The child development major has the following goals:
- To aid in the professional preparation of students seeking careers that involve working with children, child development programs, and other areas within the field of behavioral sciences.
- To give basic preparation to students who expect to attend graduate school in psychology or one of the other behavioral sciences.
- To contribute to the development of the student’s ability for critical thinking and capacity for personal reflection.
The child development major may be taken on either the Bachelor of Arts degree or the Bachelor of Science Degree and can lead to a broad range of career options.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Identify and demonstrate major concepts and theories about child development.
- Demonstrate critical thinking skills through the application of child development concepts and theories to practical issues.
- Demonstrate career goals in child development.
Courses
General Education Requirements - 46 hours
English 1301, 1302, and three hours sophomore literature - 9 hours
Fine Arts (three hours from music, theatre, fine arts, art, or equivalent - 3 hours
Christian Ministry 1301 and 1302 - 6 hours
History - 3 hours
POSC 2305 - 3 hours
Social Science (CJUS, ECON, GEOG, PSYC, SOCI - 3 hours
KINE 1238 - 2 hours
Science (must be lab science) - 8 hours
Mathematics 2351, and three additional hours of MATH - 6 hours
Communication 1311, 1315, or 1318 - 3 hours
Major area of study (see below) - 36 hours
Minor (minimum of 18 hours) - 18 hours
Electives (to total 120 hours)
Total: Minimum one hundred twenty (120) semester hours
Completion of thirty-six (36) semester hours:
Core Courses (30 hours):
KINE 1306 First Aid and Safety
SOCI 2301 Marriage and the Family
PSYC 3331 Child and Adolescent Development
PSYC/SOCI 3307 Seminar in Moral, Ethical and Religious Issues
EDUC 3353 Survey of Exceptionalities
EDUC 3323 The Professional Educator
PSYC/SOCI 4350 Practicum in the Behavioral Sciences
CHRM 3325 Children's Ministry
MUSI 3307 Early Childhood Music
READ 3316 Pre-Literacy Development
Support Courses (6 hours from the following):
EDUC 3305 Visual Arts and Motor Skills in the Elementary Classroom
EDUC 3317 Behavior Intervention for Students with Special Needs
EDUC 3318 Differentiating the curriculum for Diverse Learners
EDUC 3354 Mild/ Moderate Disabilities
EDUC 3355 Severe/Profound Disabilities
FNAT 3302 Theatre Arts and Music in the Elementary Classroom
KINE 2309 Teaching K-5 Physical Education
PSYC 3302 Introduction to Marriage and Family Counseling
READ 3317 Reading Theory and Practice in the Elementary School
READ 3364 Children’s Literature for the Elementary School
CHRM 4305 Family Ministry
CHRM 2314 Principles of Christian Teaching
MGMT2350 Principles of Management
MGMT3353 Human resources Management
LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILD CARE DIRECTOR:
To be licensed as a Child Care Director in the State of Texas, one must have a bachelor's degree with 12 hours of courses in child development and 6 hours of courses in management, plus at least one year of experience in a licensed child-care center (746.1015 of Texas Administrative Code).
Core and support courses in the Child Development major that will meet the standards for licensing are KINE1306, PSYC3331, EDUC3323, READ3316, MGMT2350 and MGMT3353.