Certificate Requirements | Faculty

Today’s urban leaders must keep cities economically healthy, often in the face of declining populations, aging real estate, and a host of other challenges. The graduate certificate program in Urban Economic Development provides the skills and knowledge necessary to develop real-world strategies for overcoming these obstacles. The program is designed for working professionals who seek to expand their knowledge of urban economic development issues, as well as graduate students enrolled in urban planning, design, and development degree programs.

The Economic Development faculty and the certificate program work with the following collaborating research centers:

• Center for Economic Development
• Center for Housing Research & Policy
• Center for Public Management
• Great Lakes Environmental Finance Center
• Northern Ohio Data and Information Services

The certificate program consists of three required courses and one elective. All courses are four (4) credit hours.

Prerequisites
PAD/PDD/UST603: Public Finance and Economics, or its equivalent, is a prerequisite for the certificate program. Additional prerequisites may apply for elective courses in the program.

Three required core courses:

• PAD/PDD/UST605: Urban Spatial Structures
• PAD/PDD/UST622: Economic Development Policy
• PAD/PDD/UST626: Economic Development and Workforce Development Policy and Practice

Students choose one elective
One course may be chosen from the following list. Another appropriate course may be selected with approval from the graduate certificate program advisor.

• PAD/PDD/UST572: Negotiation and Conflict Management
• PDD/UST606: The Evolution of Human Settlements
• PAD/PDD/UST610: Urban Development Process/Market Analysis
• PAD/PDD/UST615: Economic Development and Budgetary Strategy
• PAD/PDD/UST620: Economic Development: Plans and Strategies
• PAD/PDD/UST621: Local Labor Market Analysis
• PAD/PDD/UST625: Strategic Thinking
• PAD/PDD/UST627: Urban Tourism, the Urban Core, and Economic Development
• PAD/PDD/UST642: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
• PAD/PDD/UST693: Special Topics

Certificate students must maintain a minimum graduate GPA of 3.0.

Urban Economic Development certificate classes are taught by Cleveland State University faculty, researchers, instructors, and professionals working in the region.

• Larry Ledebur, Professor and Coordinator
• Ziona Austrian, Director, Center for Economic Development
• William Bowen, Professor
• Joel Elvery, Assistant Professor
• Patrick Gammons, Part-time Faculty
• Edward Hill, Dean, Professor and Distinguished Scholar
• Brian Mikelbank, Associate Professor
• Kevin O’Brien, Director, Great Lakes Environmental Finance Center and Center for Public Management
• Jim Robey, Part-time Faculty
• Robert Simons, Professor

For more information, contact:
Graduate Programs Adviser
Levin College of Urban Affairs
216.523-7522
urbanprograms@csuohio.edu