The community, youth, and education Studies (CYES) major provides you with a strong background in youth, urban studies, and education. You will become an effective voice for social justice. You will examine how school and community programs can transform current inequities by engaging young people and their families, and help to change their social reality through educational spaces and youth programs.
Why study community, youth, and education studies at Clark?
- Complete a digital portfolio over the course of your major that outlines your accomplishments and work for change, as well as a final reflection and practice project that you’ll present before you graduate.
- Engage in real, systemic community action the moment you step on campus — whether by participating in an afterschool arts and poetry program or volunteering with English language learners in Worcester.
- Contribute to new knowledge through your own community-based action research, and work with leading professors to examine critical issues ranging from the achievement gap to mass incarceration.
- Learn in a program featured as a “Civic Responsibility by Design” case study on the Association of American Colleges & Universities website.
- Apply
- Request Info
Are you ready to take the first step?
Featured Courses
Activism, Protest, and Social Movements
This course examines the dynamics of activist and protest movements, including the conditions that give rise to them, factors that shape their development, and the ways they affect culture, society, and politics.
Education in Film: Media Representations of Race, Class, Gender & Schooling
Through critical engagement with Hollywood film representations of education, you’ll learn to identify dominant educational ideologies and analyze film as both a product and producer of American society and culture.
American Race and Ethnicity
The U.S. is a tapestry of racial and ethnic groups. Using first-person accounts, explore the influence of diverse populations and cultures on American history, from colonial times to the present.
As a CYES major, you’ll pass through three gateways:
- Entrance to the program
- Advancing to candidacy
- A praxis (reflection and action) project and portfolio defense
Admission into the program is based on your commitment to work alongside members of the community and/or youth, enact change in community contexts, and explore the relationships between theory and practice.
At Clark you’ll get more than a great education; you’ll also be prepared for a long, productive career and life of consequence. And once you’ve completed your degree, you can join other Clark alumni who have gone on to work for great organizations and attend some of the best graduate schools in the world. The following communities may be of interest:
Non-Profit, Human Services, and Education
Government, International Affairs, and Law
- Activist
- Adjustment Counselor
- Coach
- Community Organizer
- Community/Adult Educator
- Career/College Counselor
- Lawyer
- Media Producer
- Peace Corps Volunteer
- Public Policy Advocate
- Public Health Worker
- Refugee Worker
- Social Entrepreneur
- Social Worker
- Teacher
- Union Organizer
- Urban Planner
- Volunteer Coordinator
- Youth Worker
The Clark Experience
The Clark Experience brings together the exceptional education you’ll receive in the classroom and so much more. Through focus and flexibility, it ensures you’ll leave Clark with the creativity, confidence, and resilience to succeed and lead a life of meaning and consequence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I do with a major in community, youth, and education studies?
At Clark you’ll get more than a great education; you’ll also be prepared for a long, productive career and life of consequence. And once you’ve completed your degree, you can join other Clark alumni who have gone on to work for great organizations and attend some of the best graduate schools in the world.
We see the CYES major as preparing our students not only to enter careers that currently exist, but also to adapt to a dynamic and diverse world and, more importantly, to become agents of future social, economic, and cultural transformations.
What skills will I learn as a community, youth, and education studies major?
- Evaluate social, cultural, political and educational inequities
- Theorize identity and reflexively examine your personal location within varied social contexts
- Develop theories of social change
- Construct knowledge with community members through action research
- Engage in collaborative community organizing
Is there an honors program for community, youth, and education studies majors?
The community, youth, and education studies program has a different way of awarding honors. All students majoring in CYES will complete a senior thesis and portfolio through the required three “praxis” courses. Student work will be given a final assessment of incomplete/not pass (with instructions for revision), pass, or pass with honors.
Be a force for change.
Come study at a small research university with a strong liberal arts core.