Master of Science in Youth Studies
Utrecht University
Key Information
Campus location
Utrecht, Netherlands
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 year
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
EUR 2,209 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
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* EU/EEA, Surinam or Swiss students; €17,500: International students
Scholarships
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Introduction
Examine Youth Issues from Different Disciplinary Perspectives
Adolescence is a period of major developmental changes. Under which conditions do young people grow up to be confident, social, well-integrated, healthy, and happy adults? How do problems emerge? You will learn to observe and examine youth issues by combining input from different social scientific disciplines (psychology, pedagogy, sociology, anthropology) in an interdisciplinary approach.
The one-year Master's program in Interdisciplinary Social Science: Youth Studies relates to topics and challenges which are relevant and/or unique to youth such as:
- Social inequalities and mental and physical health
- Marginalisation, radicalisation and exclusion
- Substance use and addiction
- Antisocial and criminal behavior
- Youth culture and popular music
- Social media use and gaming
- Interventions and policies to enhance the position of young people
As a Youth Studies student, you will contribute to knowledge regarding youth issues. You will learn to develop ways to prevent or solve problems associated with adolescence and young adulthood and enhance the quality of youth care. By integrating knowledge from different disciplines you will be able to better understand youth issues and to find solutions to youth problems that are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of research. Additionally, you will gain knowledge about policies and interventions regarding youth issues and develop academic skills to conduct research in the field of youth.
Develop Yourself
Through an innovative approach in interdisciplinary science, the Master’s program will prepare you for work in academic institutes, policy organizations, and NGOs; for being part of an internationalizing and increasingly diverse workforce. It offers you an exciting choice of themes, perspectives, and methodological approaches and provides you with the opportunity to individually design an important part of your Master's research. You will also complete an internship in an organization in the professional field of youth. This freedom of choice stimulates your personal development and prepares you optimally for a career in research or advisory positions.
Program Outcome
This Master’s program will prepare you for a career in the field of youth research, youth welfare, and youth policy. By acquiring in-depth knowledge on youth issues, academic skills, and competencies you will develop into a highly-qualified science practitioner. You will receive structured and systematic training in theoretically and methodologically advanced research that will equip you to help solve social problems in the field of youth either within or outside of academia.
Why in Utrecht
Youth Studies at Utrecht University combines behavioral perspectives with social perspectives. This interdisciplinary approach will teach you multiple kinds of basic skills, such as:
- analyzing problems from different theoretical and methodological angles.
- designing, applying and evaluating interventions that intend to influence individual behavior, for example, interventions to reduce youngsters' drugs/alcohol abuse or compulsive smartphone use.
- designing, applying, and evaluating policies that intend to change the 'rules' of society. For example, measures such as a higher minimum age for youngsters to legally buy alcohol and policies regarding drugs.
- In practice, society needs professionals with analytic and professional skills to intervene in young people’s maladaptive behaviors and design policies to solve some of their problems.
Career Opportunities
After your Master
Your prospects after this Master's program are good. Youth welfare has gained significant momentum. This Master's program greatly emphasizes current social themes, which allows it to connect excellently to current developments. The program also takes advantage of the growing demand for evidence-based actions regarding the prevention and treatment of youth problems.
Possible Career Paths
This Master’s program will make you a social-scientifically schooled university graduate fit for a variety of jobs in the wide scope of youth welfare.
Professional Career
Examples of jobs are:
- policy worker
- researcher
- intervention specialist
- youth worker
Where will you be working?
- at the national, provincial or municipal government
- in youth care or youth health care
- in the education sector
- at institutes focused on research, knowledge development, knowledge application and implementation of scientific knowledge regarding youth issues. Think along the lines of the Trimbos Institute, the Netherlands Youth Institute, the Netherlands Institute for Social Research, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and the World Health Organisation.
Academic Career
What will your job be like?
- Researcher (Ph.D. candidate/Ph.D.)
Where will you be working?
- At a university or (with a lectureship) at a Dutch university of applied sciences