Youth development leadership (YDL)
Master of education/professional studies
Program
The master of education (M.Ed.)/professional studies program in youth development leadership (YDL) provides professional development for leaders in public and private youth-serving organizations committed to healthy youth development. This interdisciplinary degree is offered jointly by the Department of Curriculum & Instruction (CI) and Department of Educational Policy and Administration (EdPA).
Youth workers who wish to strengthen their leadership roles focus on understanding the practices, policies, and ethics of youth development work. A community-based model is central. Consultation among professional youth workers and experiential learning models that emphasize action and critical reflection are encouraged.
Each fall, students are admitted as a cohort, a supportive community that fosters dialogue, consultation, and community building during the core course sequence. All participants are expected to maintain professional working roles in a youth-serving agency or organization during their program. During the second year, students take elective courses, participate in seminars, complete a field experience, and prepare their portfolio.
Because the program is designed for practitioners working with youth in community settings, core courses are planned mostly for evenings and weekends.
For more information on the YDL program, visit the program Web site.
Admission
Admission requirements for this program include the following criteria:
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
- A preferred 2.80 overall grade point average (GPA). Applications from candidates who do not meet this GPA requirement will be reviewed for conditional admission.
- At least two years of experience working with youth
- A current résumé
- A written personal statement describing your career goals and rationale for interest in the M.Ed. program (limit two pages)
- Letters of recommendation from at least two persons (e.g., administrators, colleagues, instructors) familiar with the applicant’s performance who can attest to his/her capacity for youth development leadership
- A completed CEHD Application for Admission to M.Ed./Professional Studies Programs, also available at the College’s office of Student Services, 110 Wulling Hall, 86 Pleasant Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455; 612-625-6501; e-mail: cehdgrad@umn.edu.
Priority will be granted to applications received by May 1 for fall admission; all applications must be submitted by July 1. Applicants are typically notified of admission decisions four to six weeks after application deadlines.
Transfer credits
A maximum of 10 graduate semester transfer credits may be applied to the M.Ed. program. Credits may include any combination of the following coursework:
- Up to six graduate semester credits from fully accredited institutions other than the University of Minnesota
- Credits completed at the University of Minnesota before admission to the M.Ed. program.
Transfer courses must be completed at the graduate level and approved by a faculty adviser and the College. Contact the program’s faculty adviser for more information.
Curriculum
The 30-credit youth development leadership program focuses on the knowledge and skills essential for experiential learning and work with young people in community settings. Faculty provide advice, guidance, and mentoring throughout the program, but the student’s individual vision provides focus for the 10 credits of elective courses, the 4-credit field experience, and the student portfolio.
Note: Course designators, numbers, and names in the following list changed, effective January 2005. Previous course designators and numbers are listed in brackets.
Core experience (20 cr)
Students must complete the following courses:
- CI 5952—The Everyday Lives of Youth (3 cr)
- CI 5954—Experiential Learning: Pedagogy for Community and Classroom (3 cr)
- CI 5956—Organizational Approaches to Youth Development (3 cr)
- CI 5958—Community: Context for Youth Development Leadership (3 cr)
- CI 5960—Seminar in Youth Development Leadership (1 cr each; 4 cr total)
- CI 5962—Leadership Field Experience: Youth Development (4 cr)
Related courses/electives (10 cr)
Students must also complete 10 credits of
interdisciplinary work, based on professional interest and distributed
among three areas:
- Content areas/knowledge base
- Skill development methods
- Institutional knowledge and skills
Note: For course descriptions and schedules, refer to the University of Minnesota Class Schedule.
Registration
Currently admitted degree-seeking or non-degree seeking students may register online for coursework.
Students who want to begin M.Ed. coursework before admission to the M.Ed. program must complete a CEHD First-Time Registration for non-degree seeking Students packet [.pdf]. Packets are also available at the College’s office of Student Services, 110 Wulling Hall, 86 Pleasant Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455; 612-625-6501; e-mail: cehdgrad@umn.edu.
For questions about registration, contact Student Services at 612-625-5815.
Core faculty
The following faculty members participate as teachers and mentors in the program:
Michael Baizerman
612-624-4912; e-mail: baize001@umn.edu
Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
Focus: everyday lives of youth, researching adolescent lived experience
Lisa Kimball
612-624-9762; e-mail:
lkimball@umn.edu
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches to youth development,
spirituality and young people, experiential learning
Byron J. Schneider
612-624-2590; e-mail: schne003@umn.edu
Ph.D., University of Chicago
Focus: education and youth policy
Jerome A. Stein
612-624-7187; e-mail: stein035@umn.edu
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Focus: community-based education and youth development
Joyce A. Walker
612-624-8449; e-mail: walke007@umn.edu
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Focus: community youth organizations, youth policy
Updated October 2005