CHILD DEVELOPMENT OPTION
in the HDFS Major
The Child Development option provides flexible course work and internships that prepare students to enter into a growing range of careers involving work with young children and their families.
Three assumptions are basic to the philosophy underlying the program:
- An understanding of the development of young children is possible only within a social context, and families, community, and culture are essential components of this context.
- Based on current developmental research, a child’s developmental potential is not prescribed at birth. Fostering that potential requires interdisciplinary approaches derived from developmental psychology, sociology, social work, early childhood education, speech therapy, nursing, medicine, and public health.
- We subscribe to the notion that no single prescription can be applied universally, and that services for children, whether educational, therapeutic, or preventive, must be adapted to a child’s and a family’s particular circumstances. In line with this philosophy, students learn about child development within a variety of ecological contexts, and learn to apply this knowledge in diverse professional settings.
Through careful planning of coursework and internships, guided by their advisors, students enrolling in the Child Development option can prepare for entry level positions in a variety of fields: family services coordinators for early intervention programs, early Head Start and Head Start teachers and trainers, preschool teachers and program directors, child care professionals, cooperative extension staff, home visitors, human services personnel in agencies that serve the needs of young children and their families, child and family advocates, and Child Life Specialists.
For more advanced careers in these fields, graduate work may be required. The Child Development option provides an excellent foundation for graduate programs in related fields including, but not limited to, Human Development and Family Studies, Social Work, Preschool and Elementary Education, Early Childhood Special Education, Sociology, Public Policy, Counseling Psychology, and Applied Developmental Psychology.
Learn more about the Child Development Curriculum here.
Child Development Option Curriculum
Undergrad Learning Goals and Courses 
