The M.A. in Program Design & Evaluation – offered by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences – is a Program in Research for Social Change. Students learn and practice the execution, application, and translation of research to address the most pressing challenges impacting our local and global communities.
Students study and advance solutions to grand challenges through interdisciplinary, community-focused, and research-informed problem solving, solution monitoring, and evaluation.
How to Apply
Due to the University of Arizona's current financial situation, admissions to the MA in Program Design & Evaluation are currently on pause. This means you will not be able to apply to the program until this pause is lifted. If you are interested in enrolling in the program, please reach out to the Director of Graduate Studies Keith Bentele at dgssirow@arizona.edu for more information.
About the Program
The fully online M.A. in Program Design & Evaluation is a community-focused problem solving and evaluation research degree equipping students with knowledge and skills to design and implement community-focused and research-based solutions to problems situated in social systems, and to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of those solutions.
The program is designed for students and currently employed professionals with 7.5 week course cycles leading to a completed degree within 24 months. Students will immerse in the process of identifying, understanding, and researching key problems of our time with a focus on creating viable, sustainable solutions, and examining evidence of impact.
The program will provide students with transferrable skills applicable across industry sectors, populations, and challenges or problems. Students will gain cross-cultural competencies, community engagement skills, and applied research experience while establishing competency in evidence-based problem identification, solution development, monitoring and evaluation, and translation of results for program and policy evolution.
Program Requirements
Pre-admissions requirements are consistent with UArizona online M.A. or M.S. degrees, including the 3.0 GPA requirement for Graduate Admissions. No specific prior coursework is required.
Program Instruction
Faculty with expertise and decades of experience in community-focused, translational research from the Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW) will provide online instruction and guidance. External experts will enhance course learning by sharing experiences and discussing focal issues of importance.
SIROW faculty have deep relationships with community organizations. They will facilitate the development of applied learning relationships for students. These faculty work in several areas such as economic disenfranchisement, immigration, social inclusion and equity, health-related disparities, LGBTQ civil liberties, harm reduction, homelessness, sexual health and HIV, gender equity, employment, and education equity, and criminal and juvenile justice.
SIROW is a regional resource and research institute renowned for collaborative and translational research focused on leveraging health and social equity through evidence.
Student Assurances
This graduate program serves people from a variety of work environments with professors who are highly engaged in many of the same communities. Students may come from these environments, as well as from university employment including from within and around SIROW.
We acknowledge the SIROW faculty and instructors are all community-based researchers and may have working relationships with students, potential students and their co-workers. We are committed to creating an environment that acknowledges and addresses conflicts of interest so that students can engage in free and unfettered expression during the learning process.
We assure this through the enrollment and advising process. During this process we will work with students to identify potential conflicts and develop a plan to ensure they are effectively managed.
Instructors do not share any student performance on assignments or views expressed in the courses to anyone outside of the MA program. The only information shared among instructors is germane to student support.
For more information about the M.A. in Program Design & Evaluation, contact SIROW’s Director of Graduate Studies at dgssirow@arizona.edu