Bachelor of Arts in Youth Studies

Format: Online, Synchronous, Asynchronous
Application Deadlines
  • Fall 2024 Priority Deadline: April 1, 2024
  • Fall 2024 Regular Deadline: June 17, 2024

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 credentialed, 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 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.

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, while offering genuine connection to professors and colleagues,all from the comfort of your own home! Meeting the needs of today’s student, 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 6:15-9:15 pm EST via zoom. All other weeks, coursework is to be completed independently.

The Youth Studies program is excited to introduce a new online asynchronous pathway, providing students with the opportunity to attain their degree entirely online, starting with incoming students in the Fall 2024 semester. Furthermore, we are committed to maintaining our online synchronous option, catering to students who prefer real-time virtual classroom interactions with their professors and peers.

Career/Educational Prospects

Educational Career
BA to MA in Youth Studies fast-track: students can earn up to nine credits towards the 30 credit MA in Youth Studies degree 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.
Graduates eligible to enter an MA in Social Work program Higher levels positions at youth-serving organizations/city agencies
Graduates eligible to enter an MA in Education program Higher salary ranges for positions requiring a BA

Research Labs

For students interested in learning how to do intergenerational critical participatory action research, we have opportunities to develop skills by becoming a co-researcher in one of our Socially Engaged Participatory Research Labs!

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.

Meet our Faculty


Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop

Adjunct Faculty, Youth Studies

Headshot of Manijeh Hart
Manijeh Hart

Adjunct Lecturer

Admissions Criteria

Applicants must possess at least 24 transferable credits from an accredited institution with a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. For applicants with GPAs below 2.5, please see CUNY SPS’s Jump Start program as a supportive pathway to admission.  Applicants need to demonstrate basic proficiency in reading, writing, and math, per CUNY standards. Students can transfer up to 60 credits from other undergraduate institutions, Credit for Prior Learning, and CLEP exams.

Application Deadlines

  • Fall 2024 Priority Deadline: April 1, 2024
  • Fall 2024 Regular Deadline: June 17, 2024
Apply Now

Recent News About Bachelor of Arts in Youth Studies

Black & white photo of CUNY students protesting in 1970s used as still from the documentary The Five Demands

Youth Studies Program Introduces Film Series for Annual Community and Youth Organizing Event

March 07, 2024

This year's Community & Youth Organizing series featured screenings of three documentaries that demonstrate youth and/or community organizing principles in action.

CUNY SPS Youth Studies students at Winter Wonderland data sharing event

Partnering with Youth on Policy Change

January 04, 2024

CUNY SPS Blog

In December 2023, students from the CUNY SPS Youth Studies programs participated in Winter Dataland, a citywide event in which the program shares data generated by young people in partnership with YS students and hundreds of other young people in NYC. Patricia Kerrigan, a BA in Youth Studies student, shared her reflections on the evening and the possibilities it offered for youth workers and advocates in the year to come.
The cover of "Whiting Out" by CUNY SPS Youth Studies Professor Dr. Elizabeth Bishop

Whiting Out: Writing on Vulnerability, Racism and Repair

November 14, 2023

Myers Education Press

CUNY SPS Youth Studies Professor Dr. Elizabeth Bishop recently published her book "Whiting Out: Writing on Vulnerability, Racism and Repair." The book "Whiting Out" is for both aspiring and experienced teachers (especially white folks), as well as anyone open to writing new narratives and imagining new possible worlds. The text calls upon all critical educators to (re)commit to deep learning toward our collective anti-racist queer-inclusive liberation, toward intersectional futures where healing, justice, and repair are prioritized.
Two CUNY SPS students looking at tablet computer together

CUNY SPS Celebrates Highest Enrollment and Largest Transfer Student Class

October 20, 2023

In an eye-popping increase, over 4,400 students enrolled at CUNY SPS for the Fall 2023 semester.