MA in Child Study and Human Development
Our master's program is committed to training our students to be scholars and practitioners who want to make a difference in the lives of children and adolescents and impact the contexts in which they live: families, schools, and communities. Join small classes led by innovative faculty and be immersed in interdisciplinary research that includes virtually every major influence on children's and adolescents' lives.
After their first semester in the program, students choose whether they want to pursue the applied track or the thesis track, and whether they wish to concentrate in a specific area.
Upon completion of the MA, many of our graduates enter a CSHD-related profession; others enter doctoral or other degree or licensure programs; some work for a few years before going on to further studies. Recent jobs obtained by graduates of our MA program include:
- Developmental Specialist in an early intervention program
- Child Development Specialist/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation in a community-based non-profit organization
- Child Advocate in juvenile and family courts
- Family Therapist in a therapeutic school
- Mental Health Specialist in a psychiatric hospital
- Research Coordinator in a pediatric unit of a hospital
- Curriculum Specialist in a public school
- Technology Consultant in an after-school program
- Assistant to the Director of a children's television program
- Director of summer camp programs
- Bilingual Intensive Care Coordinator in a community-based non-profit organization
- Assistant Program Coordinator in a hospital-based non-profit organization working with individuals with autism
- Transition Specialist in an autism program
Applied Track
Eliot-Pearson's location in the Boston area provides a wide variety of applied opportunities in teaching hospitals, clinics, therapeutic centers, schools, after-school programs, juvenile justice facilities, the Massachusetts state government, children's media, and hundreds of agencies and organizations serving children, adolescents, and families. Our faculty are extremely well connected with agencies in and around Boston, and offer students help obtaining internships. All students, whether on the applied or thesis track, have the opportunity to work in multiple settings for credit or just for experience. Moreover, students are not left "out there in the field"; rather their work is guided by faculty who meet with them regularly to oversee their applied work and support them in making the theory-research-application links that Eliot-Pearson so highly values.
Thesis Track
In the thesis track of the master's program, students participate in faculty research labs and projects. They attend research meetings, conduct literature reviews, locate participants, collect data, analyze data, and write up research reports, articles, and books for publication. There are often opportunities to guide a research proposal through the IRB process and gain grant proposal writing skills. Some master's students end up directing a study of their own. For further information about research opportunities, see Faculty Profiles and Research.
Concentrations of Study
The master's program offers three concentrations of study (Clinical-Developmental Health and Psychology; Children, Arts, and Media; Identity in Global Context) for students who wish to focus on one of these areas within child, youth, and/or family development. Alternatively, a student may wish to develop an individualized plan of study (IPS), which is constructed together with the academic advisor. All students, whether pursuing a concentration or an IPS, must also meet the generalized requirements as described under the "thesis" and "applied" tracks to build strong theoretical and research foundation in child and family development. Students learn about concentrations and the IPS during the master's Pro-Seminar and decide at the end of their first semester whether they intend to pursue a concentration or IPS. If one of the department-offered concentrations is selected, it will appear on the transcript.
Clinical-Developmental Health and Psychology
The concentration in Clinical-Developmental Health and Psychology focuses on the health and well-being of children and adolescents in a variety of settings including schools, families, clinics, hospitals, and early intervention centers. The concentration provides training in understanding clinical issues of health and well-being from a developmental and systems-based perspective (e.g., family, community, and culture). The Clinical-Developmental Health and Psychology curriculum is designed to provide breadth and depth in the concentration. Students in this concentration typically take courses with clinical-developmental applications and pursue research and/or practice-based applied experiences in clinical and health-related settings that support children, youth, and families in diverse and challenging contexts. The coursework and fieldwork opportunities offered in this concentration support student interest in direct service, advocacy, media, policy, and research.
Requirements
- Foundational courses (2 courses/6 credits):
- CSHD 211: Theories of Human Development
- One of the following:
- CSHD 151 Advanced Intellectual Development or approved alternate
- CSHD 155: Language Development or approved alternative
- CSHD 161: Advanced Personal & Social Development or approved alternate
- CSHD 163: Infancy: Prenatal to Age Three
- CSHD 164: Cultural Diversity in Child and Family Services or 262: Cultural Sensitivity in Child and Family Research/Practice
- CSHD 168: Adolescent Development and the Transition to Adulthood
- CSHD 190: Disability and Difference in Children
- CSHD 191: Developmental Psychopathology & Adaptation
- CSHD 193: Pediatric Psychology
- Concentration courses (2 from electives courses and not taken as foundation course; 6 credits):
- CSHD 109: Autism Across the Lifespan
- CSHD 110: Adolescent Health
- CSHD 120: Assessment of Children
- CSHD 143: Sexuality and Gender
- CSHD 143: Health Promotion for Youth and Adults with Disabilities
- CSHD 149: Evidence Based Interventions with Children and Youth
- CSHD 150: Child Life and Children in Hospitals
- CSHD 164: Cultural Diversity in Child and Family Services
- CSHD 174: Designing Educational and Therapeutic Environments
- CSHD 181: Advanced Seminar in Resilience: Children, Youth, and Trauma
- CSHD 190: Disability and Difference in Children
- CSHD 191: Developmental Psychopathology and Adaptation
- CSHD 193: Pediatric Psychology
- CSHD 262: Cultural Sensitivity in Child and Family Research/Practice
- CSHD 281: Consultation and Collaboration Strategies
Children, Arts, and Media
The concentration Children, Arts, and Media provides opportunities to learn about the multiple ways media and the arts impact children's cognitive, social and emotional health and development, and develop appreciation for and ability to produce art and media. The concentration will enable students to design and critically evaluate arts and new media and technologies for young people; to participate and direct the implementation of programs aimed at using these to foster children's development; and to acquire technical skills and theoretical knowledge that will contribute to their development as practitioners and/or researchers in this emergent field. Students will have the possibility of a field experience in a setting in the Boston area where arts or media are used.
Requirements
- Foundational Courses (2 courses/6 credits):
- CSHD 211: Theories of Human Development (for Fifth Year MA students, a different theory course can be chosen in consultation with Program Advisor)
- CSHD 267: Children and Mass Media Seminar
- Concentration Courses (2 courses for 6 total credits; courses are part of electives)
- CSHD 113: Media Literacy
- CSHD 143-19: Children, Arts and Media
- CSHD 153: Children’s Television Project
- CSHD 159: Understanding Children through Film
- CSHD 169: Creating Children's Media
- CSHD 176: Children's Literature
- CSHD 178: Creative Dance for Children
- CSHD 179: Child Art
- Relevant courses outside the department may be taken with prior approval from the Program Advisor. Examples include (but are not limited to):
- ANTH 123: Technologies of Enchantment
- ANTH 135: Visual Anthropology
- ANTH 136/STS 136: Cultures of Computing
- ANTH 154/MUS 184: Fieldwork Methods in Music, Sound and Culture
- ANTH 162: Art and Aesthetics
- ED 188: Museums, Education, and Society
- FMS 165: TV in the Age of Change
- FMS 186/ENG 186: How Films Think
- FMS 187: SoundTracks: Studies in Audio-Vision
- HAA 160: Museum History and Theory
- HAA 163/ILVS 163: Art and Anthropology
- MUS 220: Children’s Musical Development and Learning
- TPS 263: Foundations and Futures in Performance Studies
Identity in Global Context
This concentration focuses on the study of identity from multiple disciplinary perspectives, recognizing it as central to the well-being of humans as they negotiate their place and position in local, national, and increasingly connected global communities. Students examine identity as multi-layered and multi-dimensional, with implications for psychological health, civic empowerment, and advocacy to build inclusive and equitable communities that support and enhance the lives of children, youth, and families in diverse contexts. This concentration examines the multiple and intersecting dimensions of identity (e.g., gender, ethnic, racial, sexuality, class, personal), as well as socialization processes through which identities are constructed and negotiated. The course work, opportunities for research, and applied work support student interest in working with children, youth, and families in educational, clinical, health, and extracurricular settings. This includes opportunities for diversity and inclusion leadership in such settings as well as applications and analysis of identity concepts in digital media and the creative arts.
Requirements
- Foundational courses (2 courses/6 credits):
- CSHD 211: Theories of Human Development
- CSHD 262: Cultural Sensitivity in Child/Family Research & Practice
- Concentration courses (2 from electives courses; 6 credits):
- CSHD 150: Gender Development
- CSHD 151: Intellectual Development
- CSHD 155: Language Development
- CSHD 157: Religious-Spiritual Development
- CSHD 161: Advanced Personal and Social Development
- CSHD 168: Adolescent Development
- CSHD 177: Bilingual Studies
- CSHD 183: Youth Activism, Civic Identity, and Moral Development
- CSHD 234: Children as Earth Stewards