College of Development Communication (CDC)
Once a month, we will briefly portray in this blog one of the institutions that are part of the University Network, and of course those that will be joining the network in the future.
To start the year, we have selected the College of Development Communication (CDC) which is part of the University of The Philippines at Los Baños campus in Laguna. The reason is simple: this is the oldest academic institution in the world providing specialized studies in communication for development, and the only one that does it at Bachelor, Master and PhD levels.
Even more, the CDC was our host in September 2005 when 15 universities from all over the world decided to get together in a network of all those specialized in communication for development and social change. Maria Celeste Habito-Cadiz, then Dean of the College, has been member of the international board of the Communication for Social Change Consortium.
The College is recognized as the pioneer in development communication teaching in the world. It has trained faculty members of state universities and colleges in the Philippines and in other countries in the Asia-Pacific region for their higher degrees in development communication. In 1999, the College was named as one of two CHED national centers of excellence in communication. The Bachelor of Science in Development Communication (BSDC) degree program has set a trend and is now the model for similar degree programs implemented by other academic institutions in the Philippines and other developing countries as well.
This itinerary started in 1954 -55 years ago and counting- as the Office of Extension and Publications under the then UP College of Agriculture (UPCA). In 1962 it was upgraded into the Department of Agricultural Information and Communication (DAIC), having offered the first communication course in the country under the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture curriculum. By 1968 the department was renamed as the Department of Agricultural Communication and in 1974 it became the Department of Development Communication. It was the first to offer degree programs in development communication in the world. Its growth continued in 1987 when the department was elevated into an institute (Institute of Development Communication). Finally, on 18 December 1998 the College of Development Communication was created.
The objectives of the College of Development Communication are to (1) provide higher education for students who will pursue careers in development communication practice, teaching or research; (2) investigate the interrelationships between human development and the processes and structures of communication with emphasis on research that promotes equity, empowerment, environmental sustainability, peace and human rights; and (3) undertake training, advisory and action projects that help build up the communication capabilities and resources of people, communities, institutions and other participants in the development process. There is much more information on the academic programme in their new brand website.