Children in Contemporary Society Certificate

The Center for Child and Family Policy is excited to announce the Children in Contemporary Society certificate program for Duke University undergraduates beginning Spring 2007. The new certificate program strives to:

1) develop a course of study where students can draw on the expertise and knowledge of Duke faculty from across the university to analyze systematically and rigorously the issues facing children, families, and the society responsible for their development;

2) equip students with the necessary analytical skills to study these issues with empirical rigor and provide an extended research opportunity in which to do so; and

3) provide a context in which students can engage in research that informs policy and practice.

The accomplishment of these three goals will allow Duke undergraduates to pursue a cohesive set of interdisciplinary courses that increases their knowledge of child and family issues while simultaneously stimulating their intellectual and academic development.

This certificate provides a way for students to take advantage of child and family-related courses currently taught in several departments, including Psychology, Public Policy, Sociology, Economics, and Education.

The signature of this certificate program will be the engagement in empirical research to address important problems facing children and families in contemporary society. All students will write a thesis based on their research.

In order to complete the certificate, students must take three required courses, one methodology course, and two electives. The three required courses are:

CCS 150: Children in Contemporary Society
CCS 190: Research Seminar: CCS Certificate
CCS 191: Capstone Course: CCS Certificate (Multidisciplinary Approaches to Contemporary Children's Issue)

The methodology course may be any methodology course approved by the Certificate's director, but a suggested course is PSY 170MS Social Science and Policy Research (cross listed in Public Policy as PPS 195S).

For a list of possible electives, please click here. Other electives may be eligible upon approval of the Director. For further detail on these courses, please see the course requirements page.

The cornerstone course should be taken during the student's sophomore year. The methods course will be taken during the first or second semester of the student's junior year. By the end of the junior year, students will select or be assigned a faculty mentor. The research seminar will be taken in the fall of the student's senior year, and the capstone course will be taken in the spring of the senior year. The electives may be taken at any time, but students will be strongly encouraged to complete those prior to the beginning of their senior year.