Child Development Studies
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Program TypeMajor
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Degrees OfferedB.A., B.S.
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SchoolLiffrig Family School of Education & Behavioral Sciences
Gain the developmental expertise and professional skills you need to positively impact the lives of children and families.
What You'll Learn
In child development studies, you’ll cultivate an essential understanding of human development from infancy through childhood. In addition to our core set of early childhood and development courses, you can work closely with your advisor to create an interdisciplinary program suited to your personal and professional goals. The child development studies degree pairs well with a wide range of majors and minors in liberal arts, business, behavioral sciences, and health-related fields.
- Expand your Knowledge of Human Development
Our core courses provide the foundation you need to understand, nurture, and support the growth and development of infants, toddlers, and children.
- Strengthen Critical Thinking and Communication Skills
You will learn to think deeply, communicate clearly, and advocate well for the children, parents, and organizations you serve.
- Learn to Collaborate Effectively
You’ll also cultivate skills and strategies to work alongside a wide variety of agencies and institutions in support of children and families.
- Grow Professionally and Personally
Plus, you will develop as a servant leader, whatever your career field, with a flexible curriculum firmly rooted in Mary’s Christian, Catholic, and Benedictine values.
Program Information
Please visit our catalog for admission requirements and a full list of our courses.
Featured Faculty
Tina Ding, MEd
Assistant Professor of Education, Director of Early Childhood Education, Director of Child Development Studies
For most of my life, I was drawn to teaching and serving others. This was evident through the jobs I took, starting with babysitting to working as a preschool paraprofessional, teacher, assistant director, and director of childcare centers in both North Dakota and Minnesota. I knew education was my passion and life-long career. My first public school teaching experience was in a departmentalized fifth-grade teaching setting. Later, I pursued my graduate degree in early childhood special education, allowing me to teach preschool special education; and, most recently, teaching kindergarten for Mandan Public Schools.
