Program Overview
The Great Plains IDEA youth development program has its roots inPositive Youth Development Rather than focusing solely on corrective measures, a Positive Youth Development approach equips young people in the second decade of life with the skills and opportunities necessary for a successful transition into adulthood. This approach promotes positive outcomes for all youth by recognizing their strengths, fostering positive relationships, and providing youth with opportunities to learn, lead, connect, and serve.
Program Outcomes
In this program you will learn:
To interact effectively and positively with youth to promote supportive relationships, youth engagement, and youth leadership.
To navigate the multiple systems (e.g., family, school, community, policy) that influence youths lives, to appreciate the diversity of these systems, and to engage with these systems to promote positive youth development.
To design, manage, implement, and evaluate programs to enhance and support positive outcomes for youth.
To understand theory, research, and policy about youth and youth programming and to use this research-based knowledge in a variety of ways (e.g., funding proposals, program design, policy/advocacy efforts, etc.).
Career Outlook
When youth professionals take part in higher education and ongoing learning, research shows that youth program quality improves. You will learn to use more effective practices and feel more confident about your work, all of which will benefit youth.
Our graduates work with various youth-serving organizations:
Boys and Girls Club
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts
Cooperative Extension services, 4-H programs
Missouri State Correctional Office
Girls, Inc.
21st Century Community Learning Centers
Administration for Native Americans
AmeriCorps
Family and Youth Services Bureau
Federal Youth Court Program
Learn and Serve America
National Guard Youth Challenge Program
Neighborhood Networks
Passport in Time
Preserve America Stewards
Promise Neighborhoods
YouthBuild
Courses
Core
HDFS 860/YD 823Youth Policy3 Credits HDFS 864Foundations of Youth Development1 Credit Theories, concepts and terminology of youth development. Ethical, professional, and historical elements of youth development in social, economic, ethnic and political contexts.
HDFS 892Contemporary Youth Issues: Youth, Families & Technology2 Credits HDFS 892Contemporary Youth Issues: Youth, Sport and Society3 Credits YD 800Contemporary Youth Issues: Understanding Normative Behavior in Immigrant and Minority Youth.3 Credits YD 800Contemporary Youth Issues: Working with Adolescents with Difficulties3 Credits YD 806Contemporary Youth Issues: Mental Health3 Credits YD 820Contemporary Youth Issues: Grant Development and Management3 Credits YD 826Contemporary Youth Issues: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy & Parenthood3 Credits
elective
YD 804Program Design Evaluation and Implementation3 Credits YD 807Youth Professionals as Consumers of Research3 Credits YD 808 Administration and Program Management3 Credits
Admissions and Requirements
To be accepted to this program, you must have:
A bachelor's degree
Previous work experience
Résumé
Taken the GRE
Taken the TOEFL
(Only required if English is not your native language)
3 letters of recommendation
Three letters of recommendation are required. All applicants should include at least one academic reference. Please ask former professors, work supervisors, or others who can best assess your academic experience and potential.
Official transcripts from all previous schools
To apply to this program:
Complete a university graduate application (program code: 7693)
GRE scores are not required if you are a U.S. resident applying to the Master’s Plan B (professional track) program. International applicants must submit GRE scores for the Plan A and Plan B Master’s Program.
Send the GRE scores directly to the University. The code for Michigan State University is 1465. Applicants whose native language is not English must submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) taken within the last 2 years. The code for Michigan State University is 1465.
Key Dates
Fall 2021
Application Deadline
June 1, 2021
Spring 2021
Application Deadline
October 1, 2020
Summer 2021
Application Deadline
February 1, 2021
THE MSU DIFFERENCE
As one of the top research universities in the world, Michigan State University has advanced the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years.
MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community.