MA - Thesis Track

Program Requirements and Policies

• For the Master of Arts degree in Child Study and Human Development, a minimum of 32 credits are required. 
• All students will present at Student Presentation Day in either poster or presentation format.

Course Requirements

For Students Who Matriculated in 2021 and Beyond

The following are general MA program requirements for students following an Individual Program of Study (IPS) and not pursuing a specific concentration:

• Master's Pro Seminar (2 credits, mandatory, during 1st year, every other week)
  • CSHD 202: Master's Pro-seminar (Course covers program requirements, professional development, and supplements course work)

• Foundational courses (2 courses/6 credits)
  • Theories of Human Development, CSHD 211 (required)
  • One of the following:
    • CSHD 151: Advanced Intellectual Development (or approved alternate)
    • CSHD 155: Language Development (or approved alternate)
    • CSHD 161: Advanced Personal & Social Development or CSHD 261: Seminar in Personal-social Development (or approved alternate)
    • CSHD 163: Infancy: Prenatal to Age Three
    • CSHD 168: Adolescent Development and the Transition to Adulthood
    • CSHD 248: Applied Developmental Science  

• Research Methods course (1 course/3 credits)
  • One of the following:
    • CSHD 142: Research Design and Methods
    • CSHD 144: Qualitative and Ethnographic Methods
    • CSHD 247: Program Evaluation

• Electives courses (5 courses/15 credits; at least 9 credits must be from CSHD listings)
  • Students should choose elective courses in careful consultation with advisor, to prepare for internship or thesis. These courses are intended to develop an area of expertise or to complete a concentration.

• Statistics course (1 course/3 credits)
  • Students should choose which Statistics course to take in consultation with their Program Advisor and/or with any of the faculty who teach the statistics courses (in AY 2021-2022: Dr. Theo Klimstra and Dr. Sara Johnson.)
  • One of the following:
    • CSHD 140: Introductory Statistics in Developmental Science
    • CSHD 146: Intermediate Statistics in Developmental Science -or- CSHD 249: Applied Regression Analysis for Developmental Science
    • CSHD 252: Structural Equation Modeling in Developmental Science -or- CSHD 243: Multi-Level Modeling in Developmental Science
       
• Thesis
  • During their second year, thesis track students must enroll in two thesis-related courses during both Fall (CSHD 245) and Spring (CSHD 246) semesters for a total of 6 credits. They must also enroll in the MA Thesis Workshop (CSHD 143-21) during both semesters (0 credits)

For Students Who Matriculated in 2019 and 2020

• Master's Pro Seminar (2 credits, mandatory, during 1st year, every other week)
  • CSHD 202: Master's Pro-seminar (Course covers program requirements, professional development, and supplements course work)

• Foundational courses (2 courses/6 credits)
  • Theories of Human Development, CSHD 211 (required)
  • One of the following:
    • CSHD 151: Advanced Intellectual Development (or approved alternate)
    • CSHD 155: Language Development (or approved alternate)
    • CSHD 161: Advanced Personal & Social Development or CSHD 261: Seminar in Personal-social Development (or approved alternate)
    • CSHD 163: Infancy: Prenatal to Age Three
    • CSHD 168: Adolescent Development and the Transition to Adulthood
    • CSHD 248: Applied Developmental Science  

• Research Methods course (1 course/3 credits)
  • One of the following:
    • CSHD 142: Research Design and Methods
    • CSHD 144: Qualitative and Ethnographic Methods
    • CSHD 247: Program Evaluation

• Electives courses (5 courses/15 credits; at least 9 credits must be from CSHD listings)
   
• Statistics course (1 course/3 credits)
  • One of the following:
    • CSHD 140: Problems in Research: Statistics
    • CSHD 146: Applied Data Analysis
    • CSHD 243: Structural Equation Modeling
    • CSHD 249: Applied Multivariate Data Analysis

• Thesis (3 credits required; maximum of 6 credits, during second year)

  Note: All students will present their thesis at Student Presentation Day in either poster or presentation format.

  • CSHD 245, First (Fall) Semester: 1-3 credits
  • CSHD 246, Second (Spring) Semester: 1-3 credits
  • CSHD 143-21 Both Semesters (0 credits), Recommended concurrent enrollment in Master's Thesis Workshop (0 credits):  Meets three times in Fall semester and three times in Spring semester