Campuses:
This is archival data. This system was retired as of August 21, 2023 and the information on this page has not been updated since then. For current information, visit catalogs.umn.edu.
Twin Cities Campus
Youth Development Leadership M.Ed.School of Social Work
College of Education and Human Development
Link to a list of faculty for this program.
Contact Information
School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, 182 Peters Hall, 1404 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108 (612-624-8785)
Email:
rossvr@umn.edu
Along with the program-specific requirements listed below, please read the
General Information section of
this
website for requirements that apply to all major fields.
Youth development leadership (YDL) understands leadership as a practice everyone does every day, regardless of age. You will be invited to reflect on your own leadership experiences within a learning community that includes fellow students, community practitioners, and faculty. You will learn about your own leadership, deepen your understanding of the young people you work with, and expand your connection within the larger youth work community both locally and globally. You will be invited to think critically about how communities often understand and respond to young people and work to create innovative interventions for young people in schools, community organizations, and the workplace that challenge these typical understandings and create opportunities for young people to fully flourish. How can we collaborate with young people when responding to the most pressing current issues and needs? What organizational structures and strategies support and sustain young people's authentic and meaningful involvement in inclusive, socially just, and equitable opportunities? How can organizations, schools, and communities transform to provide developmentally rich and meaningful opportunities for young people?
Utilizing the most current understanding of youth development joined to issues of inclusion, equity, and social justice, you will graduate with the necessary knowledge and skills to work collaboratively, think critically, and act intentionally to create sustainable opportunities for young people and their communities. By the time you graduate, you will know what it takes to effectively partner with young people and to transform youth-serving organizations to better respond to all young people and the communities they live in.
The YDL M.Ed. emphasizes:
A variety of theories and models in youth work, including critical youth work, community youth work and positive youth development;
Experiential, interdisciplinary and collaborative learning models;
Leadership and community building by encouraging consultation among faculty, professional youth workers, fellow students, and young people;
Diverse, flexible, dialogic faculty that provide an informed understanding of practices, policies, and ethics of youth development work;
A cohort model for supportive and challenging learning environments;
A faculty committed to helping students develop a course of study that meets their professional and personal needs and interests.
Program Delivery
Prerequisites for Admission
The preferred undergraduate GPA for admittance to the program
is 2.80.
A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
Other requirements to be completed before admission:
At least two years of experience working with youth.
Special Application Requirements:
All applicants must upload the following items to their online application in the Graduate School system:
* Resum้ or CV
* Personal statement describing why you are interested in the YDL M.Ed. program, your experiences working with youth and potential career aspirations (limit two pages).
* Short essay questions:
- What draws you to the field of youth worK?
- What insights and questions from your work with youth are you interested in exploring?
- How do you think about learning and what do you want and need in a learning space?
* Unofficial transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you have attended or are currently attending, including the University of Minnesota.
* Letters of recommendation from at least two persons (e.g., administrators, colleagues, instructors) familiar with your performance and your capacity for youth development leadership.
* Application fee, charged when the online application is submitted. Fee must be paid with a credit card.
Application deadlines are updated annually. Please reference the YDL website for the actual dates.
International applicants must submit score(s) from one of the following tests:
The preferred English language test is Test of English as Foreign Language.
Key to test
abbreviations
(TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB).
For an online application or for more information about graduate education admissions, see the
General Information section of this
website.
Program Requirements
Plan C: Plan C requires
21
major credits and
9
credits outside the
major.
There is no final exam.
A capstone project is required.
Capstone Project: The portfolio is a demonstration and personal assessment of individual learning and leadership in youth development work and in the YDL program. Successful completion of the portfolio presentation to the student's faculty committee of two or more faculty is the final requirement of the YDL program.
This program may be completed with a minor.
Use of 4xxx courses towards program requirements is not permitted.
A minimum GPA of 3.00
is required for students to remain in good standing.
Required Coursework
NOTE: Students must take a total two credits of YOST 5960, in one credit increments, during their time in the program.
YOST 5951 - Ways of Knowing in Youth Development Leadership: Using Research and Evlauation to Support Community
(3.0 cr)
YOST 5952 - Everyday Lives of Youth
(3.0 cr)
YOST 5954 - Experiential Learning: Pedagogy for Community and Classroom
(3.0 cr)
YOST 5956 - Organizational Approaches to Youth Development
(3.0 cr)
YOST 5958 - Community: Context for Youth Development Leadership
(3.0 cr)
YOST 5960 - Seminar in Youth Development Leadership
(1.0 cr)
YOST 5962 - Leadership Field Experience: Youth Development
(4.0 cr)
Elective Credits
9 or more 5xxx level elective credits must be selected with approval of faculty adviser.
|
|
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | S-N or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Prerequisites: | YDL student |
Grading Basis: | S-N only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |