Child and Youth Care (MA) at Toronto Metropolitan University

The Master of Arts program in Child and Youth Care (CYC) intensively explores three thematic streams:

Clinical Child and Youth Care Practice
Management and Policy Development in Child and Youth Care
Child and Youth Care Approaches to Research.  
This program focuses on the theoretical and practice-oriented approaches related to young people facing adversity in myriad contexts, and covers issues and themes that include trauma-informed care, resilience, life-space intervention, critical and anti-oppressive perspectives, and management and policy development in child and youth serving settings.

Through innovative pedagogy which incorporates an extensive focus on reflective practice, field learning opportunities, and the integration of social innovation and use of Self and Self in relational practice throughout the curriculum, the MA program teaches and promotes leadership in child and youth care, with an emphasis on children’s rights and the daily experiences of youth within institutional and community-based services.

The program is designed as a one-year (12 months) full-time program. Students are required to attend fall classes in person while the winter term and spring/summer sessions can be completed in class or online. Students must complete five required courses and choose between two options: Research and Policy OR Therapeutic Placement. All required courses are offered from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Thursday.

A part-time option exists for students currently employed in the child and youth care sector on a full time basis. There are limited spots for this option, and admission requires an interview in addition to all other admission requirements.