CYAF is a leader in developing innovative strategies for delivering educational programming to diverse audiences. This includes distance education.

The College of Education and Human Sciences at UNL is one of the founding colleges of the Great Plains IDEA (a consortium of universities whose mission is to collaboratively develop and deliver online programs). CYAF has taken a leadership role in the Great Plains IDEA since 2001 when the first online program was developed. CYAF currently offers four masters degree programs through the Great Plains IDEA, giving students an opportunity to take courses from the best faculty at multiple universities while getting their degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. With partnering universities, we are currently developing an undergraduate program in Early Childhood Education that will be delivered online. This will increase our ability to make the highest quality education available to students in a convenient and affordable way.

Our success with these programs has also lead to the development of other cross university collaboration in distance education.

CYAF offers an online masters degree program in Human and Family Services Administration. Students in this program take classes from faculty in both CYAF and the Department of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

CYAF also offers an online masters degree in International Family Studies. This degree program is offered through the Global Consortium for International Family Studies (GCIFS). Much like the Great Plains IDEA, the GCIFS provides students with the opportunity to take classes that meet their UNL degree requirements from faculty in universities around the world. Professors teaching classes that contribute to this degree program are employed at universities in

  • Australia (University of Newcastle)
  • China (East China Normal University)
  • Greece (Aristotle University)
  • India (Tata Institute)
  • United States (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)

The department also offers other online courses and certificates, increasing the accessibility of content for students and professionals wanting to develop expertise in child and family issues and advance their careers. CYAF online programs are the following:

For more information about distance education at UNL, see the web page for the Office of Online and Distance Education.