Youth Development, M.Ed.

degree requirements

32 semester hours of credit are required for the degree of which at least 9 hours must be at the "500" level. Courses numbered 596, 597, 598 or 599 do not meet this requirement. A student in this program will choose either the applied or thesis option for the culminating experience. All students will complete the Developmental Theory Core and the Research and Methodology Core and electives.

Developmental Theory Core (6 hours minimum)

Choose 2 courses from the following:

EPSY 420 Social Development of Urban Children - 3 or 4 hours
EPSY 446 Characteristics of Early Adolescence - 3 hours
EPSY 429 Constructivist Approaches to Development: Piaget & Vygotsky - 3 or 4 hours
EPSY 517 Seminar in Urban Youth Development - 4 hours
EPSY 525 Advanced Adolescent Development - 3 hours
ED 421 Advanced Educational Psychology - 3 hours
ED 422 Advanced Developmental Psychology and Educational Processes - 3 hours
ED 445 Adolescence and the Schools - 3 hours

Research and Methodology Core (12 hours minimum)

ED 501 Data and Interpretation in Educational Inquiry - 4 hours
EPSY 509 Research Design in Education - 4 hours

Choose 1 of the following 4 courses:

ED 502 Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry in Education - 4 hours
EPSY 503 Essentials of Quantitative Inquiry in Education - 4 hours
EPSY 560 Educational Program Evaluation - 4 hours
PS 587 Topics in Documentary and Field Research - 4 hours

Culminating Experience (5 hours minimum)

For the thesis strand:

EPSY 598 Master's Thesis Research - 5 to 16 hours

For the applied strand, either:

2 semesters of EPSY 415 Urban Youth Fieldwork - 3 hours (6 hours total)

EPSY 415 Urban Youth Fieldwork - 3 hours
EPSY 596 Independent Study - 2 to 4 hours

Electives (9 hours)

Your elective courses will be taken in consultation with your advisor

For further information regarding degree requirements, contact the Graduate Admissions Officer in the Office of Student Services at 312-355-0575 or consult the Graduate Catalog.