The Undergraduate UMass Boston Navitas GSSP is the first year of a bachelor’s degree program at UMass Boston. The Navitas GSSP consists of for-credit coursework and provides an academic and cultural bridge from the high school experience to studying at a university in the United States. When students successfully complete the UMass Boston Navitas GSSP, they will progress directly into the second year of their undergraduate degree program.

Community development is a multi-disciplinary field based in the social sciences. In the University of Massachusetts Boston's Community Development program, students can customize their focus of study drawing on a breadth of disciplines to focus on issues at the intersection of the environment and economic development, community health, and planning.

Students in the Bachelor of Arts in Community Development program will take introductory courses in environmental studies, economics, and community development, statistical analysis courses integrating qualitative, quantitative, and geospatial analysis, core courses in community health and economic development, seminars in conflict resolution and professional development, upper-level courses in environment and human health, climate impacts on human health, sustainable development, minority issues in community development and urbanization, and more. All students complete a senior research/internship capstone experience.

With an undergraduate degree in community development, students graduate with skills highly valued by employers. Alumni commonly find jobs in: local governments pertaining to housing, transportation, land use and the environment; nonprofit organizations as program coordinators and directors; and private companies in outreach positions, real estate development, and more. Alumni are also well-positioned to pursue graduate-level studies.