Intercultural Youth & Family Development

Program Description

The Interdisciplinary Master's Degree in Intercultrual Youth and Family Development (IYFD) trains students in critical thinking and applied skills necessary to effectively and sensitively offer basic helping skills for youth and families across cultures.  In the context of a facilitated learning community, this program addresses individual interests and educational needs necessary for students to work at the grassroots and with systems and cultures very different than their own.  Direct supervised engagement is a central component of this degree program.  The IYFD Program is a Master's International Partner school with the United States Peace Corps, and it is therefore expected that most of our students will do their internship with this organization.  Other internships are also possible but must be equivalent in nature, well-supervised, and approved by the program faculty.

 Degree Offered

M.A. Intercultural Youth and Family Development

Requirements:

34-36 credits

The master's degree in Intercultural Youth and Family Development requires a core of at least 18 credits (or up to 24, depending on internship, etc.).  Students will take elective coursework, to be selected with and approved by the advisor.  Choice of electives will be tailored to each student's own background, needs, language proficiency, and experiences.  Faculty in related disciplines will be consulted regarding appropriate courses as part of this process, particularly since admission to a given course may require permission by the professor.  It is anticiapted that most electives will be chosen from disciplines such as Anthropology, Communication Studies, Geography, Education, Psychology, Social Work, Women's Studies, Forestry and Conservation, Environmental Studies, and Sociology.

Since IYFD is an emphatically interdisciplinary program, students may select widely from the available courses at UM.  Many IYFD students have found added benefit in having a clearly defined secondary focus relevant to their particular interests.  There are related programs that lead to certification in a given field and must be applied to separately:

• Non-Profit Administration offers excellent training in what it takes to run a successful non-profit.
  http://umonline.umt.edu/umonlineprograms1/programsfolder/nonprofitadmin.aspx

• Public Health Certification  offers online coursework in epidemiology and other health-related fields.  This is an excellent option for those with an interest in Public Health.
  http://www.health.umt.edu/schools/pch/default.php 

• Community Health (Health and Human Performance Dept.) offers excellent training in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), theories of behavioral change, and other topics our students have found particularly helpful when they are in the field.

Admission

1. Application Materials and Deadline

Students enter in the Fall semester only.  Priority will be given to complete application packets postmarked by February 15th.  NOTE: EFFECTIVE FOR THE 2013-2014 SCHOOL YEAR, THE APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO APRIL 15, 2013.  Applications submitted after this date will be considered on a space available basis only.

Instructions for applying to the Graduate School are in the Applying for Admission section on this web site.

In addition to the application materials required by the Graduate School, the IYFD Program also requires:

• Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
• A personal statement indicating: reasons for wishing to be admitted to the program, past experiences (volunteer or paid) working in the human service field, and goals for using the skills acquired in the IYFD program.
• Three letters of recommendation.  These may be submitted electronically using the online application or sent directly to the department. (We prefer electronic submission through the Admission Application. If the electronic method is used there is no need to send paper copies of the letters to the department.)

2. Program Requirements for Admission

Other admissions requirements include:

• Acceptable combination of undergraduate GPA and GRE scores.
• An in-person or phone interview.

Refer to the department website for a list of commonly-asked questions, program prerequisite courses and a list of core courses.

3. International Students

• See information in the International Admission section on this web site.

Financial Assistance

For additional information about financial assistance, see the Financial Information section on this web site.

If you have specific questions , please contact:

IYFD Department
203 Schreiber Gym
The University of Montana
32 Campus Drive #6356
Missoula, MT 59812-6356
(406) 243-4863 

iyftdta@mso.umt.edu

Department website

Federal Express Delivery - Street Address
32 Campus Drive
Missoula, MT 59812-6356

Graduate Directors:
Kirsten Murray
406-243-2650
kirsten.murray@umontana.edu

Lindsey Nichols
406-243-5820
lindsey.nichols@mso.umt.edu

Program information last updated 2/13