Interinstitutional Graduate Program
Iowa State University offers a Master's degree in Family and Consumer Sciences with a specialization in Youth Development. This is an interinstitutional distance education program offered entirely online through the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (or GPIDEA). The student selects the home institution that grants the degree. After admission at the home institution, the student takes courses from the participating institutions: Iowa State University, Kansas State University Michigan State University, North Dakota State University, Texas Tech University, University of Missouri, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The Master of Family and Consumer Sciences with Youth Development specialization is only online degree available focusing solely on the skills to serve today’s young people. Students become immersed in a strengths-based curriculum and learn a methodology that supports youth, enabling them to grow socially, emotionally, and cognitively. The program has its roots in positive youth development. Rather than focusing solely on corrective measures, a positive youth development approach equips individuals in the second decade of life with the skillset necessary for a successful transition into adulthood.
The masters degree requires 36 credits which includes 25 required credits, 5 or more credits of either creative component or internship, and the remaining credits as electives. A creative component is completed as the final project/exam for this degree. The final project is tailored to the needs of the individual student and determined in cooperation with the student's committee. The student presents the agreed-upon project to the committee in a 60- to 90-minute final oral examination meeting via a video conference call. http://www.online.hs.iastate.edu/graduate-programs/masters/mfcs-youth-development/
Youth Development Certificates
- Youth Development Specialist Graduate Certificate http://www.online.hs.iastate.edu/graduate-programs/masters/mfcs-youth-development/
- Youth Program Management and Evaluation Graduate Certificate (http://www.online.hs.iastate.edu/graduate-programs/masters/mfcs-youth-development/)
Courses
Courses primarily for graduate students, open to qualified undergraduates:
(1-0) Cr. 1. F.S.SS.
Fundamentals of youth development and the youth development profession. Through this introduction to the field, students will explore the ethical, professional, and historical elements of youth development as it has evolved toward professionalization. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
Basic Grant Development and Management will introduce students to the grant-getting process and provide an overview of what happens after a project is funded. The following topics will be covered: researching funding sources, generating cutting edge ideas, assessing needs, planning a project, establishing credibility, formulating a sustainable budget, designing an evaluation plan, managing the funded project, and disseminating project results. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
Adolescent development as it is related to and intertwined with family development; reciprocal influences between adolescents and their families are examined. Working with youth vis à vis the family system will be highlighted. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
Focus on the national emphasis of a strength-based or asset approach to community youth development, encompassing individual development (i.e., positive youth development) and adolescent interrelationships with environments. Emphasis is placed upon research, theory, and practice applied in communities throughout the U.S. Students will explore existing models, read theoretical and applied literature, and examine current community efforts as a basis for understanding community youth development. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
Examination of the cultural context factors that affect youth from a holistic perspective within and outside the family unit. The course will provide an understanding of the cultural heritage of differing family structures and types. Students will explore the social and educational processes experienced by youth through in-depth reading, writing, discussion, critical listening, viewing of contemporary videos, and informal interviews with youth. Students will be encouraged to think critically about society and culture, gain further knowledge of how ethnic groups fit historically into society, and examine the results of how history has shaped the current cultural climate of the U.S. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
This course will help youth development professionals understand and evaluate research reports to reduce anxiety about applying research results and theories to practice. Specific emphasis will be on research and theory reports related to youth development. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
Various federal and state policies designed specifically for youth. Students will examine how and why policies for youth are constructed. A guiding question that will be used to evaluate existing state and national policies is whether they contribute to, or act as, barriers to desired developmental outcomes. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
(3-0) Cr. 3. Repeatable. F.S.SS.
Issues faced by youth today and associated risk and resiliency factors. A different topic will be presented each year, with the course rotating among participating universities. Past topics have included Youth Violence, Youth and Appearance, Adolescent Health, Global Perspectives and Volunteerism. The course may be taken more than once, as long as the content is different each time. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
This course will introduce students to the development, administration and management of youth-serving organizations. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
Theoretical, methodological, and pragmatic issues involved in conducting programs and scholarship. Overview of the program development process and outcome evaluation of children and family programs. Modes of outcome scholarship and their implications for community-based programs are discussed. Students will develop knowledge through participating in a community-based project involving the practical application of program design and evaluation methods. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
Cr. 3.
Grant-getting process and an overview of what happens after a project is funded. The following topics will be covered: researching funding sources, generating cutting edge ideas, assessing needs, planning a project, establishing credibility, formulating a sustainable budget, designing an evaluation plan, managing the funded project, and disseminating project results.
Cr. arr. Repeatable. F.S.SS.
Nonthesis students creative component (e.g., a special report, capstone course, integrated field experience, annotated bibliography, research project, design, or other creative endeavor). A minimum of five credits of independent work is required on the programs of study (POS). Creative component format determined cooperation with the POS committee. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
Offered on a satisfactory-fail basis only.
Courses for graduate students:
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
Introduction to the developmental period of adolescence. The theory and research of positive youth development will be the lens through which this developmental period is examined. The course will emphasize how the developmental tasks of this life stage are influenced by (and influence) family and home, school, peers, and other contextual forces. The course will help students recognize and become familiar with the major issues and transitions adolescents face as they successfully navigate this developmental stage by critically examining the theoretical and research literature. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
Cr. arr. Repeatable. F.S.SS.
Prereq: Permission of instructor.
Advanced topics. (on-line course offering via Distance Education).
Cr. arr. Repeatable. F.S.SS.
Prereq: Permission of instructor.
Supervised practice and experience in college teaching, research, professional experience. On-line course offering via Distance Education.
Offered on a satisfactory-fail basis only.