The Child Development option students are prepared for careers involving direct and support services for children. They may focus course work on promoting child health and protection, or on understanding and meeting the needs of older children and adolescents.
The Family Science option allows students to take a concentration of courses in human development, family science or family economics in preparation for careers in direct and support services for families. Each option offers the flexibility of a generalist program, but students may choose to focus on an area of specialization as well.
The Family Science option with emphasis in Family Economics within the field of family science prepares students to work with individuals and families to manage their resources. The family science curriculum emphasizes the importance of resources such as time, money and information for families, and how families can learn to use these resources to maximize their quality of life. Students become prepared to work with families experiencing financial difficulties, or who have money to save and invest. Students also become informed of consumer rights and responsibilities to advocate for consumers, and learn how to work with low income families to create or extend human and financial resources. Coursework in this area helps students to understand the interaction between families, economic well-being, and public policy.
The Child Development/Elementary Education option is a collaborative effort between NDSU and Valley City State University. Through this curriculum, offered on the NDSU campus, students are concurrently enrolled in both universities, culminating a bachelor's degree from NDSU in child development and family science (child development option) as well as a bachelor's degree from VCSU in elementary education. Students are certified to teach elementary education in public schools and may, with additional coursework and an additional student teaching experience, be certified to teach kindergarten as well. The CDFS degree complements and strengthens the elementary education curriculum and helps future teachers understand development and its diversity, making them more effective teachers and helping them work with children from a variety of backgrounds.