School of Social Work

Child, Youth and Family Studies – Get Info

Photo of a person helping a child paint the word "Nutrition" on a wall.

Tip the Scales

Toward Justice Through Everyday Action

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An Interdisciplinary Program That Rests on a Justice-Minded Foundation

Child, Youth, and Family Studies (CYFS) uses a justice-minded orientation to understand both the history and contemporary social positions of children, youth, and families. The curriculum centers dynamic analysis of race, class, gender, ability, sexualities, and development as factors shaping the experiences of children, youth and families.

CYFS is an affiliated program with the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) credential.

CYFS also has articulation agreements with Human Services and Early Childhood Education programs across Oregon.

Ranked among the top 12% of Schools of Social Work in the nation by US News & World Report

OUR GRADUATES GO ON TO WORK IN:

  • Advocacy/Activism, Anti-Poverty, Anti-Racism, Anti-Violence, Addictions/Treatment
  • Addictions Counseling
  • Aging
  • Child Welfare & Child Life
  • Community-Based Organizing
  • Corrections
  • Disability/Critical Disability/Neurodiversity
  • Domestic/Interpersonal Violence
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Healthcare
  • Housing
  • Human Services, Case Management and Counseling
  • Immigration
  • Juvenile Justice & Corrections
  • Mental and Behavioral Health
  • Outdoor and Recreational Providers
  • Outreach Work
  • Policy
  • Research
  • Residential Care Treatment
  • Restorative Justice
  • School Social Work
  • Special Education
  • Youth Work

Expert Faculty

CYFS Practicum Coordinator Staci B. Martin is a recent Fulbright Scholar who has lived and worked alongside communities in over 20 countries. She’s currently teaching and co-researching, focusing on the role of hope and how our emotions contribute to peace-building, agency, and action that impact Thailand’s refugee and host youth community. She also provides student practicum placements, coordination, and teaches courses in the CYFS practicum program.

Photo of Staci Martin
Photo of a person helping a child paint the word "Nutrition" on a wall.

HANDS-ON TRAINING

Students across our programs have the opportunity to work directly with community agencies through our Field Education or Practicum Program, where they gain hands-on experience by contributing 240,000 hours of learning, service, and community engagement to the state of Oregon every year.

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SCHOLARSHIPS

The School of Social Work awards over $250,000 in scholarships every year to undergraduate and graduate students across all disciplines.

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TAKING ACTION

Do more than study the issues. Get in them and figure out how to do something different.

CYFS degree is flexible and can be completed fully online with the assistance of an advisor to plan out a course schedule.

RACIAL EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Our programs are committed to centering critical self reflection, racial equity, and social and economic justice. We encourage our students to be active citizens and practitioners who embody these values.