Child, Youth, Family and Community Studies (MA)
In this program, your learning will be informed by multi-disciplinary theory and practice-based instruction. You’ll gain expertise through coursework and practical experience tailored to your goals. Your final project will be a research thesis or a culminating project.
This program is offered primarily online. There is a mandatory three-week summer institute.
The MA in Child, Youth, Family & Community Studies may be used as partial fulfilment towards a provincial or national counselling certification or credential.
| Expected length | Project or thesis | Course-based |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years | Yes | No |
Quick facts
- Program options:
- Master's
- Study options:
- Full-time study
- Program delivery:
- Blended
- Dynamic learning:
- Co-op optional, Other: Required practicum
Outcomes
By the end of the MA program, graduates will be able to demonstrate:
- knowledge of decolonial, critical and justice-oriented approaches to research, practice and leadership in diverse local, national and global contexts for the purposes of promoting child, youth, family and community well-being
- respect for and commitment to the wellbeing, resurgence and self-determination of Indigenous nations globally, with responsibilities to local First Peoples
- ethical, strengths-based, relational approaches to working with diverse children, youth, families and communities, and ability to respond to intersecting forms of historical and ongoing structural and systemic exclusion based on race, gender, sexuality, class, ability, and citizenship, among others
- capacity for responsive and collaborative leadership, advocacy, activism and systems-level change in preparation for leadership roles in diverse human service sectors that serve children, youth and families (including organizations, government, private, not-for-profit, community, other)
- knowledge and application of diverse research methods, methodologies and knowledge mobilization approaches that reflect multiple contexts, knowledges and research paradigms
Find a supervisor
Please note in your application which potential supervisors' research interests align with yours. You do not need to have one to apply.
Bryan Silverman
Assistant Teaching Professor, Graduate Advisor Social context of education; multiculturalism; identity;
Farah Mawani
Assistant Professor Lived experience, community-led, community-embedded, trauma-informed, and decolonizing research approaches; knowledge synthesis; interdisciplinary quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research; implementation science; social and mental health inequities; macro-, community-, and family-level social determinants of mental health and well-being; systemic racism and discrimination as trauma; community responses to systemic racism and discrimination; migration and mental health; work environments and mental health; green space/blue space and mental health; walking peer support groups; intergenerational programs.
Jennifer H. White
Professor Youth suicide prevention; ethics; discourses of professionalism; constructionist methodologies; collaborative research; narrative practices; professional development; praxis-oriented pedagogy
Jin-Sun Yoon
Teaching Professor Intersectional diversity training, cultural identity development, racialized settler/Indigenous relations
Kristen Cheney
Professor orphans/orphanhood, intercountry adoption, child institutionalization, youth with lived experience of care; humanitarianism, international child protection regimes, political economy of childhood and international development; adolescent/youth sexual and reproductive health and rights, children and assisted reproductive technologies; decolonizing and participatory research methods
Mandeep Kaur Mucina
Director, Associate Professor Family violence, gender-based violence, critical migration studies, South Asian feminisms, anti-racism, intersectionality research, life history research, action-based research, critical diaspora studies.
Shanne McCaffrey
Teaching Professor Interests include: Land and Water based learning, teaching, and interconnectedness, Child Welfare, colonialism as a shared experience, environmental nurturing, preservation and activism, and sharing the land with non-human relatives.
Shemine Gulamhusein
Assistant Professor Exploring Muslim migration stories of belonging and identity; lived experiences of marginalized and minoritized people and communities; therapeutic recreational practices in community spaces; outdoor and solution-focused therapies; global perspectives of child, youth, family, and community research and practices; (auto)ethnographic methods; narrative inquiry; and community-arts-based methodologies.
Show me program details
Providing you accurate admission requirements, application deadlines, tuition fee estimates and scholarships depends on your situation. Tell us about yourself:
Your program details
Application deadlines
September entry – apply by March 15
All supporting documentation, including references, must be received by March 15.
September entry – apply by March 15
All supporting documentation, including references, must be received by March 15.
Admission requirements
Program specific requirements
- a minimum of 2 years (3,000 hours) relevant human services experience
- CYFCS application form completed in full and uploaded to the statement of intent field in the online application
- two professional references: completed on CYFCS professional reference forms. Forms should be emailed to gradrefs@uvic.ca and scycgrad@uvic.ca by March 15
- sample of academic writing that demonstrates critical engagement with the scholarly literature (may be a paper from your undergraduate degree)
- current resumé/CV: include work, education and training history and demonstrate how the relevant work experience requirement has been met
Program specific requirements
- a minimum of 2 years (3,000 hours) relevant human services experience
- CYFCS application form completed in full and uploaded to the statement of intent field in the online application
- two professional references: completed on CYFCS professional reference forms. Forms should be emailed to gradrefs@uvic.ca and scycgrad@uvic.ca by March 15
- sample of academic writing that demonstrates critical engagement with the scholarly literature (may be a paper from your undergraduate degree)
- current resumé/CV: include work, education and training history and demonstrate how the relevant work experience requirement has been met
Completion requirements
Funding & aid
Tuition & fees
Estimated minimum program cost*
* Based on an average program length. For a per term fee breakdown view the tuition fee estimator.
Estimated values determined by the tuition fee estimator shall not be binding to the University of Victoria.
Ready to apply?
You can start your online application to UVic by creating a new profile or using an existing one.
Faculties & departments
Related programs
The School of Child and Youth Care's PhD program is undergoing a renewal and not accepting applications at this time.Need help?
Contact Caroline Green at scycgrad@uvic.ca or 250-472-4857.