Although individuals preparing for careers in educational administration have recognized the importance of the community for schools and school districts, they have often lacked a complex understanding of "community." This paper describes a community-study research project that was developed and implemented in a graduate educational administration course at Washington State University. The project was designed to acquaint students with various theories of community and to provide them with specific methods for understanding communities. During the 1992, 1993, and 1994 summer sessions, 10 student research teams conducted studies of Pullman, Washington, in which they identified members of the community power structure and their opinions on educational issues. The project involved the following stages: theoretical grounding, research design and data collection, data analysis, and written and oral presentations. To determine the impact of the research project on students, a survey was conducted of the 41 participating graduate students. A total of 15 responses were received, a 37 percent response rate. Students expressed satisfaction with their experience in the educational administration program and in the course, and with their research project experiences. They reported that they gained considerable knowledge from the project. They also reported that they gained more theoretical than practical knowledge and learned more about the community than about the research process. Appendices contain a list of the community studies undertaken by students. (LMI)