intercultural youth & family development (iyfd) a peace corps masters international program

• This power point describes the geographic diversity of a unique interdisciplinary master's degree program at The University of Montana: Intercultural Youth and Family Development (IYFD). We explore where the students come from, where and how they serve in their internships, and what they do professionally after receiving this degree.

• The IYFD program started in 2004 as the first and only Youth and Family Development Peace Corps program in the nation. Over 50 graduate students have completed their Intercultural internships with Peace Corps or with other International NGOs such as the Jesuit Volunteers, the International Rescue Committee and Prometra Uganda.

The IYFD Program, administratively housed in the Department of Counselor Education, is dynamically interdisciplinary with teaching and mentoring contributions coming from across The University of Montana campus. This program has a global reach and provides training in critical thinking skills necessary for effective leadership in facilitating healthy youth and family development.

• Past IYFD students have hailed from 28 states and from Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Ghana.

• IYFD Graduate students are global citizens. They have served and/or are serving in the following countries: Azerbaijan, Moldova, Mongolia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Cape Verde, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Belize, Paraguay, Peru, American Samoa, Philippines.

• Some students have elected to stay in the US and have worked with Native American and refugees communities both on rural reservations and inner cities in the US.

• Students work in cooperation with local groups on: community development, capacity building, women’s empowerment programs, health education, HIV/AIDs prevention, youth development projects, grant writing, and other projects determined by their host communities. The focus of every internship is on projects that will be sustainable over time and encourage positive growth in host communities.

• This student works with street children and orphans in the Philippines helping them to develop conflict resolution skills and income generation.