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About the Department

The Department of Child and Adolescent Studies is dedicated to promoting the well-being of children, adolescents, and families through teaching, research, and reflective practice.

Our Mission

  1.  To prepare students to contribute to the community through fieldwork, course activities, and extracurricular endeavors, and to continue that contribution as professionals in their work with children, adolescents, and families
  2.  To conduct developmentally informed research with implications for practice
  3.  To make significant contributions to the community through fieldwork and service

Our Goals

  1. Enhance student learning through ongoing program assessment and implementation of program improvement strategies
  2. Promote student success though effective advisement and support
  3. Expand access to our courses and programs to meet student demand and community needs 
  4. Increase student engagement through participation in high impact practices
  5. Support research and scholarly activities that advance our understanding of developmental processes
  6. Develop student cultural competencies to prepare them for effective and equitable practices with diverse communities
  7. Enhance our visibility and connectedness to alumni and the community

Program Description

The Bachelor of Science in Child and Adolescent Studies (CAS) is designed to provide students with empirically-derived knowledge about bio-physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones from conception through adolescence; individual and cultural differences; and common variations in development. Students develop critical thinking, writing, and oral presentation skills in preparation to be professionals working with children and families. Our curriculum provides broad undergraduate preparation for students interested in early care and education, elementary education, special education, and a variety of youth-related social service careers, as well as graduate study in disciplines such as child development, counseling, developmental psychology, and social work.