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The Childhood Studies Minor in the College of Arts and Sciences is an exciting educational opportunity for undergraduate students interested in a wide array of issues concerning children and the experience of childhood. This interdisciplinary minor focuses on the life stages of infancy through adolescence. It incorporates interests in child policy, parenting, gender, the life course, and children's place in society and culture.

ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ has earned national and international recognition for its cutting-edge research and teaching on the life cycle. The minor in Childhood Studies helps students take advantage of the diversity of child-related learning opportunities available through the Schubert Center for Child Studies, multiple departments across the ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ campus, and institutions throughout the greater Cleveland community.

Print the Minor Declaration Form.

Faculty Advisers

The following faculty members provide academic advising to students interested in a minor in Childhood Studies. If you are ready to declare the minor, please complete the minor declaration form and send it to schubertcenter@case.edu to be assigned an advisor.

Anastasia Dimitropoulos, PhD
Co-Director, Childhood Studies Program; Professor of Psychological Sciences
Director, Schubert Center for Child Studies

Gabriella Celeste, JD
Co-Director, Childhood Studies Program
Policy Director, Schubert Center for Child Studies

Elizabeth Short, PhD
Co-Director, Childhood Studies Program; Professor of Psychological Sciences

The minor in childhood studies requires 15 hours of coursework in at least two different departments. Students may take up to 4 hours of practicum courses that provide experience working with children in hospitals, daycares, and educational settings. Students may also request approval to take independent study courses in any academic discipline suited to their interest in childhood studies. Students may count up to 6 credit hours toward their major. This is possible for more than one major, but with a maximum of 6 credit hours per major. For School of Nursing students, we have a Sample Schedule for Nursing which shows how our minor can be incorporated into your schedule.

Print the Minor Declaration Form.

Approved Courses for the Childhood Studies Minor

Please check the University Bulletin for course descriptions and the Schedule of Classes to find out which courses will be offered each semester.

Other courses with a childhood focus, including independent studies, may be petitioned for approval from one of the minor advisors. Your petition should include the course description and a syllabus. For independent studies, your petition should include a paragraph description of how the investigation is related to childhood studies and a brief letter or e-mail from the faculty member agreeing to supervise. 

If you wish to undertake an independent study listed below, you must consult the faculty member for approval before registering. 

• CHST 301/401/ANTH 305/405/POSC 382A: Public Policy in Child Development (3)
• CHST 302/ANTH 307: Experiential Learning in Child Public Policy (3)
• CHST 398/ANTH 308: Child Policy Externship (3-6)
• CHST 398C/ANTH 398C/PSCL 398C: Child Policy Externship and Capstone (3)
• CHST 399: Independent Study (1-6)
• ANTH 306: Anthropology of Childhood and the Family (3)
• ANTH 313: Anthropology of Adolescence (3) *Inactive Course
• ANTH 399: Independent Study (1-6)
• COSI 313: Language Development
• EDUC 304: Educational Psychology (3)
• ENGL 369: Children's Literature
• HSTY 387: Growing up in America: 1607-2000 (3)
• MUED 391: Music in Early Childhood (3) 
• NTRN 328: Child Nutrition, Development, and Health (3)
• NURS 315: Parents & Neonates in Health and Illness (4.5)
• NURS 316: Children & Adolescents in Health and Illness (4.5)
• PSCL 230: Child Psychology (3)
• PSCL 329: Adolescence (3)
• PSCL 333/434: Early Intervention I: Theories and Practice (3)
• PSCL 334C/335C: Seminar and Practicum: Hospitalized Children (3)
• PSCL 344: Developmental Psychopathology (3)
• PSCL 379: Neurodevelopment Disabilities (3)
• PSCL 397: Independent Study (1-6)
• SASS 315: Adoption Practice and Policy
• SASS 355: Drugs and Youth
• SASS 368: Whatever It Takes: Creating Pathways out of Poverty for Children
• SASS 375D: International Travel and Study Abroad: Child Welfare in Guatemala
• SASS 390: Independent Study (1-6)
• SOCI 320: Delinquency and Juvenile Justice (3)
• SOCI 361: The Life Course (3)
• SOCI 375: Independent Study (1-6)

Examples of other courses approved on a case-by-case basis

Students can petition to have courses count towards the minor even if they are not on the above list as long as 75% of the content of the course is focused on children and adolescents. Examples of courses that meet this requirement are provided below; these have been previously approved but are not offered regularly. An Academic Advisement Form MUST be completed for these courses to be counted.

• FSSY 185R: Oh, The Places You Will Go! Representations of Space in Children's Picture Books (4)
• USSO 288E: Music in Early Childhood (3)
• USSY 291H: From Dr. Seuss to Wild Things: Radical Children's Literature
• NTRN 456: Pediatric Obesity
• NTRN 390: Independent Study (1-6)
• PSCL 390: Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: Ethics & Evidence
• SOCI 208: Family in the 21st Century

Courses NOT on this list may also be considered for possible elective credit. These may be ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ courses or courses from other universities (transfer credits or classes taken while studying abroad). To submit these courses for consideration, students must complete a and send the course syllabus to schubertcenter@case.edu.