9/24/2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Professionals in youth-related fields can now earn a master's degree or graduate certificate in youth development entirely online through a new program offered at Michigan State University.
MSU is part of a consortium with four other public universities - the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance - that offers this innovative distance education program. Students enroll at one of the universities and learn from experienced faculty from all the schools.
The program trains professionals to work with youth between the ages of 10 and 20, said Joanne Keith, an MSU professor of family and child ecology who teaches courses as part of the Great Plains IDEA program.
"There are major changes in brain development in the second decade of life," Keith said. "The courses offered through Great Plains IDEA address this unique stage in life."
The online format's flexibility fits well into the busy lives of people who work with youth, said Francisco Villarruel, a university outreach fellow and MSU professor of family and child ecology who also teaches students in the Great Plains IDEA program.
Participants might include leaders in youth-serving organizations, such as 4-H and Boys and Girls Club, nonprofit organizations, faith-based groups, community recreation facilities, correctional professions, judges, middle and high school teachers and administrators, and extension educators.
Rosene Cobbs, who works with parent education, family support and child development programs in Lansing, Mich., has taken two of the required courses.
"This master's program is what I have been searching for," Cobbs said. "There are several programs and courses in child development, but my passion is adolescence. What a wonderful way to combine my passion and my intellectual pursuits."
Students from around the world can interact with other students and faculty through e-mail, online chats, discussion boards and other methods.
The master's degree includes 36 semester hours of coursework, including courses in community youth development; program design, evaluation and implementation; and youth in cultural contexts. Two youth development graduate certificates are available: "Youth Development Specialist" and "Youth Program Management and Evaluation."
For additional information, visit www.fce.msu.edu