A bachelor’s grounded in early-childhood research

Child Development (CIP 19.0706) is a bachelor’s-leaning major in the family and consumer sciences family that focuses on the intellectual, social, emotional, and biological development of children. The CIP definition is research-grounded: coursework covers developmental psychology across the lifespan, observation and assessment, parent-child relations, special-needs services, child guidance, and the design and evaluation of early-childhood programs. Cross-references to Developmental and Child Psychology (CIP 42.2703) signal how closely the major sits to the psychology side of the field. Most programs require supervised practicum hours in laboratory preschools, Head Start sites, or community childcare centers.

The major fits students drawn to working with young children and to the research and policy questions behind early development. It rewards observational care, patience, an interest in family systems, and comfort with program-evaluation work. The day-to-day of graduates depends on placement: some work directly with children in preschools or early-intervention programs, others move into family services casework, child life work in hospitals, or graduate school in school psychology, social work, or counseling.

One grounded observation about scale and earnings: 2,480 students complete this CIP across 179 institutions, with a meaningful associate’s-to-bachelor’s split of $34,697 versus $48,175 — about $13,500 in favor of the four-year credential. Common bachelor’s-accessible destinations are Preschool teachers ($37,120, 4.1% growth) and Childcare workers ($32,050, -2.9% growth). Higher-paying tracked roles — postsecondary teaching at $77,280 and master’s-level psychologists at $117,580 — require graduate study. The five-year median of $43,463 reads as a starter wage for graduates not yet in graduate programs.