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On Education Planner BC, select the "Child and Youth Care - Bachelor of Arts Degree" program.
Learn how to support children, youth and families as a professional child and youth care worker through the Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Care. You'll take two practicums during your degree, gaining hands-on experience in supervised child and youth care settings.
You'll graduate ready to take on team leader or supervisory positions in your community. Our grads find work in settings including schools, government, community centres, parent-child education settings, residential settings, programs for street-involved youth and addictions services.
Job opportunities
Surveys show that 98 percent of graduates from this program are working in the field after graduation. (Source: B.C. Student Outcomes). Plus, over 16,000 social and community service job openings are expected in B.C. for the next nine years.
Further education
If you’re interested in furthering your education, your credential may also transfer to child and youth care programs at other post-secondary institutions. Visit the B.C. Transfer Guide and your transfer university’s website regularly to confirm which courses transfer.
Applicants must meet the admission requirements listed below:
Following an offer of admission to the program:
Calculate your tuition and see the approximate cost of taking your program at Douglas College with the tuition and fee estimator. See costs broken down into categories including tuition fees, textbooks, student activity fees, U-Pass and more.
For more information, refer to the tuition fee charts.
Graduation Requirements:
Course Requirements (see notes 1 and 2)
|
Course Number |
Course Title |
Credits |
|
Introduction to CYC Practice or Introduction to Indigenous Child and Youth Care Practice |
3.00 |
|
|
CYCC 1110 or CYYC 1112 (see note 3) |
Introduction to Community or Working In Communities |
3.00 |
|
Relationship Building with Children and Youth |
3.00 |
|
|
Choose one from the following two options: |
||
|
Change and Development: Lifespan |
3.00 |
|
|
Lifespan Human Development |
3.00 |
|
|
Choose one from the following three options: |
||
|
Academic Writing |
3.00 |
|
|
Workplace Writing for Applied Community Studies |
3.00 |
|
|
Business Communication |
3.00 |
|
|
Required Courses: |
||
|
CYCC 2432 (see note 2 and 4) |
Indigenous Perspective and Experience |
3.00 |
|
Continuum of Substance Use |
3.00 |
|
|
Support Change in the Life-Space |
3.00 |
|
|
Activity Programming with Children and Youth |
3.00 |
|
|
Mental Health in Childhood and Adolescence |
3.00 |
|
|
Working with Others in Groups |
3.00 |
|
|
Change and Development Families: Working from a Family Perspective or Families:Working from an Indigenous Perspective |
3.00 |
|
|
Diversity in CYC Practice |
3.00 |
|
|
The Professional Community: Policies, Standards, Legislation and Children or Indigenous Children, Youth and Families: Transforming Legislation and Policies |
3.00 |
|
|
Family Violence, Abuse and Recovery |
3.00 |
|
|
Electives |
Any six 1000-4000-level elective credits from CFCS, CCSW, CSCT, DACS, ECED, AIST, INTR, SOWK, THRT, and YJWD |
6.00 |
|
CYCC 1240 (see note 2) |
Practicum I |
4.50 |
|
CYCC 2440 (see note 2) |
Practicum II |
4.50 |
|
Professional Child and Youth Care: Theory and Practice |
3.00 |
|
|
Research Methods in Child and Youth Care |
3.00 |
|
|
Developmental Theory and CYC Practice with Children |
3.00 |
|
|
Perspectives in International and Community Development |
3.00 |
|
|
UT ENGL (see note 5) |
Any three University Transfer (UT) English credits |
3.00 |
|
Critical Issues in Current CYC Practice |
3.00 |
|
|
Data Analysis in Child and Youth Care |
3.00 |
|
|
Developmental Theory and CYC Practice with Youth |
3.00 |
|
|
Advanced Supervised Practicum I |
4.50 |
|
|
Advanced Supervised Practicum II |
4.50 |
|
|
Development of Attachment |
3.00 |
|
|
Critical Issues in Mental Health and Substance Use for Child and Youth Care Practice |
3.00 |
|
|
Advanced Skills with Individuals in Child and Youth Care |
3.00 |
|
|
Advanced Leadership Skills with Groups in Child and Youth Care Organizations |
3.00 |
|
|
Advanced Practice with Families in CYC |
3.00 |
|
|
UT Electives (see note 6) |
Any 12.00 UT Arts credits |
12.00 |
|
Total credits |
120.00 |
|
Notes:
1. To complete the program efficiently, students should:
2. Graduates of the Douglas College Youth Justice Diploma program may receive the following course substitutions.
|
Completed Youth Justice Diploma Credits |
Credits from Diploma that Can Be Used in CYCC Degree and Substituted Courses (in bold) |
|
CFCS 2432 (3.00) |
CYCC 2432 (3.00) |
|
YJWD 1240 (4.50) |
CYCC 1240 (4.50) |
|
YJWD 2240 (4.50) |
CYCC 2440 (4.50) |
3. CYCC 1112, CYCC 1142, CYCC 2212, and CYCC 2232 are part of the Indigenous Pathway. The Indigenous Pathway is designed to be an introduction to post-secondary education. Students can take their time adjusting to college-level studying by taking four courses over the span of two semesters. These four classes can be used towards the CYC program (as described in the bullet points below) and other Applied Community Studies programs. This program welcomes all Indigenous and non-Indigenous students with priority spaces for Indigenous students.
4. Students who completed CYCC 1112, 1142, 2212, and 2332, as a part of the Indigenous Pathway (see note 3) are not required to take CYCC 2432. They must instead take any 3.00 credits of 1000-level or higher UT elective or 3.00 credits of 1000-level or higher CFCS, CCSW, CSCT, DACS, ECED, AIST, INTR, SOWK, THRT, or YJWD course in place of CYCC 2432.
5. UT English courses can include courses in English (ENGL), written Communications (CMNS), and Creative Writing (CRWR) that transfer to one of the BC research universities (SFU, UBCV, UBCO, UNBC, or UVIC) as English credit.
6. UT Arts - Arts courses must be in a subject area for which there is a Baccalaureate of Arts degree at one of the Research Universities. This can include most course subject areas offered by the Faculty of Languages, Literature, and Performing Arts and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as ECON and some MATH courses.
Program Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this program and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the program, consider the previous version as the applicable version.
Child and Youth Care Counsellors (CYCC) work with children, youth and families who are experiencing social, emotional or behavioural stress. What distinguishes CYCC from other helping professions is that we work with people in their daily environments.
This career involves dealing with people. That means that good interpersonal skills are a must. This field also involves dealing with people who are experiencing stress and crisis in their lives. Many of the children and youth we work with present very challenging behaviours. To thrive you need to be able to deal with stress and challenging behaviours. You also need to understand the difference between being a caring helper and being a rescuer. If you need people to need you, this is not the profession for you.
Being an effective Child and Youth Care Counsellor also involves an ongoing commitment to your own personal growth. The people we work with constantly challenge our notions of who we are.
The Faculty of Applied Community Studies offers specialized upgrading classes for students looking to enter human services programs at Douglas. If you do not meet the English language entrance requirement, this is a good option for you. See Upgrade for Human Service Programs for more information.
Yes. Both the diploma and degree programs are offered on a part-time basis.
The Child and Youth Care Counsellor Diploma is a two-year program that will provide you with a diploma upon completion. It will prepare you for a variety of jobs in the child and youth care field. If you complete the diploma, you can also transfer into third year of the degree program at Douglas or into a related degree program at a number of other universities.
The Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Care is an additional two years of study that you can complete after you complete the two-year Diploma program (4 years total). Earning your degree will allow you to work in more advanced and higher-paying jobs in the child and youth care field, as well as open more doors for further continuing your education.
Yes. All the CYC degrees in British Columbia are considered equivalent. University of Victoria, Malaspina University College, University College of the Fraser Valley and Douglas College all offer equivalent degrees. All of the programs are members of the Child and Youth Care Educators Consortium and teach to the same learning outcomes. The programs work in partnership with other institutions in British Columbia and Alberta that offer CYC diploma and degree programs.
There is no standard rate of pay. At the starting end, some private contractors pay about $18 per hour. At the higher end, unionized settings pay $22 to $29 per hour. Degree graduates working in supervisory or advanced positions can earn significantly higher salaries.
Practicums are supervised worksite learning sessions. You will go and work in a child and youth care setting, giving you the opportunity to practice skills learned in the classroom. Both the diploma and degree program include practicums. For more information, see the Practicum page.
Surveys of Child and Youth Care graduates show virtually 100% working in the field within 3 months of graduation (graduates not working were continuing their education)."Douglas College has built a strong relationship with us as an employer. We have great respect for the faculty and are impressed by the program content and learning environment. We look forward to continuing to hire Douglas graduates." - Tim Agg, Executive Director, PLEA Community Services Society
According to a government study, the demand for grads is driven by 2 main factors: many current workers are retiring plus employers are seeking higher levels of training.
"Industry sources report that there is a surplus of workers who have insufficient levels of qualifications. Therefore, employment opportunities are much better for those workers with appropriate post secondary education." (Source: Work Futures)
Tuition Deposit
When offered a full-time seat in this program a non-refundable, non-transferable $350 tuition deposit is required.
Career opportunities include: