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Major · Family & Consumer Sciences

An FCS-rooted bachelor’s in birth-to-six learning and family life

Early Childhood and Family Studies (CIP 19.0711) is a family and consumer sciences major covering child development from birth to age six within the family system. Around 393 students complete it each year across 17 institutions, with five-year median earnings near $43,463 and an associate’s-to-bachelor’s split of $34,697 versus $48,175.

Schools offering
17
Annual completions
393
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$43k

About this major

Early Childhood and Family Studies (CIP 19.0711) is a family and consumer sciences major focused on the development and learning of children from birth to age six within the context of the family. The CIP definition is broad: coursework covers infant and child growth, early-childhood language and literacy, early-childhood math and science, early-childhood special education, family literacy, family sociology, family and marriage relations, assessment, psychology, and psychopathology — alongside explicit content on child abuse and neglect. Cross-references to Early Childhood Education and Teaching (CIP 13.1210) and Family Psychology signal where the major sits in the academic landscape: closer to FCS and developmental science than to teacher-prep.

This major fits students drawn to young children and to the family systems that shape them. It rewards observational care, comfort with developmental research, and patience for relationship-driven work. Day-to-day, graduates split between direct work with children — Head Start classrooms, Reggio Emilia or Montessori-leaning preschools (additional Montessori certification typically required), early-intervention services under IDEA Part C — and family-facing roles in home-visiting programs (Nurse-Family Partnership, Parents as Teachers, HIPPY, Healthy Families America), CASA and family-court advocacy, foster care and adoption agencies, and parent-education nonprofits.

A grounded read on scale and earnings: 393 students complete this CIP each year across 17 institutions, with five-year median earnings of $43,463 and an associate’s-to-bachelor’s wage split of $34,697 versus $48,175. The bachelor’s-accessible tracked occupation in the packet — Community and social service specialists, all other ($54,940, 4.6% growth) — sits in the $35K-$55K early-career band; the higher-paying tracked careers (psychologists at $117,580, farm and home management educators at $58,120) require a master’s.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Childcare workers $32k -2.9% High school diploma or equivalent
Community and social service specialists, all other $55k +4.6% Bachelor's degree
Psychologists, all other $118k +4.3% Master's degree
Farm and home management educators $58k -2.5% Master's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$43k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$35k

Bachelor's

$48k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you are drawn to working with young children and the family systems that shape their development, you are comfortable with observational and assessment work in classroom and home settings, you are open to graduate school as a likely next step toward Child Life, MFT, MSW, school psychology, or counseling, you find the family-services side (CASA, foster care, adoption, home visiting) as motivating as classroom teaching, and you treat the $13,500 bachelor’s-over-associate’s premium as a meaningful starting point rather than a ceiling.

Think twice if you expect a public-school teaching license to come bundled with this degree — that is what Early Childhood Education (CIP 13.1210) is for, and Birth-PreK or PreK-3 licensure here typically requires a separate program. Reconsider if you want a higher-earning bachelor’s outcome without graduate school in the plan: three of the four tracked occupations either pay near $32,000 (childcare workers, with -2.9% growth) or require a master’s. The negative growth on Farm and home management educators (-2.5%) is a directional signal worth watching, as is the sub-bachelor pay range typical for entry-level Head Start and preschool roles.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Early Childhood and Family Studies

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
American Public University System Charles Town, WV 0 99 99
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX 0 73 73
Tarleton State University Stephenville, TX 0 58 58
Eastern University Saint Davids, PA 7 37 44
Modesto Junior College Modesto, CA 30 0 30
The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL 0 24 24
University of Michigan-Dearborn Dearborn, MI 0 13 13
Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI 0 10 10
South Texas College McAllen, TX 9 0 9
National Louis University Chicago, IL 0 8 8
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Early Childhood Education and Teaching

19,347 completions/yr

Human Development and Family Studies, General

6,801 completions/yr

Child Care Provider/Assistant

5,421 completions/yr

Behavioral Sciences

2,603 completions/yr

Child Development

2,480 completions/yr

Child Care and Support Services Management

1,552 completions/yr

Family and Community Services

744 completions/yr

Family Systems

316 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Early Childhood and Family Studies majors actually study?
Coursework spans infant and child growth and development, early-childhood language, literacy, math, and science instruction, family sociology, and family and marriage relations. The CIP definition also names child abuse and neglect, early-childhood special education, family literacy, assessment, psychology, and psychopathology as core threads. Most bachelor’s programs build in supervised practicum hours in licensed preschools, Head Start centers, or early-intervention sites.
Will this major make me a public-school teacher?
Not on its own. Early Childhood and Family Studies is an FCS major, not a teacher-licensure program — it is distinct from Early Childhood Education and Teaching (CIP 13.1210), which is the standard teacher-prep route. State Birth-PreK or PreK-3 licensure typically requires either an education-track degree or a post-baccalaureate licensure program added on top. Many graduates teach in preschool, Head Start, or private settings where state licensure rules differ.
What jobs do graduates actually land — and at what pay?
The BLS-tracked occupations in the packet sit on a wide pay spread: Childcare workers ($32,050, -2.9% growth, high-school credential), Community and social service specialists, all other ($54,940, 4.6% growth, bachelor’s), Psychologists, all other ($117,580, master’s required), and Farm and home management educators ($58,120, master’s required). Common bachelor’s-accessible landing spots include Head Start teacher, early-intervention specialist, family-services caseworker, home-visiting program staff (Nurse-Family Partnership, Parents as Teachers, HIPPY), child-care center director, and parent-education roles in nonprofits.
Is the bachelor’s worth more than the associate’s here?
The packet shows associate’s grads at $34,697 against $48,175 for bachelor’s — about a $13,500 premium. Beyond the wage gap, the bachelor’s expands the role pool into Birth-PreK licensure paths (with extra credentialing), early-intervention specialist work, IDEA Part C 0-3 services, and master’s ramps in social work, counseling, child life, and marriage and family therapy. The associate’s is functional for direct childcare and assistant teaching; the bachelor’s is the floor for casework, administration, and graduate study.
What master’s pathways follow naturally from this major?
Several. The Child Life Council’s CCLS credential is earned through an MS in Child Life and supervised hospital internships. Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy lead to LMFT licensure; an MSW opens clinical and child-welfare casework; MS programs in Family Studies and Human Development feed into early-intervention, university-extension, and research roles. School psychology and counseling master’s are also common ramps. Two of the four tracked occupations in the packet (psychologists at $117,580 and farm and home management educators at $58,120) explicitly require a master’s.
Where are the strongest programs concentrated?
American Public University System leads with 99 bachelor’s completions, followed by The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (73) and Tarleton State University (58). Eastern University in Pennsylvania reports a mixed associate’s-and-bachelor’s pipeline (44 total), while Modesto Junior College (30 associate’s) and South Texas College (9 associate’s) anchor the community-college side. The University of Alabama, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Eastern Michigan, and National Louis University round out smaller public and private programs.