Bachelor of Arts in Family Studies – Concentration in Early Childhood

Why Early Childhood at ACU?

In addition to a faculty-to-student ratio of 17:1 and a rigorous and biblically-integrated curriculum, ACU’s Family Studies program offers several unique advantages:

• Our unique department is staffed with clinically-active faculty, who are able to provide insightful information based on their vast professional experiences.
• Students will graduate as provisionally Certified Family Life Educators by the National Council on Family Relations.
• This is a terminal degree, therefore students are prepared to enter the workforce or their graduate studies with significant confidence in their educational experiences.
• For over 20 years, many of our graduates have continued their studies to pursue careers as licensed marriage & family therapists, counselors, and social workers.
• Early Childhood Fieldwork, Poverty and its Effects, Human Development of the Young Child, Early Learning Environments.

What will I study?

Following completion of a Bachelor of Arts in Family Studies – Early Childhood from ACU, students will:

• Be able to identify and evaluate psychological, spiritual, physical, and social contributors to optimal human development
• Be able to evaluate families and their functioning using research and systemic theories
• Be able to design, implement, and evaluate family life education programs
• Explore and evaluate societal issues that impact families
• Explore career options

Undergraduate students are introduced to fascinating topics through mandatory and elective courses that are often preserved for graduate studies, including:

• Trauma and families
• Play therapy
• Family structure and dynamics
• Parent/child relations
• Gender studies
• Family resource management
• Grief and loss in families
• Public policy
• Transformational marriage
• Early learning environments
• Poverty

Academic Major Courses

Core requirements accumulate 30 credits, 15 credits of General Biblical and Theological Studies courses, and 8 credits of foreign language courses. 3 credits of Upper Division Biblical and Theological Studies electives are required.

• FAM 200 Family Resource Management 3
• FAM 316 Family Structure and Function 3
• PSY 320 Cross-Cultural Counseling 3
• FAM 332 Public Policy and the Family 3
• FAM 425 Parent/Child Relations 3
• FAM 435 Family Life Education 3
• FAM 490 Family Studies Capstone 3
• PSY 210 Statistics for Behavioral Studies 3
• PSY 212 Research Methods 3
• FAM 261 Human Development for Young Child 1
• FAM 314 Adolescent Psychology 3
• FAM 409 Child Life 3
• FAM 411 Child Life Internship I 3
• FAM 412 Child Life Internship II 3
• FAM 414 Loss, Bereavement, & Dying 1
• FAM 415 Introduction to Play Therapy 1
• FAM 416 Trauma and Families 1
• FAM 440 Gender Studies 3

Graduates are well-equipped to continue their education to become licensed marriage and family therapists, and children’s counselors, pursue family law careers or advance their careers in social work, child life, or ministry. Students graduate prepared to pursue careers as preschool teachers, childcare center directors, family support specialists, early childhood case managers, parent aid, case manager, early childhood public policy advocates, children’s ministry leaders & pastors.

• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Children’s Therapists
• Trauma Therapists
• Social Workers
• Child Behavioral Specialists
• Case Managers
• Ministries (Family, Children’s, Women’s)
• Motivational Speakers
• Victim Witness Advocates
• Child Protective Services
• Public Policy and Lobbying (i.e., sex trafficking, child protection)
• Coaching

Graduate education preparation for programs such as Human Development, Educational Leadership, Health Care Administration, Ministry, Public Policy, Counseling, Family Studies.