Degree Overview: Bachelor Degree Program in Child Studies
Majors Overview January 28, 2015Those interested in youth, adolescents, and children and understanding them should look into bachelor’s degree programs in child studies. Students will be taught about various topics, including societal impacts on children’s development, the well-being of children, and children’s rights.
Information on Childcare Studies
Many schools offer interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree programs in child studies aimed at exploring the development, welfare, and rights of children. Students usually take about four years to complete these programs.
Admission criteria typically require incoming students to hold a GED certificate or a high school diploma.
Courses in the law, social sciences, and the humanities are usually included in a bachelor’s program in child studies. Some schools may allow students to choose from numerous concentration areas, including youth studies or early intervention. Students select electives including family ethics or juvenile justice, on the basis of their career goals.
Those that complete a bachelor’s degree program in child studies can seek employment in numerous fields, including education, government, or child welfare agencies. Those seeking teaching jobs may need to satisfy licensure norms in their state in respect of any training required.
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree Program in Child Studies
The program is devised to impart a grasp of childhood via interdisciplinary coursework in topic areas such as law, education, social sciences, and humanities. Education about the rights of children is augmented through classes about the welfare of children worldwide.
Schools also give students the opportunity to examine the influence on the development of culture, gender, race, economic status, and family life. Schools may also offer concentrations in early childhood teaching, early intervention, or youth studies.
Admission criteria typically require incoming students to hold a GED certificate or a high school diploma.
Coursework
There may be a separation of coursework into areas of content, including youth in intercultural contexts, social institutions, and methods in childhood studies.
Additionally, there may be a focus on the psychology and sociology of children. Schools may allow students to choose from numerous elective courses, including juvenile justice or family ethics. Core coursework may include topic areas such as the following:
•Children and media
•Perspectives on childhood
•History of youth
•Youth in a new nation
•Race, class, and gender
•Sociology of families
Career Choices
Those that complete the program can seek a professional career that involves working with children. Job responsibilities may include child welfare services, juvenile justice, and advocacy. Early education teaching licensure may also result depending on the concentration chosen by students, who can then seek jobs in numerous work environments, such as:
•Schools
•Government agencies
•Nonprofit organizations
Continuing Education Choices
Once they complete the program, students may opt for continuing education through enrollment in the Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Child Studies. Students may also consider an advanced degree program within the education field, such as early childhood education or special education. Other advanced areas of study may include guidance counseling, child welfare, and speech pathology.
