Children and Youth Studies, B.A.
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Program Overview
The children and youth studies program offers an interdisciplinary curriculum that examines the lives of children and youth, from the playground to the social justice march. You can take courses on contemporary issues affecting children and youth within the context of the family, school, peer groups, and community as well as a national and global perspective. Youth culture and media, children and the law, and public policy and advocacy are some of the topics you can study. Building from a social justice orientation, our program offers you the academic foundation and career tools necessary to pursue a profession working directly or indirectly with children and youth.
Major Details
The program information listed here reflects the approved curriculum for the 2024–25 academic year per the Brooklyn College Bulletin. Bulletins from past academic years can be found here.
Major Requirements (30 Credits)
All of the following courses: Children and Youth Studies 2100, 4200, 4900W.
The program director, with the approval of the program’s advisory committee, may allow substitutions for one or more of following requirements consistent with the educational goals of the program.
Five of the following courses: Children and Youth Studies 2120, 2200, 3110, 3126, 3610, 3410, 3310, 3320, 3620, 3630, 3510, 3430, 3130, 3700, 4100, 5100, 5200.
Two of the following courses: Africana Studies 3335; Childhood, Bilingual, and Special Education 2002 or Secondary Education 2002; English 3189 or Communication Arts, Sciences, and Disorders 1717 or 2231; Health and Nutrition Sciences 3170; History 3320 or 3457 (crosslisted as Children and Youth Studies 3120); Psychology 2210 or 3220 or 3240; Puerto Rican and Latino Studies 2005; Sociology 2400 or 2401; School Psychology, Counseling and Leadership 3500.
All courses must be completed with a grade of C or higher.
A minimum of nine credits must be completed at Brooklyn College.
Students interested in majoring in children and youth studies must consult a program adviser as early as possible. Students should plan to complete all major requirements before taking the capstone course, Children and Youth Studies 4900W.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- recognize the distinct place in society that children and youth, as a culturally specific cohort, occupy both historically and in the present;
- identify the complexity and diversity of social conditions experienced by children and youth across the globe;
- link theory to praxis by engaging students in multidisciplinary opportunities for research, advocacy, and professional development in traditional, nontraditional, and emerging areas of children and youth studies; and
- link methods to theory through the requirement of a capstone research project.
Degree Maps
To help you pursue your studies in the most efficient manner, and to maximize your efforts to graduate in four years, Brooklyn College has created four-year degree maps for all its majors.
View degree maps for this major and others.
Contact
Elise Goldberg, Program Adviser
1304 James Hall
E: eliseg@brooklyn.cuny.edu
P: 718.951.3192
Or contact:
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
222 West Quad Center
2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11210
E: adminqry@brooklyn.cuny.edu
To make an appointment with an undergraduate admissions counselor, visit:
The Support You’ll Find
Brooklyn College is an integral part of the cultural and artistic energy of New York City. Our faculty members affiliated with Children and Youth Studies offer incomparable expertise and tremendous talent, and each bring a unique perspective to their teaching and mentoring in and out of the classroom.
Internships and Employers
Through job fairs, the internship database, and internship panels, the Magner Career Center gives students in the children and youth studies B.A. program access to career opportunities at a wide variety of employers, including:
- Brooklyn Children’s Museum
- GLSEN
- Good Shepherd Services
- Immigrant Social Services
- International Rescue Committee
- Kaplan
- Manhattan Children’s Museum
- New York City Administration for Children’s Services
- New York City Department of Education
- New York City Office of Mental Health
- New York Hall of Science
- Public Prep Network
- U.S. Army Installation Management Command
- Vibrant Emotional Health
