Child and Family Studies, BS

Contact

Eunjoo Jung, Associate Professor, Undergraduate Program Director, 144 H White Hall, 443-5778, ejung@syr.edu

Faculty

Colleen Baish Cameron, D. Bruce Carter, Joseph P. Fanelli, Irene Kehres, Ambika Krishnakumar, Eunjoo Jung, Teresa MacDonald, Robert P. Moreno, Matthew Mulvaney, Kamala Ramadoss, Rachel Razza, Jaipaul L. Roopnarine

Description

The Department of Human Development and Family Science is involved in the scientific investigation of children and families. The department offers a Bachelors of Science (B.S.), Masters of Science (M.S. and M.A) and a Ph.D in Child and Family Studies. Students engage in multidisciplinary learning about the challenges facing families and children across social, cultural, and contextual settings. In addition, students study the factors that promote strengths and resiliency to foster healthy families and children.

Students enrolled in the B.S. in Child and Family Studies not only learn in the classroom, they receive first-hand experience in the community as well. Seniors complete a 180-hour community practicum that allows them to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom to real life settings. As a result, students have a comprehensive understanding of children and families in theory and in practice.

The 124 credit B.S. degree program provides students with a broad foundation covering a range of issues focusing on the healthy development of children and families. In addition to liberal arts courses, students are expected to complete 15 credits of Program Requirements and 18-24 credits in a specialty track (decided on in the second semester of the sophomore year). Each track prepares students to work in specific settings:

Early Child Development students focus on child care and pre-school settings in the early intervention field.
Youth and Family Development students learn to work in a variety of settings that focus on youth and family needs including social services, health, mental health and juvenile justice programs, counseling centers, parenting programs, recreation and athletic programs, afterschool programs and schools.
Early Childhood Education (4+1) prepares students for careers as early childhood educators. Students have the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree in early childhood special education (ECSE) one year after completing an undergraduate degree in CFS. Students enrolled in this degree program will receive a 30 percent reduction for their one year of graduate tuition.
Child Life Specialist prepares students to help children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events. Providing emotional support for families, Child Life Specialists encourage optimum development of children facing a broad range of challenges particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization. Additional requirements must be met to become Certified as a Child Life Specialist as designated by the Child Life Council. Please visit http://www.childlife.org/Certification/Getting%20Certified/index.cfm for information concerning additional requirements to become certified as a Child Life Specialist.

SU Abroad

The College, in cooperation with the Syracuse University Abroad (SU Abroad), strongly encourages students to take advantage of the opportunity to study abroad. Study abroad options include semester, summer, and short-stay programs.

SU Abroad offers students the opportunity to participate in a program of study abroad in Santiago, Chile; London, England; Madrid, Spain; Strasbourg, France; Florence, Italy; Hong Kong, China; or Beijing, China. Syracuse University also builds strong overseas affiliations and partnerships, allowing students to be placed directly at other centers and universities.

No prior knowledge of a foreign language is required, with the exception of the Chile program, and students may choose from a variety of courses to fulfill requirements or elective credits for their program of study in the College. It is essential that students begin planning early for study abroad and work closely with their academic advisors.

For further information, contact the Office of Student Services in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics 300 MacNaughton Hall, 315-443-3144, or Syracuse University Abroad, 106 Walnut Place, 315-443-3471.

Transfer Requirements

Child and Family Studies accepts transfers into the Department twice a semester.

Fall Semester:

Last week of September
Last week of November

Spring Semester:

Third Week in February
Last Week of April

Applicants outside of the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics who are making satisfactory progress and have a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or above will be admitted to the Department of Human Development and Family Science. Applicants inside the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics who are making satisfactory progress and have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above will be admitted to the Department of Human Development and Family Science. Should you meet the GPA criteria, forms are available on the College’s website at http://falk.syr.edu.

College Requirements (1 credit)

HSH 101 - First-Year Gateway

Communication Skills

Quantitative Skills

Statistics (6-8 credits)

Natural Science and Mathematics

NSD 225 - Nutrition in Health
Additional natural science and mathematics (9-12 credits)

Social Sciences (12 credits)

PSY 205 - Foundations of Human Behavior

Humanities (12 credits)

Program Requirements (15 credits)

Specialized Tracks

In the second semester of the sophomore year, students must choose one of the following specialized tracks:

Early Child Development (18 credits)

Required Courses

CFS 331 - Play, Childhood Development and Early Education
CFS 335 - Issues and Perspectives in Early Childhood Education
CFS 432 - Foundations and Principles of Early Childhood Education
CFS 433 - Child Practicum
Plus 2 other CFS courses at the 300 level or above
(500 level courses may be taken as electives)

Youth and Family Development (18 credits)

Required Courses

Choose 2 courses from the list below:

CFS 388 - Human Sexuality
CFS 448 - Contemporary American Family & Community
CFS 479 - Power, Conflict, Violence, and the Family
Plus 2 other CFS courses at the 300 level or above
(500 level courses may be taken as electives)

Child Life Specialist (24 credits)

Required Courses

Plus 3 other CFS courses from the list below

Ethics Requirement

Students must complete an approved ethic course (3 credits) chosen from the following list of courses: PHI 191 OR PHI 192 OR HTW 415 .These course may be applied as a humanities (PHI 191 or PHI 192) or a general elective (HTW 415)

Electives to Reach 124 Degree Applicable Credits

Early Childhood Education Master’s Degree 4+1

Students who wish to be certified as early childhood educators have the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree in early childhood special education (ECSE) in a reduced period of time (one academic year and two summers). After completing the child and family studies degree, qualified students may apply for graduate study in the School of Education at Syracuse University. Students enrolled in this degree program will receive a 30 percent reduction in their graduate tuition. Students desiring to pursue this option should complete the child development specialization, including CFS 367 , and complete these specific liberal arts requirements beyond those listed for the major:

a one-year sequence (two courses) of college-level mathematics (may also fulfill the math/foreign language requirement in the liberal arts core);
two sciences with laboratories (physical sciences recommended);
at least one class in history (which may count toward fulfilling liberal arts core requirements in the social sciences or humanities, depending on the course); and
an art history course (e.g. an FIA course that would also meet a humanities requirement).

The Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) graduate program requires that undergraduate writing, mathematics, and laboratory sciences courses have grades averaging no less than a B- with no grade below a C. Students are required to demonstrate competency in a foreign language either by successfully completing the first year of college study in a language (e.g. SPA 101 at Syracuse University) or by providing official documentation of successful completion of Level III of foreign language in high school. Interested undergraduate students should contact the School of Education about taking EDU 303 to further reduce the number of graduate credits required for the degree.

Interested students should work closely with their academic advisors to meet these requirements.