Philanthropy and Nonprofit Development M.A.

Philanthropy and Nonprofit Development Major

The M.A. program in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Development is designed for individuals who have experience in the philanthropy and/or nonprofit areas. The degree will be offered through the Division of Continuing Education with extensive use of distance education technologies. The program is designed to offer professionals the opportunity to continue their study, advancing their knowledge while earning graduate credit in course work targeted toward the following objectives:

1. to develop and enhance professionals’ skills and knowledge in the fundraising and nonprofit sectors;
2. to further students’ understanding of ethical policy and legal issues as they relate to philanthropy and nonprofit development;
3. to advance students’ knowledge of scholarly research, theories and models in the area of nonprofit organizational development, donor relations, grant writing, corporate/foundation relations, advocacy, public funding, and evaluation/accountability; and
4. to enhance students’ mastery of skills in the aforementioned areas.

Students interested in this program must submit a completed Application for Admission to Graduate Study, which includes transcripts of undergraduate and graduate credits, and have three letters of recommendation sent to the Office of Admissions. Interested students should refer to their MyUNIverse Student Center To-Do list or contact the program director for any other application requirements. It is expected that students will have experience in the field prior to admission. Graduate information and application for graduate admission can be found at https://admissions.uni.edu/application.

The Graduate Record Examination (General Test) is not required for admission to the program.

Only graduate courses (course numbers 5000 or above) will apply to a graduate degree, even if the undergraduate course number (4999 or less) is listed. No exceptions will be made.

This major is available on the non-thesis option only. A minimum of 31 semester hours of graduate course work is required. A minimum of 21 hours of 6000-level course work, including 3 hours of HRCS 6299 is required. The 31 hours are prescribed below.

Learning Outcomes

Philanthropy and Nonprofit Development, M.A.

Students can effectively communicate philanthropy and nonprofit specific knowledge through written communication.

• SLO 1. Demonstrates a thorough understanding of context, audience, and purpose of communication in philanthropy and nonprofit development.
• SLO 2. Uses appropriate, relevant, and compelling philanthropy and nonprofit related content.
• SLO 3. Demonstrates attention to, and successful execution of organization, presentation of relevant content, formatting, and stylistic choice.
• SLO 4. Demonstrates skillful and mastery use of high-quality, credible, relevant sources.
• SLO 5. Uses discipline related and highly relevant language that skillfully communicates meaning to readers with clarity and fluency, and is error-free.

Students will be able to systematically process a nonprofit and philanthropic issue and analyze evidence.

• SLO 1. Synthesizes in- depth information from relevant sources representing various points of view/approaches.
• SLO 2. Skillfully develop the methodology or theoretical framework.
• SLO 3. Organize and synthesize evidence to reveal insightful patterns, differences, or similarities related to the topic.
• SLO 4. State a conclusion that is based on a logical extrapolation from the inquiry findings.
• SLO 5. Insightfully discuss in details relevant and supported limitations and implications.

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