School of Human Services at Springfield College

A. Community Youth Development
and Leadership Concentration

The mission of the Community Youth Development and Leadership Concentration (CYDL) is to provide a transformational learning experience that allows youth workers to explore alternative approaches to youth work and their implications for practice. Youth workers develop:
  • knowledge
  • attributes, and
  • skills
necessary for creating opportunities for young people to develop into healthy, productive and contributing members of their communities through maximizing their full leadership and civic potential.

Graduation Requirements
  • Students must earn 120 credits to graduate. Of those credits, 48 must be taken at Springfield College (residency requirement).
  • Students must complete all three levels of required courses:
    1. All College Requirements (ACRs) -- see Table A.1 below
    2. SHS requirements -- see Table A.2 below
    3. Community Youth Development and Leadership Concentration requirements (Minimum 12 credits taken in residence) -- see Table A.3 below
  • Group Project in Development and Change must focus on a project that is youth related
All College Requirements

There are nine ACRs. They can be met by any ACR course, transferred or in residence. Some ACRs can be met by required Educational Studies Courses.
Table A.1 -- ACRs
Lab Science 3 credits
Computer Science 3 credits
Math 3 credits
Health 3 credits
Fitness 4 credits
Language and Communication 3 credits
Language and Communication 3 credits
Literature 3 credits
Philosophy or Religion 3 credits
Total 28 credits


SHS Requirements

  • Community Youth Development and Leadership Concentration students must meet all SHS course requirements as shown below.
Table A.2 -- SHS Requirements
-- must be taken in residence at Springfield College

Core I -- Education, Oppression, and Social Intervention (US History) 4 credits
Core II -- Mobilizing Resources, Political Economy 4 credits
Core III -- Social Movements (US History) 4 credits
Human Services Portfolio Development (HSPD) - (can be waived) 3 credits
Issues in Research 3 credits
Group Project I 4 credits
Group Project II 4 credits
Group Project III 4 credits
Senior Seminar 2 credits
Total 32 credits

Students enrolled in the Community Youth Development and Leadership Concentration must fulfill their requirements for Group Project in Community Development and Change -- 12 credits under the course numbers CYDL 330, 331, and 332 -- by completing a project that is youth related.

Community Youth Development and Leadership Concentration students:
  • Must take all four/required core courses of the concentration in residency at the School -- see Table A.3 below.
  • The other 12 credits of electives (see Table A.4 below) may be:
    • taken in residency
    • transferred in from other higher education institutions, or
    • students may be awarded credit through the portfolio development process

Table A.3 -- Community Youth Development and Leadership Courses

CYDL students must take in residency all of the following courses:

Alternative Theories in Youth Development 3 credits
Adolescent Development in Context 3 credits
Transformative Cross-Cultural Youth Leadership 3 credits
Building Competencies in Community Youth Work 3 credits
Total 12 credits


Table A.4 -- Approved Elective Options in the Community Youth Development and Leadership Concentration

CYDL students must take in residency or transfer 12 credits from the following list of elective courses:

General Courses
Youth Work Practicum 3 credits
Organizational Courses
Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Human Services 3 credits
Creation of Alternative Settings 3 credits
Organizational Transformation 3 credits
Introduction to Community Organizing 3 credits
Introduction to Community Development 3 credits
Issues in Community Development 3 credits
The Politics of Education 3 credits
Group Techniques and Analysis 3 credits
Basic Management Skills 3 credits
Elementary Supervision 3 credits
Financial Management of Human Services Agencies 3 credits
Grant Writing and Fundraising 3 credits
Dynamics of Case Management 3 credits
Criminal Justice Courses
Confronted by Violence 3 credits
Violence and Social Control in US History and Society 3 credits
Crisis Intervention 3 credits
Juvenile Justice 3 credits
Politics of Prisons 3 credits
Restorative Justice Circle 3 credits
Counseling/Psychology Courses
Human Growth and Development 3 credits
Human Sexuality 3 credits
Introduction to Basic Counseling Techniques 3 credits
Family Counseling and Understanding Diverse Cultures 3 credits
Family Therapy 3 credits
Psycho-Politics of Male-Female Relationships 3 credits
Substance Abuse Counseling 3 credits
Substance Abuse: Prevention to Treatment 3 credits
Counseling Youth 3 credits


Portfolio Development Process

The School of Human Services offers students the opportunity to validate college-level knowledge acquired outside of the classroom. Through its portfolio development process, the School of Human Services provides a framework to assist students in reflecting upon and articulating their college level experiential learning.

A portfolio is a written document that articulates knowledge equivalent to that taught in a college course. A three-credit course has been developed to help students:
  • Identify,
  • Organize,
  • Categorize, and
  • Present this knowledge in a portfolio.
The writing of a portfolio requires a substantial commitment of time and effort. It is both a process and a product. The awareness of individual achievement and the potential of receiving college credit for experiential learning, provides the student with:
  • Savings of both time and money, and
  • Allows the opportunity to present diverse college-level learning in a coherent document.
Springfield College 263 Alden Street, Springfield, MA 01109-3797 413.748.3000
Page updated on: 03/24/2008