The University of Akron offers a bachelor's degree program in psychology that includes learning a foreign language or sign language to work with the hearing impaired, as well as non-English speakers. Community service requirements in the curriculum include working with mentally challenged children or adults, staffing crisis hot lines or working in battered women's shelters. The undergraduate work prepares the student to earn a graduate degree in child development and family systems through the College of Health and Human Services or College of Education.
The University of Minnesota has two undergraduate degree programs for students through its College of Liberal Arts. The bachelor's degree provides an undergraduate basis for more study at the graduate level. A student pursuing a Bachelor of Science program can seek employment in human services programs, early childhood education and counseling once after earning the degree. Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science candidates must submit either a research project or a literature review during the senior year in order to earn the degree. The graduate programs include a master's degree and a doctorate in child development and psychology specialties.
California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), located in San Luis Obispo, California, provides two degrees for child development and psychology students at the bachelor's and master's levels. The bachelor's degree in child psychology requires two quarters of an internship at a local school, government agency or social agency, with an option to conduct a research project under a professor's guidance as an alternative. Students who successfully complete the Master of Science program in childhood development automatically qualify as a marriage and family therapist in California. The classes in the master's program are offered just once a year, so students need to plan schedules carefully.
The Steinhart School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University offers master's and doctorate degree programs. The school is located in New York City. Its program emphasizes cross-cultural experiences and human development in highly urbanized environments. The master's programs prepare students to work in schools, social service agencies or hospitals, while the doctorate programs qualify students to work as child therapists in private practice or in advanced capacities in educational agencies and social services.