B.S. Child Development Early Education and Family Sciences (Birth-Kindergarten Teacher Licensure)
The B.S. in Child Development Early Education and Family Sciences (Birth-Kindergarten Teacher Licensure) degree prepares students for careers in teaching, family service agencies, Cooperative Extension, community agencies, and early childhood intervention.
In addition to courses required within the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, students seeking licensure must gain admission to the Teacher Education Program in the School of Education by the end of the sophomore year.
Possible career options include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Teacher of young children
- Child care Center director
- Trainers/instructors
- Environment assessors/regulators
- Program coordinators
- Early intervention specialists
- Consultants
- Researchers
- Early childhood merchandisers
- 4-H Youth/Extension Agent
- Parent educator
- Child therapist
- Children’s play materials developer
- Children’s media rater
- Family life educator
- Child life specialist
Curriculum
For course descriptions and curriculums, please see the Undergraduate Bulletin.
Field-based experiences
Practical experiences are an integral part of Child Development and Family Studies, which means that students are required to spend a substantial amount of time in early childhood settings. Several field-based courses give students opportunities to integrate knowledge covered in the classroom with skills in real-world settings. Required activities and hours in field-based experiences are determined by course content and level of intensity needed.
Field-based experiences provide students with significant role-taking opportunities in schools, child care centers, and community agencies that lead into a capstone experience.
Student Teaching Requirement
In addition to field based courses, students are required to fulfill a student teaching requirement. This involves being placed in a classroom serving infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or kindergarteners for approximately 40 hours for 15 weeks. This requirement is completed under the supervision of the cooperating teacher, a University supervisor, and the student teaching coordinator.
Students in the Child Development Early Education and Family Studies (Birth-Kindergarten Licensure) Program are eligible to participate in the student teaching experience after completion of major coursework and admission to the Teacher Education Program in the School of Education.
Requirements for admission to the Teacher Education Program include a minimum 2.80 grade point average, a teacher interview, a passing score on the PRAXIS I test, and successful completion of a 16 personality factors test.
Students should check with their advisors for details about admission requirements to student teaching and the Teacher Education Program.
