The Undergraduate Minor in Community Organizing (C.O.) is a new 15-credit, interdisciplinary minor program at Hunter College, established in 2017. The minor is offered through the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College (SSSW), in collaboration with 12 departments and programs in the School of Arts and Sciences, and Hunter’s Community Health Program.
The Community Organizing Minor is open to all Hunter College undergraduates in their junior and senior years. Currently, all courses available toward the minor are held at the Hunter College Main Campus on East 68th Street.
Community organizing is one of the central pillars of social welfare practice, research, and policy. Community organizers mobilize both people and resources to solve social problems at the neighborhood, city, state, and national levels; and execute social reform initiatives for community well-being, change, and social justice. The new minor prepares students for this meaningful, active form of impact. It offers undergraduates a unique opportunity to learn and utilize the fundamentals of effective community organizing through Silberman — New York’s oldest public school of social work, defined by its commitment to community empowerment and its role in the nation’s largest, most diverse urban public university.
The Community Organizing Minor is distinct from the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program, which grants a pre-professional bachelor’s degree. The minor allows undergraduates to complement their chosen major in a non-social work field with a special focus on community organizing. Students who minor in Community Organizing may also be interested in applying in the future for Silberman’s MSW with a concentration in Community Organizing, Planning and Development.
Courses
Students who pursue the Community Organizing Minor will take three core courses (3 credits each):
- SW 36000 – Introduction to Community Organizing
- SW 46000 – Advanced Community Organizing Theory and Practice;
- SW 37000 – Community Organizing Internship and Field Seminar.
Students will also enrich these core preparations with two additional electives (3 credits each), chosen from a list of approved courses across several Hunter College departments and programs. (Please see Hunter College course catalogue link provided below.)
Resources
For further information about the Undergraduate Minor in Community Organizing, please review the following resources.
CO Minor Historical Milestones
Hunter College Course Catalogue
For additional information, please contact the Community Organizing Minor Program Coordinator, Jamie Borgan at jb7921@hunter.cuny.edu