Mar 29, 2024  
2020-2021 General/Graduate Catalog - Expires August 2026 
    
2020-2021 General/Graduate Catalog - Expires August 2026 [Archived Catalog]

Child Studies Minor


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Affiliation: Interdisciplinary Studies

The Child Studies minor gives students the opportunity to focus on the physical, psychological, cognitive, and social development of children; the creation and critique of art and media focused on and directed towards children; and the political debates and social policies that influence children in an interdisciplinary way.

While the health, personal development, and well-being of children and adolescents is pertinent to every major and discipline of study, students in communications, communication disorders, creative writing, education, English, exercise science, justice systems, nursing, psychology, health science, and political science would likely find this interdisciplinary minor particularly engaging.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:

  1. A 2.00 GPA in minor requirements.
  2. At least nine hours of the program requirements must be completed at Truman State University.

Program Requirements:

  • The minor requires the successful completion of 15 or more credits.
  • A student may use courses from the Dialogues, including JINS courses, to fulfill requirements for the minor.
  • No more than 8 credits from any course prefix can be counted toward the Child Studies minor.
  • Students may double-count one course from another minor toward the Child Studies minor.
  • No grade of “D” is accepted toward the Child Studies minor.

To complete the minor, students must complete 15 or more credits from (a) the courses listed in the areas and elective options below and/or (b) additional courses approved by the Child Studies Minor Oversight Committee.

  • At least one course must come from Area 1: Arts and Language,
  • At least one course must come from Area 2: Society, Health, and Learning,
  • At least one course must come from Area 3: Theory and Application, and
  • At least two of the courses counted toward the minor (not including IDSM 432) must be at the 300-level or higher.
  • Any additional courses taken in Area I, Area 2, or Area 3 can count as electives for the minor.

Capstone (1 credit):


After having completed at least nine (9) credits, but preferably twelve (12) credits, in the minor, students will write a reflective essay in consultation with a faculty member from the Child Studies Minor Committee or another faculty member approved by the Committee. The resulting essay will:

  1. Examine how their coursework and/or research, service learning, and internship experience in the minor have contributed to their interdisciplinary understanding of the physical, psychological, cognitive, and social development of children; the creation and critique of art and media focused on and directed towards children; and the political debates and social policies that influence children;
  2. Consider the ways in which the knowledge, skills, and experience they have gained as a result of completing the Child Studies minor will contribute to their future academic and personal endeavors.

Area 3: Theory and Application (3 credits minimum)


To complete Area 3, students will take one of the following courses and complete a paper or project in the course that focuses on one of the following aspect of child studies:

  • the physical, psychological, cognitive, and social development of children;
  • the creation and critique of art and media focused on and directed towards children; the political debates and social policies that influence children in an interdisciplinary way.

Students will be required to reflect on what they learned from doing this paper or project in their IDSM 432 - Child Studies Capstone  paper. If the course is taken prior to declaring the minor, students will be expected to reflect on how the course taken for Area 3 has influenced their understanding of Child Studies as an interdisciplinary field and demonstrate an ability to apply theoretical knowledge gained in that course in their capstone paper.

Electives for the Minor


Students are encouraged to check for prerequisites and other course restrictions when deciding which electives to take for the minor. Some courses listed below may be designed specifically for majors or may not have seats available for non-majors.

Pre-approved Topics and Reading Courses


A specific section or topics course related to Child Studies (e.g. ENG 322 - Studies in Cinema: Topics  Children’s Film) when offered, may fulfill one of the required areas of the minor or may count as an elective for the minor. Please contact the Child Studies Minor Committee for a current list of these pre-approved courses.

Petitioned Courses (no more than 6 credits)


Students are encouraged to seek out opportunities to complete faculty-mentored research in Child Studies and related fields for the minor. Internships, independent studies, and directed reading courses related to Child Studies can be counted toward the minor, if approved by the Child Studies Minor Committee.
Likewise, students who can document the successful completion of a major presentation, creative project, or term paper related to Child Studies in a course not listed above are encouraged to seek approval from the Child Studies Minor Committee to count that course as an elective for the minor or as a course option fulfilling one of the two areas required by the minor.
 
Please contact a member of the Child Studies Minor Committee or the Director of Interdisciplinary Studies for more information about petitioning.

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