least five of the personal interviews you did as part
of your fieldwork. In addition, you must refer in the thesis to general insights and
observations gained from your practicum field experience.
Please note that the thesis project requirement may be met through alternative
forms. If you plan to go on to doctoral work, a conventionally crafted thesis is a
good thing to have in hand. However, you might also choose to convey your
research results and experience through a different medium: You might for example
create a video, a photo essay, or even a performance; some students have even
started nonprofit organizations and socially entrepreneurial businesses. In any case,
you’ll need to invest the same energy and academic research in putting together a
finely crafted “product” as you would into a written thesis. See the guidelines below.
Guidelines for the MA Thesis Options: The thesis project is intended to give you
an experience of focused, extensive research and problem-solving. It is also meant to
help you become an expert (or “master” if you will), in a particular subject germane to
the ICD program foci. The thesis project should reflect that level of mastery. Finally,
it offers an opportunity for integration and application of various course concepts
and texts from the whole ICD program experience.
There are two main options for the thesis project:
 Traditional Thesis: The thesis is a research-based document that is
comprised of 40-60 pages of text (including the title page, abstract, table of
contents, and reference list, but no including any appendices). In it you
explore a particular question or set of questions, through BOTH text-based
research AND qualitative research processes (primarily interviewing and
field observation).
 Thesis Project: The thesis project is comprised of two parts: A practical
project with real-world application, paired with a research-based document
comprised of 20-40 pages of text (including the title page, abstract, table of
contents, and reference list, but no including any appendices). The practical
project may or may not be a document (see examples below), but if it is there
is no set page requirement; the form should suit the need. The research
document component provides the rationale and theoretical/academic
underpinning for the project component.
There is no single set of guidelines for content and structure for either option; form
must serve the content and purpose of the thesis itself. However, you should follow
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general guidelines for good essay structure (see Hacker). It will also be useful to
look at past thesis examples to see how others have structured their work.
In most cases, the thesis topic is tied to the student’s summer practicum experience.
You will be asked to form some general thesis question options in advance of your
practicum fieldwork, and urged to form your actual thesis question(s) or project
focus shortly afterwards. You are also required to conduct the required practicum
interviews with the thesis in mind, so that these interviews become “personal
communication” resources that are later cited in the thesis.
In all cases, you must secure an “external reader” for your thesis, one who knows
the chosen thesis topic well. Ideally this person will serve as a mentor at best, or a
consultant at least, to help guide your research and writing. They will read the final
draft of the thesis and offer written feedback as part of the evaluative process. This
role is NOT to be confused with that of an editor or proofreader. You will need those
sorts of helpers to be sure, but the role of the external reader is to act as a sounding
board for ideas, a general consultant in the research process, and a reader of the
final draft only. This person may also serve as your site supervisor, but the roles are
not necessarily the same.
Some important points to remember about the thesis:
 You must incorporate data obtained through your own qualitative research
(participation, interviews and observations).
 You must incorporate references to lessons learned and texts read
throughout the ICD program (since the thesis project is an integrative
document).
 Aim for at least 40 text references for a traditional thesis, and 25 for a thesis
project.
 Seek to create “new knowledge”—that is, offer a perspective or solution that
is unique and which contributes something to the broader field.
 Always have in mind the option of publishing something out of your thesis,
and be making note of possible publishing venues even as you carry out your
research.
 Always be on the watch for opportunities to draft components of your thesis
in your program courses (even as early as semester one). You may use parts
of papers written for the ICD program in your thesis, as long as you make a
note on the title page: “Parts of this thesis were drafted in the courses (then
list them).”
Case Examples: The best way to understand what a thesis looks like is to observe
what has been successfully submitted in the past. Below you will find summaries of
several typical thesis submissions. (You may opt to read any of them in full; just ask
the program director.)
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 Thesis: A student asked, “How can services for the disabled in a Ugandan
context be made more accessible and effective through cultural
contextualization?” This question emerged out of his experiences working
with the disabled in Uganda. His thesis explained the issues there, explored
multiple causative factors for the problems the disabled face, and proposed a
number of guiding principles for service providers to expand and improve
services offered.
 Thesis Project: A student traveled to several places in Africa to observe
orphan care; while there he realized that biometric and developmental data
were being gathered in a haphazard and inefficient way. Based on interviews
and observations there and further research in the US, he developed a cheap,
efficient, field-based system of data gathering that utilized smart phones and
the internet. Out of this, he then developed a business plan and started a
company to offer these services to organizations with similar needs. He
submitted the business plan as the project, accompanied by a document
explaining the need he sought to meet, and the values and theory that
informed his strategy for meeting it.
 Thesis: A student sought to pair her passion for environmental justice, with
her concern for disaster relief. In Haiti and India, she took note of the fact
that disaster relief organizations (in their efforts to meet needs quickly and
efficiently), were actually creating environmental problems unthinkingly
through their methods. In her thesis she asked the questions: “What IS the
problem [since most disaster relief organizations were not aware of the
problem], and what can be done to alleviate it? Part of her recommendations
section was a theoretical proposal outlining the creation of an organization
that would offer consultation and services to these organizations, to help
them to become more environmentally just.
 Thesis Project: For her practicum fieldwork, a student designed a “kids with
cameras” project for a city in Turkey, one that taught photography skills to
disabled children and helped them to gain a “voice” in a culture that
otherwise sought to ignore them. In the process of her fieldwork, she came to
understand the broader need for such projects in various contexts of human
need. And so for her thesis project she created a nonprofit agency to promote
social justice photography projects around the world. For the program
requirements she submitted both a book of photographs from her project
and the business proposal for the nonprofit. Her accompanying document
explained the need, and the power of photography to help enact social
change.
Thesis Defense: On the day that the thesis is due, every student will have a chance
to present their thesis to an audience of their peers, instructors, and any invited
guests. Students are asked to summarize their research and conclusions in a strictly-
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bounded, 10-15 minute time frame. They then field questions about their work from
the audience and their thesis evaluators for an additional 10 minutes. The
presentation must be accompanied by PowerPoint or Prezi slides, but may use
additional audiovisual aids as needed.
Thesis Project Publication: As you formulate your thesis ideas, you would do well
to consider a venue through which you might share your research and conclusions.
Any sort of “publication,” including conference presentations, goes a long way
toward building your career portfolio. So early on in the second semester, scout out
relevant journals, conferences, and such that could be potential venues for this. In
some cases you may want to contact the editors/organizers in advance to gauge the
feasibility of publishing with them, and to find out about specific requirements for
that venue.
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Appendices
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Fieldwork Plan Proposal
Please complete this form and attach it as a cover page to the Fieldwork Plan.
Student Name________________________________________________________________________________
Phone__________________________________________ Email________________________________________
Proposed Placement:
Location_______________________________________________________________________________________
Organization__________________________________________________________________________________
Organization Address________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Key contact person(s) at site who will supervise/approve your work:
Name and title________________________________________________________________________________
Phone__________________________________________ Email________________________________________
Proposed Project (pose as one or more summary research questions; you can
use more detail in the attached plan):
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Signatures:
Student ___________________________________________________Date_______________________________
*Site Contact_______________________________________________Date_____________________________
Advisor, ICD____________________________________________ Date______________________________
*If supervisor is unavailable, attach an email from him/her indicating agreement
with plan.
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To the Practicum Site Supervisor:
Thank you for being willing to provide accountability and guidance to this student.
Please know that your investment will help shape a critical component of the
student’s formation as a future agent of justice and social change.
In the Masters of International Care and Community Development program, the role
of the Practicum Site Supervisor is defined by the following responsibilities:
o Help the student to define the components of the field experience,
including any service work.
o Provide occasional advice/guidance as needed during the practicum
period.
o Serve as the main contact for the practicum site (if an organization is
involved), or help the student coordinate various practicum
experiences (if multiple sites are involved).
o Provide authorizing signatures for the student’s project proposal, and
sign the report of practicum hours.
Any further investment on your part is optional. Please know that the student bears
primary responsibility for making the practicum experience a valuable one, and for
integrating that experience into the larger framework of the program.
The student has been advised to discuss and record any expectations you might
have for them as part of the practicum experience. This could include frequency of
contact, conduct in the field, service responsibilities, or even confidentiality
parameters. If there are such terms to be clarified, these can be recorded on the
following page (and copies of those terms will then be provided to both you and the
ICD program director).
Thank you again for your willingness to be part of this student’s learning process.
Dr. Forrest Inslee
Chair, MAICD Program
Northwest University
forrest.inslee@northwestu.edu
425-889-7809
PLEASE NOTE: If you have any questions or comments about the student, the
practicum, or the ICD program, do not hesitate to contact me at the email address or
phone number above.
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Practicum Guidelines/Expectations
Northwest University, MA in International Care and Community Development
Student ______________________________________________________________________________________
(print)
Supervisor __________________________________________________________________________________
(print)
Organization (if applicable)______________________________________________________________
The site supervisor and student agree to the following items:
Signature, Site Supervisor_________________________________________________Date__________
Signature, Student__________________________________________________________Date__________
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Northwest University, MA-ICD Practicum Hours Record
Name ________________________________________________________ Semester____________________
Supervisor Signature______________________________________________________________________
Date
Est.
hrs.
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Brief description of activity
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