• Fall 2023 Priority Deadline: April 3, 2023
• Fall 2023 Regular Deadline: June 20, 2023

There are over 73 million people under the age of 24 living in the United States who face multiple inherited crises with defiance and creativity. In the US, there are approximately 2.5 million youth workers and counting. This continued growth confirms the urgent need for credentialled, professional development opportunities for those who are partnering with young people to co-create a better future.

The BA in Youth Studies degree program helps fill this critical need by ensuring that staff have the skills, knowledge, competencies, and commitments to ally with young people. The degree provides the concrete skill development needed to work with this age group while infusing an approach rooted in critical youth studies and a commitment to a social justice orientation. 

The BA in Youth Studies was designed in collaboration with alumni, current students, and professors of the MA in Youth Studies degree program, as well as staff from youth-serving nonprofits and city agencies. This participatory approach to program design by differently positioned people in the field means that this degree offers relevant skills grounded in day-to-day youth-work practice as well as a visionary view of the competencies needed for the future of the field.

The degree offers multiple paths towards successful completion of the program such as Credit for Prior Learning, which acknowledges a candidate’s experience in the world of work. The program also offers multiple opportunities to acquire and stack credentials in the field through agencies such as the Department of Youth and Community Development, the Administration for Children's Services, and the New York State Network for Youth Success. Acquiring this credential means that graduates will be eligible for higher salaries, promotions, and a variety of positions across the youth-serving sector.

Mode of Learning

The BA in Youth Studies offers students the flexibility of completing their degree while working full-time, part-time, or at a distance.

Meeting the needs of today’s student, the degree offers options of learning where students have a mix of online course content combined with online and remote asynchronous and synchronous class meetings.

Each course has a mix of asynchronous and synchronous components. In a 15 week course, students will meet 6-7 times in a synchronous (live virtual meeting) from 6:15-9:15pm EST via zoom. All other weeks, coursework is to be completed independently.

Career Prospects

Graduates of the BA in Youth Studies are well prepared to design and offer programs that exemplify best practices in youth work. Students graduate with the skills to run or work in programs for youth, communities, and families in the out-of-school time, community centers, credible messenger networks, juvenile justice, child welfare, arts and sports-based youth development, advocacy/activism, college access, and success and workforce development for young adults. For students who wish to continue their education, graduating with a BA in Youth Studies prepares candidates to enter rigorous academic fields and graduate programs in education, social work, psychology amongst other types of departments of study. 

Additionally, students can earn up to nine credits towards the 30 credit MA in Youth Studies degree, allowing them to consider and pursue graduate education while on track for their undergraduate degree.

Articulation Agreements

Articulation agreements are formal agreements between CUNY School of Professional Studies, (CUNY SPS) and two-year colleges and universities, allowing students to transfer the maximum number of credits with ease to our BS in Information Systems program from institutions with which we have an established transfer process in place.

• Borough of Manhattan Community College - AA in Children and Youth Studies (PDF)